Last week, U.S. House Democrats unveiled plans to “go after” Big Oil, accusing the supermajors once again of gouging retail fuel prices and profiteering from the financial pain that fuel price inflation has caused the ordinary American driver. Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused Big Oil of “hoarding” the profits they made from the latest oil price rise. Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer called Big Oil “vultures”. As an American would say, there’s a lot to unpack here.
This was a fantastic analysis Irina, thank you for sharing.
From where I'm sitting, it seems increasingly likely that the 2022 US Midterms are going to be a blood bath for Democrats. President Biden's decarbonization agenda is now directly at odds with his foreign policy agenda (strengthening int'l relationships, including with Europe) and at some point, he's going to have to choose one.
Regardless of the choice he makes, as you succinctly called out, it seems increasingly unlikely that energy price inflation in the US will abate before November. Even a herculean effort by Biden likely wouldn't be enough in my view. And, the reality is, a herculean effort is far from what we will get given the importance of environmental groups within the US Dems base.
Thanks for sharing this. Incredibly pertinent right now.
Thank you, Adam. Yes, things are not looking good for the Democrats, which may be part of the reason they are being so active in their bashing of the oil industry. Sort of like down here the municipal authorities start filling potholes and washing the streets a few weeks before municipal elections. :D Talking may work on some people but not on all of them and not for a very long time unless there's action. Biden has a very tough choice to make, indeed.
The leak definitely will work against the Republicans. Whether the Supreme Court is political enough to have been planning to hold the decision until after the midterm elections, I don't know. Whether the leak was meant to help the democrats, or relieve some of the negative for the Republicans (get hte announcement earlier/further from upcoming elections) who knows.
Or if there was even that much thought behind it all?
What a shit show! lol...funny thing is that those same politicians were going around screaming about how we need higher oil prices to disincentivize consumption of big bad oil products and incentivize green alternatives, so isn't this exactly what they have been planning for all along? Wasn't the point of all those excessive regulations to cut the supply of big bad north American oil and nat gas?
Reminds of this cartoon in my global strategy textbook back in graduate school. It features three executives in jail and someone asks them "what are you here for?" the responses:
-I'm here because I set my prices higher than my competition and was accused of price gouging, the other says;
-I'm here because I set prices the same as my competitors and was accused of price fixing, the last one then says;
-I'm here because I set prices below those of my competitors and was accused of predatory pricing
It was an entertaining cartoon back then, but when you look around at the real world all of a sudden it doesn't seem so funny
Well done Irina. Our political class has learned the lessons of the commissars well. Keep the population off balance with an eternal state of emergency. Stifle free speech and association. And, most important give people something to blame for their predicament. Your comments about oil production are spot on. I have done some work along these lines myself. If you're a shill for oil, I am too. Cheers and keep up the good work.
I’ve figured out how to talk to people who disagree with you. Instead of offering substantive reasons for your position, just start calling them names! Accuse them of something evil and get everyone’s mind off of how week YOUR position is and onto how horrible the person is who disagrees with you. That way you don’t have to think. You can just keep on believing what you believed before the conversation started. It is SO terribly inconvenient to have to change what you believe about something based on the facts! It’s not worth all that effort.
Biden is lucky that Putin lets him wipe his feet like a doormat. If he were a Russian patriot, he would have stopped supplying the West with oil and gas immediately after blocking the reserve (i.e. stealing Russian money), and prices would now be over $200 a barrel.
That's what I would've done, because like most people I'm simple when it comes to fair/unfair and double standards, but Putin has always played the long game and he's pretty good at it as we can see from the latest on energy prices everywhere.
Meanwhile, the climate lawsuits also continue, mostly aimed at big oil. Can I countersue the plaintiffs of these suits for my increased costs as a result of their actions?
I think you've been too balanced Irina, if that is possible. Almost all of the current energy crisis is as a result of western politicians making woeful strategic energy decisions of the past 2 decades. This won't be unpicked quickly. We're in it for the long haul.
That about sums it up. It almost seems as if "it" was planned this way. I'm not sure the fat cats in leather chairs in Washington D.C. are that sharp. The bozos who make bad policy then point fingers at others when it backfires have perfected the blame game. And I think this would be expected regardless of outcome.
It really bothers me how much our leaders religiously stick to their anti-oil agenda. Another typical attempt to shift the blame for the high prices and still prevent any new investment in the sector.
I’m fine with the idea of moving beyond oil, if they do it by proactive investment in viable alternatives to the point where oil is too cheap to drill. Instead it’s like they expect people to give up energy altogether and revert to the status of middle-age serfs.
Maybe they could build a big pipeline from Canada?
Imagine that...
This was a fantastic analysis Irina, thank you for sharing.
From where I'm sitting, it seems increasingly likely that the 2022 US Midterms are going to be a blood bath for Democrats. President Biden's decarbonization agenda is now directly at odds with his foreign policy agenda (strengthening int'l relationships, including with Europe) and at some point, he's going to have to choose one.
Regardless of the choice he makes, as you succinctly called out, it seems increasingly unlikely that energy price inflation in the US will abate before November. Even a herculean effort by Biden likely wouldn't be enough in my view. And, the reality is, a herculean effort is far from what we will get given the importance of environmental groups within the US Dems base.
Thanks for sharing this. Incredibly pertinent right now.
Thank you, Adam. Yes, things are not looking good for the Democrats, which may be part of the reason they are being so active in their bashing of the oil industry. Sort of like down here the municipal authorities start filling potholes and washing the streets a few weeks before municipal elections. :D Talking may work on some people but not on all of them and not for a very long time unless there's action. Biden has a very tough choice to make, indeed.
2022 midterms may have just taken a U-turn. The leaked Supreme Court draft decision is likely to motivate Democrat votes in a way not seen in decades.
I was looking forward to Biden's energy policies sinking beneath a sea of GOP, but now I'm less optimistic.
So... could this decision been intentional in more than one way?
The leak definitely will work against the Republicans. Whether the Supreme Court is political enough to have been planning to hold the decision until after the midterm elections, I don't know. Whether the leak was meant to help the democrats, or relieve some of the negative for the Republicans (get hte announcement earlier/further from upcoming elections) who knows.
Or if there was even that much thought behind it all?
Ah, in the olden days that last question would never have been considered. In those days, people thought about things.
What a shit show! lol...funny thing is that those same politicians were going around screaming about how we need higher oil prices to disincentivize consumption of big bad oil products and incentivize green alternatives, so isn't this exactly what they have been planning for all along? Wasn't the point of all those excessive regulations to cut the supply of big bad north American oil and nat gas?
Reminds of this cartoon in my global strategy textbook back in graduate school. It features three executives in jail and someone asks them "what are you here for?" the responses:
-I'm here because I set my prices higher than my competition and was accused of price gouging, the other says;
-I'm here because I set prices the same as my competitors and was accused of price fixing, the last one then says;
-I'm here because I set prices below those of my competitors and was accused of predatory pricing
It was an entertaining cartoon back then, but when you look around at the real world all of a sudden it doesn't seem so funny
Well done Irina. Our political class has learned the lessons of the commissars well. Keep the population off balance with an eternal state of emergency. Stifle free speech and association. And, most important give people something to blame for their predicament. Your comments about oil production are spot on. I have done some work along these lines myself. If you're a shill for oil, I am too. Cheers and keep up the good work.
Thanks, Dave!
A shill is anyone who disagrees with me!
This appears to be the lamentable case...
I’ve figured out how to talk to people who disagree with you. Instead of offering substantive reasons for your position, just start calling them names! Accuse them of something evil and get everyone’s mind off of how week YOUR position is and onto how horrible the person is who disagrees with you. That way you don’t have to think. You can just keep on believing what you believed before the conversation started. It is SO terribly inconvenient to have to change what you believe about something based on the facts! It’s not worth all that effort.
Great article - it reminded me of the so-called "doctors plot" of 1950s Soviet Russia...
Biden is lucky that Putin lets him wipe his feet like a doormat. If he were a Russian patriot, he would have stopped supplying the West with oil and gas immediately after blocking the reserve (i.e. stealing Russian money), and prices would now be over $200 a barrel.
That's what I would've done, because like most people I'm simple when it comes to fair/unfair and double standards, but Putin has always played the long game and he's pretty good at it as we can see from the latest on energy prices everywhere.
Meanwhile, the climate lawsuits also continue, mostly aimed at big oil. Can I countersue the plaintiffs of these suits for my increased costs as a result of their actions?
I think you've been too balanced Irina, if that is possible. Almost all of the current energy crisis is as a result of western politicians making woeful strategic energy decisions of the past 2 decades. This won't be unpicked quickly. We're in it for the long haul.
That we are, unfortunately.
That about sums it up. It almost seems as if "it" was planned this way. I'm not sure the fat cats in leather chairs in Washington D.C. are that sharp. The bozos who make bad policy then point fingers at others when it backfires have perfected the blame game. And I think this would be expected regardless of outcome.
It really bothers me how much our leaders religiously stick to their anti-oil agenda. Another typical attempt to shift the blame for the high prices and still prevent any new investment in the sector.
I’m fine with the idea of moving beyond oil, if they do it by proactive investment in viable alternatives to the point where oil is too cheap to drill. Instead it’s like they expect people to give up energy altogether and revert to the status of middle-age serfs.