Apparently, when President Joe Biden goes off script, the truth comes out. During last night’s State of the Union speech, he made a stunning admission to the entire country, on live television, about why energy prices are so stubbornly high.
While railing against oil industry profits, he said:
Last year, they made $200 billion in the midst of a global energy crisis.
I think it’s outrageous.
Why? They invested too little of that profit to increase domestic production, and when I talked to a couple of them, they say, “We’re afraid you’re going to shut down all the oil wells and all the oil refineries anyway, so why should we invest in them?”
Got that? Biden just admitted to the entire country that companies aren’t drilling more because of his own actions toward the oil and gas industry. Now, this isn’t a surprise to those of us who follow this issue closely – heck, one of his first actions was killing the Keystone XL oil pipeline and halting new oil and gas drilling on federal lands. (RELATED: BASTASCH: Yes, Biden And The Left Are Coming For Your Gas Stove One Way Or Another)
More importantly, by acknowledging he’s the reason oil companies won’t drill more, he’s inadvertently taking credit for high energy prices that crushed small businesses and family budgets.
What Biden said next had Republicans in the House chamber roaring with laughter:
I said, “We’re going to need oil for at least another decade.” And that’s going to exceed — and beyond that — we’re going to need it. Production. If they had in fact invested in the production to keep gas prices down — instead, they used the record profits to buy back their own stock, rewarding their C.E.O.s and shareholders.
Let’s not forget, he just admitted the reason prices are high is because he’s standing in the way of more drilling. He’s partly to blame for Big Oil’s latest windfall.
Biden’s solution to this quandary is quadrupling the tax on corporate stock buybacks. That’ll show ‘em! Either way, Biden’s set up himself – or any other Democrat who runs in 2024 – for a shellacking on the energy front.
You can bet Republican presidential hopefuls are cutting ads right now, readying to blast Biden in the 2024 cycle with his own words. Americans no longer need to speculate who is to blame for $3.40-a-gallon gas, old Joe’s taken the fall!
Likewise, Kamala Harris or any other Democrat who might run in 2024 on a platform to double down on Biden’s costly climate policies will have to explain how they’ll prevent Americans from getting gouged at the pump and on their utility bills.
But, of course, the entire point of the global climate agenda is to cause pain and induce behavioral and lifestyle changes. Emissions won’t go down unless you sacrifice by driving less, jettisoning your gas stove, taking cold showers and eating bugs. If you’re rich, you can just buy “offsets” and continue to fly private to Davos every year.
Biden let the truth about his climate agenda slip out. What remains to be seen is how Middle America responds.
Michael Bastasch is the managing editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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