"The price of the oil we use
More quickly reacts
To the threat of attacks
Than the efforts of drill platform crews."
Upon his return from a relatively unplugged vacation in the hills of eastern Quebec, Dr. Goose was struck by the gulf in perception between some US Republican politicians, who attribute recently higher oil and gasoline prices to the policies of President Obama regarding pipelines and offshore drilling, and petroleum analysts, who tend to cite disruptions in the existing supply in such places as the Persian Gulf. A reasonable interpretation would be that the President's actions regarding oil exploration are of little short-term impact, but his actions regarding global security and stability are critical.
While I agree with you that an administration's policies have little effect on short-term commodities prices, Dr. Goose, I am very much interested in what your perspective was during the super-spike of 2008. Back then, Speaker Pelosi, Freshman Senator Obama, and nearly every Democratic politician were having daily news conferences falling all over themselves to pin that short-term spike squarely on President Bush.
ReplyDeleteI very much look forward to the reasonable interpretation explaining why the 2008 spike was clearly the result of President Bush's policies, while the current one is not a result of President Obama's policies.
Unfortunately, my entry into the exclusive world of satirical econ blogging took place in October 2009, so I was not called upon to opine on gasoline prices during the Bush years. I dimly recall that the 2008 spike had something to do with US gasoline refining capacity, inventory and logistics; regardless, my point is that one cannot expect any President, even one from an oil-producing state, to bring down the cost of petroleum products by means of their energy policy. Were a spike to occur, my search for the cause would not begin in the White House, whether red or blue in its party affiliation.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree. My gripe is only with the self-styled intellectuals of the left, who [correctly] point out now that this spike has little to do with the current administration, nonetheless ask their fellow Americans not to apply the same analysis when it is politically convenient.
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