[E_GoBig]

With the situation between Russia and Ukraine brewing into a possible war, it seems that it is affecting the price of oil, thus translating into an tremendous increase in gas prices. The price of gas has been past $3 a gallon since last year and I am worried that we might soon see $4 a gallon of gas as early as next month if this situation evolves into a bloody war. Just why is the price of gas increasing so much? I am against $4 a gallon gasoline and I blame it all on Biden and his no good energy secretary who was a governor of Michigan. I checked California's prices and they are approaching $5 a gallon, and in some areas they were selling gas at roughly $6 a gallon. This is a result of the policies made by Biden and Jennifer Granholm, the energy secretary, as well as increasing tensions in Ukraine. Ukraine is not a Middle Eastern country, unlike Iran, and is not a member of OPEC. When there was tensions with Iran over its nuclear weapons program, oil went up. That's because Iran sits in the important oil route called the Straits of Hormuz where much of the oil gets exported. If Iran attacks it, then this will affect the price of what we pay at the pump very badly.

And because of all of these, I have lost faith in Biden. No wonder why his approval ratings are dropping! He is making things worse. I wouldn't be surprised if he replaces Granholm with somebody else. She did a terrible job handling this problem regarding gas prices. Biden should be graded an F for handling this impending oil crisis. He used the emergency oil reserves to try to bring down prices. What did he achieve? Nothing. NOTHING! Gas only went down just a mere ten cents last month. JUST TEN CENTS! Trump was better since gas prices stayed in the $2.50 range(it almost went to $3 in 2018 and Trump complained about it)

If the national average goes to $4.50 by Memorial Day because of the Ukraine situation, then Biden is surely to be blamed. I don't want this to happen.

[Igor Antunov]

I recall when price per barrel was much higher yet at the pump it was less than now. It's all by design.

[late]

I recall when price per barrel was much higher yet at the pump it was less than now. It's all by design.

So... when crude oil went negative (they had to pay to get rid of the oil), that was also by design?

Sorry, kiddo, you are so far out of your depth it's funny.

[late]

With the situation between Russia and Ukraine brewing into a possible war

it seems that it is affecting the price of oil, thus translating into an tremendous increase in gas prices. The price of gas has been past $3 a gallon since last year and I am worried that we might soon see $4 a gallon of gas as early as next month if this situation evolves into a bloody war.

Just why is the price of gas increasing so much? I am against $4 a gallon gasoline and I blame it all on Biden and his no good energy secretary who was a governor of Michigan.

I checked California's prices and they are approaching $5 a gallon, and in some areas they were selling gas at roughly $6 a gallon. This is a result of the policies made by Biden and Jennifer Granholm

Ukraine is not a Middle Eastern country, unlike Iran, and is not a member of OPEC. When there was tensions with Iran over its nuclear weapons program, oil went up. That's because Iran sits in the important oil route called the Straits of Hormuz where much of the oil gets exported. If Iran attacks it, then this will affect the price of what we pay at the pump very badly.

And because of all of these, I have lost faith in Biden. No wonder why his approval ratings are dropping! He is making things worse. I wouldn't be surprised if he replaces Granholm with somebody else. She did a terrible job handling this problem regarding gas prices. Biden should be graded an F for handling this impending oil crisis. He used the emergency oil reserves to try to bring down prices. What did he achieve? Nothing. NOTHING! Gas only went down just a mere ten cents last month. JUST TEN CENTS! Trump was better since gas prices stayed in the $2.50 range(it almost went to $3 in 2018 and Trump complained about it)

If the national average goes to $4.50 by Memorial Day because of the Ukraine situation, then Biden is surely to be blamed. I don't want this to happen.

It's a war. Russian soldiers are moving on the capital, Kyiv, as we speak.

Of course, oil is a commodity, and commodity pricing is volatile.

The president has very, very little he can do to influence oil prices.

It's a result of war, Covid, and demand. Oil is a boom or bust business, and it coming off a bust. They will get going again, but that takes time.

Russian gas pipelines go through Ukraine...

The emergency reserves are basically meaningless. That was old news 40 years ago.

A president has little influence over oil prices. That's as true for Trump as it is for Biden. Someone is selling you extract of male bovine quadruped..

Yes, gas prices will continue to go up, Biden will get blamed for it. We badly need a better education system.

[Puffer Fish]

With the situation between Russia and Ukraine brewing into a possible war, it seems that it is affecting the price of oil, thus translating into an tremendous increase in gas prices. The price of gas has been past $3 a gallon since last year and I am worried that we might soon see $4 a gallon of gas as early as next month if this situation evolves into a bloody war. Just why is the price of gas increasing so much?

It may have much more to do with inflation of the US dollar and the fact that US domestic oil production has been shut down as a matter of political party policy.

It is likely that some news sources will be wanting to blame the Ukraine conflict on the increase, to distract the public from the effects of government policy.

Inflation affects the prices of imports from other parts of the world, like oil, more than it does other things which are produced in the US, because of foreign exchange rates.

[Rancid]

All good if it means Putin is punished.

[Steve_American]

It may have much more to do with inflation of the US dollar and the fact that US domestic oil production has been shut down as a matter of political party policy.

It is likely that some news sources will be wanting to blame the Ukraine conflict on the increase, to distract the public from the effects of government policy.

Inflation affects the prices of imports from other parts of the world, like oil, more than it does other things which are produced in the US, because of foreign exchange rates.

No. No.! No.!!
The deficit spending has not caused the inflation. This assertion is just based on a theory. There is zero evidence to support it.
The inflation is being caused by shortages that would have happened to some extent (maybe less, but also maybe worse) no matter what the govs. of the world did.

The evidence for this is in my thread about how there is a small inverse relationship between gov. deficit spending and the inflation in all the nations of the world. The highest inflation is being seen in nations that spent close to the least. The lowest inflation is being seen in nations that spent the most. The conclusion is that there is no relation between them, that is, one is not effecting the other. That each nation is seeing different levels of shortages and the shortages are causing the inflation. Also, nations have different amounts of corps with monopoly pricing power who can increase their prices to increase their profits.
.

[BlutoSays]

Since currency has no inherent value behind it ("full faith and credit of the Govmint"...AKA BFD), its value comes from its SCARCITY.

The more currency you print and create out of thin air, the less value each increment of currency has.

Deficit spending HAS caused inflation. Too many dollars chasing too few goods.

See Economics 101. See: The Creature From Jeykll Island.

[Unthinking Majority]

No. No.! No.!!
The deficit spending has not caused the inflation. This assertion is just based on a theory. There is zero evidence to support it.
The inflation is being caused by shortages that would have happened to some extent (maybe less, but also maybe worse) no matter what the govs. of the world did.

The evidence for this is in my thread about how there is a small inverse relationship between gov. deficit spending and the inflation in all the nations of the world. The highest inflation is being seen in nations that spent close to the least. The lowest inflation is being seen in nations that spent the most. The conclusion is that there is no relation between them, that is, one is not effecting the other. That each nation is seeing different levels of shortages and the shortages are causing the inflation.
.

Just about all forms of collectibles have skyrocketed in price since the beginning of the pandemic if you look at ie: eBay. Price is determined largely by supply and demand. The supply of collectibles hasn't changed, only the demand.

Also, the supply of stocks didn't change and yet stock prices skyrocketed.

The causes of inflation all depend on what price/product you're looking at. In terms of most retail goods i'd say the primary cause is shortages, meaning a supply issue. But with certain things the prices rises are being driven by demand, and in other cases both a supply shortage and increase in demand.

[colliric]

Yep:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/2 ... -live-news

Blowing up gas pipelines and buring oil fields has a history of driving prices up.

All good if it means Putin is punished.

Russian army is targeting Ukraine's supply. He's actually behind it.

[Unthinking Majority]

No. No.! No.!!
The deficit spending has not caused the inflation. This assertion is just based on a theory. There is zero evidence to support it.
The inflation is being caused by shortages that would have happened to some extent (maybe less, but also maybe worse) no matter what the govs. of the world did.

The evidence for this is in my thread about how there is a small inverse relationship between gov. deficit spending and the inflation in all the nations of the world. The highest inflation is being seen in nations that spent close to the least. The lowest inflation is being seen in nations that spent the most. The conclusion is that there is no relation between them, that is, one is not effecting the other. That each nation is seeing different levels of shortages and the shortages are causing the inflation. Also, nations have different amounts of corps with monopoly pricing power who can increase their prices to increase their profits.
.

If the government gave every American 100k free, would there be general inflation of the economy? Yes or no?

[Steve_American]

If the government gave every American 100k free, would there be general inflation of the economy? Yes or no?

It depends.
Right now, with all the current shortages, I would estimate, that yes, even if you excluded the children, this would cause inflation.

Back in 2019, I would say maybe, because many would have mostly used it to reduce their debts. And, the banks and bankers could not spend anywhere near half of the resulting repayments.

If it was a $million then yes, for sure.

But, what is your point? MMTers always make a point in every lecture and podcast to say that inflation is the limit on magic money creation.

If it is done slowly so as to give corps the time to increase production then the $1M per adult will not cause more than the target of 2%/year. At 2% this doubles the cost of everything after 36 years, whatever the cause of the inflation was/is.

But, remember I am no real MMT expert.

I just point out that England (later GB and now the UK) has had a national debt since 1694. This is over 325 years now, and this has never caused it that much trouble. It has been paid-down some, but not much and never for long. During about 275 of those years the world was mostly on the gold standard (in wars gold payments were often suspended), About 75 years ago the UK lost India, and then over the next 20 years most of the rest of its Empire. This didn't cause it to need to pay-off the national debt. Of course, over those 325 years there has been inflation, a lot of inflation. So what?, a little inflation is better than a little deflation.

So, I ask again, what is your point?
.

[BlutoSays]

If the government gave every American 100k free, would there be general inflation of the economy? Yes or no?

Hats off to you. You got him to admit to something no one else has been able to.

[late]

Since currency has no inherent value behind it ("full faith and credit of the Govmint"...AKA BFD), its value comes from its SCARCITY.

The more currency you print and create out of thin air, the less value each increment of currency has.

Deficit spending HAS caused inflation. Too many dollars chasing too few goods.

See Economics 101. See: The Creature From Jeykll Island.

What you just said was that macroeconomics doesn't exist.

Which is not Econ 101, kid...

[BlutoSays]

What you just said was that macroeconomics doesn't exist.

Which is not Econ 101, kid...

That's not what I said. That's what you wanted to read.

[late]

That's not what I said. That's what you wanted to read.

You keep making unsupported declarations that I suspect even you know are full of crap.

The value of a currency is the result of a complex interplay of supply and demand (like you said), but it also reflects the strength, stability and productivity of an economy.

While extra currency can push up inflation, recent history shows that's not always the case. Esp when the government is borrowing from itself...

Likewise, temporary prices increases will show up in the inflation stats, but since they will go away, they are not inflation. They are an artifact of the metric, an inaccuracy. Also, on the other side, the new crisis (added to the strains from Covid) will likely lower economic performance, depressing inflation.

As I have observed before, this is both wildly complicated, and a little different from what we've seen before. There are no easy answers here, or options without risk.

[BlutoSays]

You keep making unsupported declarations that I suspect even you know are full of crap.

The value of a currency is the result of a complex interplay of supply and demand (like you said), but it also reflects the strength, stability and productivity of an economy.

While extra currency can push up inflation, recent history shows that's not always the case. Esp when the government is borrowing from itself...

Likewise, temporary prices increases will show up in the inflation stats, but since they will go away, they are not inflation. They are an artifact of the metric, an inaccuracy. Also, on the other side, the new crisis (added to the strains from Covid) will likely lower economic performance, depressing inflation.

As I have observed before, this is both wildly complicated, and a little different from what we've seen before. There are no easy answers here, or options without risk.

You're trying to make excuses for failed liberal policies and it's not working.

Build Back Better would have dumped 5 Trillion into the economy for NONSENSE. Not 3.5 Trillion. 5 Trillion. You want stuff that there's no natural demand for and you think you can just print it up and everything will be wonderful. That theory is FOS.

You want it to be wildly complicated because you can't explain it away. Since you're a leftist, you should love this:

"Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the Capitalist System was to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose." - John Maynard Keynes

[Pants-of-dog]

If most municipalities had local energy generation that was not based on fossil fuels, and enough electric vehicles to support the supply chain, the volatility of gas and oil prices due to war would be a non-issue.

[BlutoSays]

If most municipalities had local energy generation that was not based on fossil fuels, and enough electric vehicles to support the supply chain, the volatility of gas and oil prices due to war would be a non-issue.

You're right. However, here's where you get it wrong. You should not try to force your way by cutting off oil before you're ready to fulfill on the other side.

Bell Labs created the first solar cell in 1954. In 70 years, this is as far as they've gotten on solar. That should tell you something. In that amount of time, we haven't come very far on alternatives. Solar panels aren't that great after all this time. Leftists attempting to use FORCE to change behavior doesn't work. They only end up hurting a lot of people. They panicked over nuclear and killed it. Germany is doing the same thing (forcing things) and they're suffering now. Why do you always have to use coercion to get your way? Same with the vaccine.

[late]

You should not try to force your way by cutting off oil before you're ready to fulfill on the other side.

"If you want change behavior, change the price."

That's not force, it's not cutting off oil. Since the long term trend is dropping prices for oil, it's mostly going to be compensating.

We need to work on climate change, and the longer we wait, the more painful it will be when we do start.