Liberals like to think of themselves as financially responsible. Despite ample evidence that they make horrific financial decisions, they keep insinuating that they know what’s best, even when the numbers show just how wrong they are. Being blinded by party loyalty has been a characteristic of the liberals for decades now, and after Biden depleted the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) they argued he needed to do it to save the economy.
Now that the economy has stabilized at a horribly inflated level, these same experts claim Biden’s decision to refill at $79 per barrel. As announced by the Department of Energy (DOE) on November 6th, they are committing to buying up to 3 billion barrels to be delivered in 2024. Initially depleted during the 2021/2022 midterm campaign season, this was a decision that many agree was made only to support the Biden agenda and those that force it upon us. No long-term considerations were made at all.
The DOE wrote, “Today’s announcement advances the President’s commitment to safeguard and replenish this critical energy security asset, following his historic release from the SPR to address the significant global supply disruption caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine and help keep the domestic market well supplied, which ultimately helps bring down prices for American consumers and businesses.”
Attempting to explain themselves, the statement continued, “This is the second solicitation for January 2024 delivery as DOE aims to purchase oil when it can purchase at a good deal for taxpayers: a price of $79 per barrel or below, far less than the average of about $95 per barrel DOE received for 2022 emergency SPR sales.”
In total, the SPR released roughly 180 million barrels in 2021 and 2022. Given the conflict between Israel and Palestine, many worry that the 17 days of emergency supply is not enough should the Middle East become completely unstable.
Now that the lions are at the gate, the same Democrats who balked when President Trump wanted to bolster the SPR in a $3 billion COVID relief package when pricing was at $25 per barrel. This could have saved the nation billions but the liberals blocked the idea. Then Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer torpedoed the idea under the guise of it being nothing more than a “bailout for Big Oil.”
Currently, at its lowest levels since 1983, the SPR is in a critical status. When the DOE was last presented with the option of refilling in August at $80 per barrel, they considered it to be unfavorable. Instead, they insisted it could take decades to get the SPR refilled back to pre-Biden levels. This kind of borrowing with the promise to replace later has been a hallmark of the Biden presidency.
Buying up oil at these prices isn’t the smartest idea unless you are planning on inflating the price by a substantial amount. Given Biden’s rhetoric towards Iran and other nations, he seems to think he has the solution to solving the problems of the globe, but so far he has done nothing but exasperate the problem.
For the American people, this is just another chapter in the never-ending sage of watching the failed dementia experiment Democrats manipulated into the White House. His horrific examples of leadership have left the country in shambles, and only supported by a full roster of policies that just kick the can down the road. Bidenflation has been one of the most destructive forces on the American economy in generations, and one we aren’t likely to recover from any time soon.
Incentives to produce more oil and lower the prices significantly any time between now and 2024 are now all but removed. With this guaranteed deal and significant cap size to the commitment, nobody has a reason to pump more, and they can’t get permits to expand drilling. If anything, at this point Biden has all but committed to getting this oil from other nations, once again taking away from the American worker.
