As the inflation crisis continues, the United States has set a new record for gas prices with the average cost per gallon rising over $4 per gallon in all 50 states for the first time ever, according to a new report from
More
As the inflation crisis continues, the United States has set a new record for gas prices with the average cost per gallon rising over $4 per gallon in all 50 states for the first time ever, according to a new report from the American Automobile Association (AAA).
“The high cost of oil, the key ingredient in gasoline, is driving these high pump prices for consumers,” said AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross. “Even the annual seasonal demand dip for gasoline during the lull between spring break and Memorial Day, which would normally help lower prices, is having no effect this year.”
As explained in the report, “total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 3.6 million bbl to 225 million bbl last week. Gasoline demand also decreased slightly from 8.86 million b/d to 8.7 million b/d. Typically, lower demand would put downward pressure on pump prices. However, crude prices remain volatile, and as they surge, pump prices follow suit. Pump prices will likely face upward pressure as oil prices stay above $105 per barrel.”
The national average cost for a gallon of gas is now $4.48, which is 40 cents more than a month ago and $1.43 more than a year ago, AAA noted.
In March, as gas prices reached record highs, Democrat President Joe Biden warned Americans that the prices were going to continue to “go up,” but he claimed that he “can’t do much right now. Russia’s responsible [for the rising gas prices.]”
During Biden’s first year in office, gas prices surged almost 50%; rising from $2.42 per gallon in January 2021 to $3.41 per gallon in January 2022 – a month before Russia invaded Ukraine.
You might be interested in
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre – who just replaced former Press Secretary Jen Psaki – spent her first day struggling to answer questions on the ongoing inflation crisis, going as far as to reference climate change in her attempt at explaining what President Biden’s administration is doing to combat rising prices.
“The President’s Twitter account posted the other day, ‘You want to bring down inflation? Let’s make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share.’ How does raising taxes on corporations reduce inflation?” Fox News’ White House Correspondent Peter Doocy asked.
“So, are you talking about a specific tweet?” Jean-Pierre responded, prompting Doocy to reread the tweet.
“He tweeted, ‘You want to bring down inflation? Let’s make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share?’” Doocy said.
“Look, you know, we have talked about — we have talked about this this past year, about making sure that the wealthiest among us are paying their fair share. And that is important to do. And that is something that, you know, the President has been, you know, working on every day when we talk about inflation and lowering costs,” Jean-Pierre responded. “And so it’s very important that, you know, as we’re seeing costs rise, as we’re talking about how to, you know — you know, build an America that is safe, that’s equal for everyone, and doesn’t leave anyone behind, that is an important part of that as well.”
“But how does raising taxes on corporations lower the cost of gas, the cost of using a car, or the cost of food for everyday Americans?” Doocy asked.
Jean-Pierre struggled to answer, saying, “So look you know, I think we encourage those who have done very well, especially those who care about climate change, to support a fair tax code that does not charge manufacturers, workers, cops, builders a higher percentage of their earnings, that the most fortunate people in our nation, and not let that stand in the way of reducing energy costs and fighting existential problems, if you think about that as an example.”
“To support basic collective bargaining rights as well,” she continued. “That’s also important. But look you know, it is … without having a fair tax code, which is what I am talking about, then, like manufacturer workers, cops, you know, it is not fair for them to have to pay higher taxes than the folks who are not paying taxes at all.”
“What does that have to do with inflation?” Doocy asked and then repeated Biden’s tweet for a third time.
Jean-Pierre just again claimed that a “fair tax code” would lower inflation without explaining how the two were connected.
You might be interested in
On Thursday, Republican Senator Rand Paul (KY) blocked a massive $40 billion Ukraine aid package, saying that the bill would further worsen the ongoing inflation crisis.
Paul blocked the package after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) came together to request unanimous agreement from all 100 senators to allow an immediate vote.
“Reserving the right to object, my oath of office is to the U.S. Constitution, not to any foreign nation,” Paul said. “And no matter how sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the national security of the United States of America.”
“We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy,” Paul added, referencing the United States’ record high inflation rate. “Inflation doesn’t just come out of nowhere, it comes from deficit spending.”
“Without [Paul’s] consent to move more quickly, Mr. Schumer scheduled the first in a series of procedural votes for Monday afternoon to move the bill toward final passage late next week,” The Wall Street Journal explained. “It is expected to pass overwhelmingly. The House passed the legislation 368 to 57 late Tuesday, with support from all Democrats and most Republicans. All the lawmakers who voted no were Republicans.”
The news comes shortly after new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the inflation crisis continued to worsen last month.
“The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of prices for goods and services, increased 8.3% from a year ago, higher than the Dow Jones estimate for an 8.1% gain,” CNBC reported. “That represented a slight ease from March’s peak but was still close to the highest level since the summer of 1982.”
You might be interested in
Univision’s Luis Carlos Vélez slammed Democrat President Joe Biden’s speech on inflation this week, saying that people were “flabbergasted” by Biden’s attempt to deflect blame onto everyone else.
Newsbusters’ Jorge Bonilla posted the clip on Twitter with a translation.
“President Biden. Please. Stop the blame game and face the inflation problem in this country. People just can’t take it anymore! Your words today just flabbergasted us all, OK?” Vélez said during Univision’s Firing Line. He added that Biden’s speech was a “shameless opportunity to attack Republicans” and more “blame game” politics.
“This is the situation — the worst inflationary situation in 40 years. 40. It’s time to blame the moon, the stars, the sun, clearly,” he said. “The worst part of Covid was two years ago. And we were already recovering economically when you arrived. It was the administration’s fault for handing out stimulus packages when people no longer needed them. And it is your fault to this day we have not set a motion in plan to solve the supply chain problem.”
Vélez stated that the blame for the inflation crisis falls “solely” on Biden.
“How much longer, Mr. President?” Vélez said. “People eat off of wages, jobs, and opportunities. The responsibility to do something falls solely upon you, Mr. President.”
Earlier this week, Biden blamed the inflation crisis, which has led to the highest inflation rate in 40 years, on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The first cause of inflation is the once in a century pandemic. Not only did it shut down our global economy, it threw the supply chains and demand completely out of whack, especially in countries where more effective recovery responses weren’t available, especially in those sectors that rely on semiconductors,” Biden claimed, even though the inflation rate began to surge a shortly after Biden took office – a full year after the pandemic began.
“And this year we have a second cause — a second cause: Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine. You saw — we saw in March that 60 percent of inflation that month was due to price increases at the pump for gasoline,” Biden said, despite the fact that gas prices rose nearly 50% during his first year in office; soaring from $2.42 per gallon in January 2021 to $3.41 per gallon in January 2022 – a month before Russia invaded Ukraine.
You might be interested in
On Tuesday morning, Democrat President Joe Biden struggled as he spoke on the economy, calling the ongoing inflation a “strength” of the economy.
“I agree with what Chairman Powell said last week,” Biden said. “That the number one threat is the strength — and that strength that we’ve built is inflation.”
Biden appeared to have been referring to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell saying last week that he saw a “strong economy” in the United States — but it was threatened by record breaking inflation.
“Inflation is much too high and we understand the hardship it is causing,” he said, according to Politico. “We have a good chance to restore price stability without a recession, without a severe downturn, without materially higher unemployment. I see a strong economy now. I see a very strong labor market.”
Biden’s comments come as the Labor Department is preparing to release its April 2022 report on the Consumer Price Index, which is a key measurement of inflation. According to the most recent report, inflation rose 8.5% from March 2021 to March 2022, the highest rate in 40 years. During that period, the record high inflation rate caused the real average hourly earnings of Americans to decrease 2.7 percent and the real average weekly earnings to decrease 3.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
You might be interested in