OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Americans hard-pressed by steeply rising gasoline and diesel fuel prices have come to the conclusion that they are not the result of random market pressure.
Rather, a majority now believe that President Joe Biden is intentionally trying to boost the price of fuels in order to push a radical ‘green’ energy agenda, and doesn’t mind harming them in the process.
Newsmax reports:
More than half — 53% — of voters say they believe the Biden administration is intentionally letting gas prices increase to make Americans use fewer fossil fuels, according to a new poll by the Convention of States Action and The Trafalgar Group.
Just over 39.6% say they don’t believe it.
Pollsters asked voters if they believe that the Biden regime is intentionally pushing up fuel prices in order to make Americans use less fossil fuel:
- 77.3% of Republicans say they believe it, compared to 12.9% who say they don’t. Just under 10% were uncertain.
- 24.8% of Democrats say they believe it, while 68.7% say they don’t. Another 6.5% were uncertain.
- 56.5% of independents say they believe it, compared to 37.6% who say they don’t. Just under 6% were uncertain.
“Surging gas prices are creating immense hardships both for everyday Americans and for our economy at large,” said Mark Meckler, president of the Convention of States Action. “The hard-to-fathom, surreal idea that Washington, D.C., is working against the American people explains why [President Joe] Biden’s poll numbers are in the tank.”
Interestingly, the survey was conducted during the latter part of May; gas and diesel fuel prices have continued soaring on a near-daily basis since then. AAA says that the average price of a gallon of gas has now hit $5 for the first time in the country’s history.
Meanwhile, overall inflation continues to skyrocket as well, also hitting new record highs. Last month, consumer prices rose 8.6 percent, the most in 40 years, according to Fox Business:
The Labor Department said Friday that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price for everyday goods, including gasoline, groceries, and rents, rose 8.6% in May from a year ago. Prices jumped 1% in the one-month period from April. Those figures were both higher than the 8.3% headline figure and 0.7% monthly gain forecast by Refinitiv economists.
It marks the fastest pace of Inflation since December 1981.
So-called core prices, which exclude more volatile measurements of food and energy, climbed 6% from the previous year, also more than Refinitiv expected. Core prices also rose 0.6% on a monthly basis, suggesting that underlying inflationary pressures remain strong.
“What an ugly CPI print. Not only was it higher than expected on almost all fronts, but pressures were also clearly evident in the stickier parts of the market,” Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors, noted. “The decline in inflation, whenever that finally happens, will be painfully slow.”
In addition to fuel prices, food and rents have also climbed sharply.
Price increases for nearly everything have begun seriously eating away at wage gains made by many Americans during former President Donald Trump’s term, according to Fox Business.
“Real average hourly earnings decreased 0.6% in May from the previous month, as the inflation increase eroded the 0.3% total wage gain, according to the Labor Department. On an annual basis, real earnings actually dropped 3% in May,” the report said.
“Scorching hot inflation has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more everyday necessities like food, gasoline, and rent. The burden is disproportionately borne by low-income Americans, whose already-stretched paychecks are heavily impacted by price fluctuations,” the report noted.
Meanwhile, President Biden took time to appear on late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show this week, where he touted improved economic conditions around the country, though he did call inflation the “bane of our existence.”
Biden also called for reducing costs on “prescription drugs” and “child care,” suggesting it can be “relatively easy” to get legislation passed in Congress.
“We are only a few votes away from being able to straighten it out. You have to get the message across in a way that is understandable to people like the folks in my family and we grew up, and tell people what just the facts are. And the facts are… It is about building the economy… No more trickle-down,” Biden said. “From the bottom-up and the middle-out because when the middle does well, everybody does well.”
