Written by John Phelan | January 18, 2022
Dems thanked Biden when gas prices fell: what will they do now that they're back up?
Back in December, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed gas prices falling from $3.40 a gallon on Nov. 15 to $3.38 on Nov. 29, which works out at a saving of 23 cents for a 12-gallon tank and 30 cents for a 16-gallon tank. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) knew who to thank:
Thanks, @JoeBiden. pic.twitter.com/0iHwTLv7fB
— DCCC (@dccc) December 2, 2021
Of course, there was no good reason why President Biden was more responsible for gas prices between Nov. 15 and Nov. 29 than he had been between, say, Jan. 25 and Nov. 15, when prices rose from $2.39 a gallon to $3.40 — an increase of $12.12 for a 12-gallon tank and $16.16 for a 16-gallon tank.
And there is no good reason why President Biden should've stopped being responsible for gas prices on Dec. 27. Since then, data show that gas prices are up, from $3.27 a gallon to $3.29 on Jan. 10. Indeed, this price rise of 2 cents a gallon — an extra 23 cents for a 12-gallon tank and 30 cents for a 16-gallon tank, shown in Figure 1 — is exactly the same as the fall of 2 cents a gallon the DCCC was hailing President Biden for back in November. Thanks, Joe Biden!
Figure 1: US Regular All Formulations Gas Price
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
Of course, President Biden is not solely responsible for the oscillations of gas prices from month to month. It was silly of the DCCC to say he was, and they have made a rod for their own back. But, if you are going to stamp your name all over gas prices when they fall, it will still be there if they rise. The lesson here is don't do it in the first place.
John Phelan is an Economist at the Center of the American Experiment.
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