Another Obama oil price task force!
He’s serious, so much so, he’s created a task force to “look into speculation to make sure folks are not taking advantage of the situation on the global oil markets”. We’ve heard about oil task forces before … never seem to hear what they have found.
The Real Clear Politics transcript is incorrect, and the errors are corrected below. Click on the image to head over to RCP and play the video.
affect[impact] gas prices, from bottlenecks that are out there [right now], we’ve set up a task force to look into speculation to make sure people [folks]are[are not] taking advantage of the situation on the global oil markets,” President Obama told WKRC-TV.
In reality, this is the same task force President Obama introduced almost a year ago – after a previous spike in gas prices – who has met about five times and probably realized there was nothing they could do. They never even came up with a report.
When oil and gasoline prices soared last April, President Barack Obama announced to fanfare that the Department of Justice would lead a task force designed to root out manipulation of the oil market and gouging of consumers at the gas pump.
Since then the group has met only a handful of times and has never reported to the public.
The Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group has met only four or five times since its creation last April 21, and most of those meetings came at the time of its inception. Back then, Obama promised that the group would “root out any cases of fraud or manipulation” and noted that its scope would include the “role of traders and speculators.”
It’s all “political theater” since 70 percent to 80 percent of the cost of gasoline is directly related to the price of oil in US dollars that is a global commodity. Maybe the task force will release a white paper soon letting us know the price of gasoline is directly effected by the laws of supply and demand as well as … ummmm … the value of the US dollar?
Don’t expect that statement from the Obama administration any time soon.
At least he didn’t appoint an Oil Czar
ssssshh!? Don’t you release Jay Carney uses a female alias here…??
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes??? (Who guards the guardians?)? As noted many times before, it is the government that is doing the real gouging here.?? Who will check on them?
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It is apparent that the reduction in “dependence on foreign (or any other) oil” was due more to the ?bama recession than any positive act by this administration.? People just can’t afford to buy gas, so they buy less, don’t go on vacations or make adjustment in their budgets elsewhere (a problem the government doens’t suffer from).? It’s like saying I solved a food shortage by making food too expensive to buy, so you eat less.
Don’t give Michelle the diet czar any ideas.
As for this evil oil company rhetoric– very opportunistic for Obummer to have a dragon to pretend slaying during a campaign year.? There are ways of lessening our so-called dependence on foreign oil if he were interested in anything beyond making political hay out of the “crisis”.
LOL, Dims, I’ve used up my knowledge of Latin already, so thanks for the translation. Isn’t it amazing that we need a task force to figure out that people can’t afford gas? Ergo, (means hence, from Latin word erg, isn’t it amazing what the internet can do for you?) they use less gas. President Obama are you and your czars reading RVO, Dims has found the reason, now can you solve the problem?
“People just can?t afford to buy gas,…” You have to be kidding! People buy plenty of gas, they complain about the price, but they keep going to the gas stations because they want/need to go places in their car/truck/SUV.
OK, let’s say instead people make decisions that reduce the amount of fuel they purchase. My wife and I have been making some budget changes, not only in part due to the cost of fuel, but fuel prices are part of it. I just checked … the average price of fuel the first 75 days of 2011 in New England (rough estimate) was $3.39. Same period in 2012 it’s about $3.69. For that same period, we spent 22 percent less on gasoline in 2012 as compared to 2011. So in other words, we made lifestyle changes that significantly reduced the number of miles we drove. (Not going out to eat as often, combining trips, working from home…) It had nothing to do with switching to alternative fuels, it had to do with the economy, prices we’re paying and decisions we are personally making. I’m not complaining at all, but we made these decisions in part because of the slowing economy and a reduction in income. You’ll never see Obama claim a slowing economy is good because people are using less fuel, but that is certainly a big part of the “we’re using 1 million barrels less” equation. (If that number is correct.)
Oh sorry, Steve you clarified it again. In case, people have reading comprehension problems. Facts, facts facts, just keep getting in the way of this administration.
You are right too, though both of us may be mixing (a toxic mixture) politics with reality. I believe though, that saying ?People just can?t afford to buy gas,?? is a hyperbole worthy of politicking not reality.
Maybe we should leave it at: people HAVE to afford to buy some minimum amount of fuel in order to function, particularly if one is in a suburban or rural community, as well as certain necessary, unavoidable items, like food, utilities, taxes, more taxes, children etc.”? Some of these will be cut, and a number of elective expenditures will definitely be cut.? All of this will be a huge drag on an already wallowing economy, holding any recovery back.? See the last paragraph of my previous post.
Prehaps he should have called “Oil Price TRASH Force?”? I agree it is a ploy to convice people he is doing something about it.?
Oil Price Task Farce?
Anyway, you hit the nail on the head I think.? Sheep theater.
Bread and circuses.
Want to bet that there will be no report before the election?
This guy is such a meathead! ?A task force? ?Are you kidding me! ?The federal government has no business going after a legit business in the private sector, especially when we all know that this is nothing more then politics. ?Why doesn’t Congress keep their dirty little fingers out of our pockets while we’re filling up at the pump… after all they’re EXTORTING the oil companies to the tune of .75 per gallon of gasoline as it is. ?That may not sound like a lot to many people but to the companies that refine and sell that gasoline it’s a whopping 13 times the net that they’re realizing. ?Our federal government is so out of control!
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Establishing and perpetuating the illusion that a big benevolent centralized government is the ultimate answer to any crisis… and don’t forget, above all they need the crisis in order to promote the concept.
I don’t think he has the brains he was born with, I’d like to see his college transcripts.
It’s good to have a president in office who’s not a Big Oil stooge so we’ll finally get to the bottom of the corporate greed and speculation that are driving up gasoline prices to the level he wanted when he was a back bench, cheap shot artist senator.
You forgot “voting present”…? 😉
I would bet that the DNC is receiving millions of contributions from the “evil big oil” companies. This is all being done with a wink and a nod, after a call to the “evil ones” to let them know that what’s being done is only for political expediency. Their visit to the WH is still on.
Steve called this one: political theater! A true fiction.
You can bet both parties are feeding heavily at the Big Oil contribution?troth. ?Always have and always will, at least until the dam stuff is gone.
Are you still voting for Ron Paul? See next post.