You have to wonder if Joe Biden cares at all about the health and wellbeing of working folks in America.
Even with the softening of inflation in recent months, the level of consumer prices has jumped a breathtaking 16% during Mr. Biden's term thus far.
Groceries increased 20%, gasoline 43%, electricity 25%, new cars 20% and used cars and trucks 34%.
Now, the Saudis and the Russians just announced more oil production cuts, which has raised the U.S. and world oil prices by just short of 10%.
That will, of course, spill over into gasoline prices before long.
What was Mr. Biden's response to the OPEC+ double-cross? He's decided to throw in with them, by cutting current and future oil production even more.
Whose side is he on, anyway?
Well, he went out and canceled oil and gas leases issued in the Arctic National Wildlife reserve.
Those lease sales were part of the Trump tax cuts legislated by Congress in 2017. In other words, Biden is breaking the law. The Supreme Court has recently ruled that executive actions cannot substitute for congressional legislation.
By the way, Biden is trying to do the exact same thing with student loan cancelations. The Supremes recently ruled that the executive cannot do that without congressional legislation.
SAUDI ARABIA EXTENDS OIL PRODUCTION CUTS TO END OF 2023, SENDING PRICES SOARING
On top of that, he took 40% of the National Petroleum Reserve off limits for any oil and gas drilling. More production cuts in the future. Playing right into enemy hands. Remember, OPEC+ includes our very dear friends Venezuela and Iran. All of this virtually guarantees that present and future gasoline prices are going to go up.
It is very bad news for people who drive gasoline-powered cars, which is still pretty much all of us. It is very bad news for higher future inflation and more bad news for typical blue-collar families whose real wage take-home pay will go down even more than the 3% drop they've already experienced under Bidenomics. By contrast, real wages jumped 7% during the Trump years.
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Incidentally, farm prices are going to go up because fertilizer prices are going to go up, because fossil fuel prices are going to go up. By the way, Mr. Biden's higher fossil prices will continue to help Russia finance the war in Ukraine because fossil fuels are the Russian cash crop.
Finally, as Kevin Hassett has pointed out, the Biden phony climate emergency hypothesis, with its attempt to end internal combustion engines and substitute electric vehicles, could abolish nearly 500,000 jobs and much more when you include folks working in dealerships, repair shops and gas stations.
That inconvenient reality may very well lead to a UAW strike against the Big Three car-makers, which will sink the entire economy. I guess that's what they call "Bidenomics."
This article is adapted from Larry Kudlow’s opening commentary on the September 8, 2023, edition of "Kudlow."
