0.1% inflation for March

I guess that’s just the crude oil. The raw unrefined product. With the nat gas exports to Europe it will be “net energy” for first time since WW2.

Either way, pretty impossible to say Biden is causing any real issues here on the production side considering oil production has also been steadily recovering from 2020.

 

Pointless. If the economy was half as good as you seem to think it is, 60% of Americans wouldn't disapprove of Biden's handling of it. If you need any proof of that, check President Trump's economic approval numbers:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval_economy-6182.html

Considering there are more Democrats than Republicans in this country, this dichotomy means that: a) there are a lot of Democrats who disapprove of Biden's handling of the economy and inflation; b) there were a lot of Democrats who approved of Trump's handling of the economy.

 

Yeah I was just commenting on your poor logic skills.

But your numbers just make my point. Dems are less prone to think that the economy is good or bad based on which party is in the White House than Repubs are.

 

Hey look everybody! You can have a "serious conversation" with ChapGPT too!

 

And where do you glean your factual basis for asserting that Dems are less prone than Republicans to think the economy is good or bad based on which party is in the White House? Seriously, cut the shit.

 

No, I think in 2020 our consumption collapsed and a bunch of production went offline. Then coming back out of the pandemic, the economy recovered faster than energy came back online.

The energy market actually functioned pretty well though, compared to stuff like Lumber and semiconductor shortages. Energy didn’t get too crazy. It tested $5 in the 2020’s. Big whoop, 15+ years ago it tested $4 a few times. $3-$3.50 gas is a pretty healthy zone - economically speaking imo. After Great Recession, we had a unicorn period of near ZIRP interest rates and low gas prices (due to fracking breakthrough) that will probably never be repeated again. You could already see that break in interest rates happening in 2019, before the 2020 Pandemic crushed the global economy.

 

Well, we were talking about gas prices and crude oil is tied directly to that. I don't think natural gas has much of an impact on your price at the pump.

It is very possible to say Biden is more hostile towards the crude oil industry than Trump was. Logic tells us when an administration is hostile towards a certain industry, conditions will inherently be more difficult for said industry as it relates to gaining permits and operating at a cost-effective basis. I mean, you don't lash out against fossil fuels and then make it super easy for the fossil fuel industry to flourish. If you think otherwise, you're extremely naive and gullible.

 

I don't think you're that smart if you have to use ChapGPT here.

 

But energy profits went through the roof! So high profits caused inflation, right?

Of course not. That’s all I’m saying. The profits were a result of changes in supply and demand causing higher prices. It’s basic economic theory.

 

We've had this chart, or charts like it, up here numerous times over the last number of years. It shows a huge positive swing amongst Republicans before and after Trump took office. Far less of a negative swing for Dems. In 2016 only 18% of Rs had a favorable view of the economy. By 2018 the number was at 75%. The Dems changed only from 46% to 44% in that same span.

 

I just used them as an example - didn’t realize Coke would piss people off so much lol

 

If total energy profits increased by more than the price of energy increased, then yes, increased profits were part of the increased price inflation.

 

Yep All about profit margins. Saw it big time in commodities and services.

 

Update on the price of eggs. While admittedly it was a one week sale, a few days ago I paid $1.99 for a dozen of the same eggs that were priced at $2.99 a month ago and $4.99 six months ago.

 

Exxon gross profit in 2019 was $53 billion. 2022 it was 115 billion.

Net profit was $14 billion in 2019. It was $56 billion in 2022.

You made a subtle change in your post. Yes, increased profit is a part of the inflation. But that doesn’t represent the correct cause and effect sequence.

Oil prices are market driven. So in the short term profit is market driven. It’s not a bunch of greedy executives deciding to arbitrarily increase prices.

 

The job of Coke management is to maximize their long term profit - subject to all applicable laws regulations and societal norms. If they can raise prices, why wouldn’t they?

As I’ve illustrated elsewhere energy is a more instructive example where prices are clearly globally set. Oil company profits are through the roof. It isn’t a bunch of executives arbitrarily raising prices.

 

That's all you had to say.