During his first days in the White House, Joe Biden unleashed an assault on the oil and gas industry with executive orders curtailing energy companies’ ability to supply Americans with the gasoline and diesel they need to survive. Then, to cover up the inflationary mess he had created, Biden dangerously depleted America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. David Uberti reports for The Wall Street Journal:
Booming oil prices last year powered U.S. inflation to 40-year highs. That trend was reversing in 2023—until now.
Benchmark crude prices are up 21% over the past six weeks, driving up the cost of American workers’ commutes, freight haulers’ trips to and from warehouses and the production of everything from plastics and fertilizers to clothing.
The gains threaten to prop up inflation, just as easing price pressures had investors betting that the Federal Reserve would soon wrap up its campaign of interest-rate increases. Though the central bank’s preferred inflation metric excludes volatile food and energy costs, many warn that rising oil prices will indirectly pull up costs in every corner of the economy.
“You’re paying for it at the grocery store, with the cost of building materials, household goods,” said Mike Kucharski, vice president of JKC Trucking, a 200-truck operation based in Illinois. “Everybody can feel the high costs.”
Diesel’s climb has been particularly costly for JKC during this summer’s heat waves, since the company’s refrigerated semitrailers need to burn more fuel to keep lettuce, melons and other produce cold in transit. The company updates its fuel surcharge for customers once a week, Kucharski said, but prices have risen so quickly in recent days that his company has had to eat some of the costs.
Action Line: Retirees facing Bidenflation are left with few options than to cut back on their spending in order to maintain their savings. Save til it hurts. When you’re ready to talk about how Bidenflation can affect your retirement, I’m here.
