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Inflation… is Global.
Yes, we all are paying more for food, electronics, cars, and gasoline. However, this is a consequence of two years of pandemic and some corporate greed, especially among oil companies.
Yes, the price of a barrel of oil is not significantly higher than it was in 2019. In fact, it is lower now than it was in 2014. But the price you pay at the pump is significantly higher. In fact, it is at a historic high.
It’s not just Brent, which is considered one of the best oils. It is all oils. It does not matter if it’s good quality or bad quality oil. One reason the industry can get away with this is that once the economy recovered from the pandemic, demand is inelastic, meaning you need gas, so no matter the cost of it, you still fill the tank.
There is more. The industry has about nine thousand drill and exploration permits, which they refuse to act on because that is money intensive. According to Politifact:
Biden said the oil industry has “9,000 permits to drill now. They could be drilling right now…