Since Everyone's Talking About It, A Couple Of Graphs -- June 20, 2022

GDPNow, link here: current reading, 0.0 %.

• 1Q22, second reading: - 1.5%
• 4Q21: +6.9%

GDPNow:

History:

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How Bad Could It Get?

Link here.

To what extent will a) a cryptocurrency crash; and, b) a housing crash help? One has happened; the other appears about ready to happen.

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Keystoning America

"Biden and oil: destroy America in order to save it." -- Victor Davis Hanson

Link here, June 19, 2022.

This president has delivered on what he promised.

During the Democratic primaries, Biden ran on the premise that he would end all fossil fuels during his tenure. In 2019-2020 that bluster seemed easy demagoguery at a time of near-record low gas and diesel prices. The American people shrugged at such utopianism since they often were filling up their cars for less than $50.

Biden’s video clips from the primary campaign now seem surreal, as he tried to out-green Bernie Sanders in boasting about what has now become his own self-created energy disaster.

Biden monotonously promised at rallies, such as they were, that he would cancel pipelines, stop new federal leasing to oil and gas companies, persuade lenders to restrict loans to them, put the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve off limits, and embrace the green new deal. Those were certainly campaign boasts that he has followed up on.

Biden apparently doubled down over the three-day weekend by seeming to suggest that high gas prices will be a "good" opportunity for the US to make a "fundamental turn" to clean energy. 

Biden will meet with US oil executives soon.

His opening gambit: how can Big Oil justify $35 billion in profit in the 2Q22. 

The US oil sector reply: by keeping prices high, we are doing our best to help Biden's goal to pivot to renewable energy sooner than later, an opportunity to make a "fundamental turn."

Meanwhile, back to a federal gasoline tax holiday, link here:

I'm not sure anyone in the White House can do simple arithmetic.

• 18.4 cents / 575 cents = 3.2%
• 20 gallons at $5.75 = $115.00 (no federal tax relief)
  
• 20 gallons at $5.56 = $111.32 (with federal tax relief)

Or as President Obama noted in 2008: