Joe Biden Has A Secret Plan To Get Gas Prices To Go Down

Oct. 17, 2022 2:17 PM ET by Gerhard Horn Government / 56 Comments

The President wants to lower fuel prices, but he's not sure how to do it yet.

The Biden administration is under serious threat, with the midterm elections scheduled for 8 November 2022. The President recently announced that new action on gasoline prices is coming this week, though the White House did not reveal what steps would be taken to give Americans some breathing room.

President Biden is feeling the heat thanks to record inflation and high gas prices. In May 2022, gas prices climbed to a new high. In late June, the President called on Congress to take legislative action, and in August, there was some relief as prices fell for seven weeks straight. Still, the national average stood at $4.17 per gallon. These high prices forced 71% of Americans to consider EVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 for the first time.

According to the AAA, the average national gasoline price is currently $3.91 per gallon, and in California, the price is more than $6 per gallon.

This topic usually causes a dumpster fire in the comments section, with one half saying that gas prices are high because President Biden can't ride a bicycle while the other half hits back with "orange man bad."

Here are the facts: While President Trump was in charge, the highest gas price was $2.96. At its lowest, it was $1.77, primarily due to the COVID-19 lockdown. When he left office, the price stood at $2.39. These are undeniable historical facts, but they require context just as today's prices do.

The main reason behind the current high prices is decisions made by the OPEC+ Alliance. OPEC+ consists of the historic Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member states and 11 new countries, including Russia. Last week, OPEC+ announced that it would reduce output by two million barrels per day.

In a CNN interview this week, the President said there would be coincidences for Saudi Arabia over the OPEC+ move. While details on this statement are light, there is the option of further releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and imposing export limits.

"The price of gas is still too high, and we need to keep working to bring it down," Biden said at an event in Los Angeles that Bloomberg attended. "I'll have more to say about that next week."

With the average gas price still $1.52 higher than at the end of the Trump administration, the White House needs a quick but practical solution with the midterm elections less than three weeks away. The Inflation Reduction Act was not received well by all, despite several heavy hitters investing billions in the local economy.

Whatever your personal politics, we can all agree that more efforts to reduce gas prices would be welcome.