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President Biden tells gas station companies to “cut” their prices because “this is a time of war and global danger.”
“My message to the gas station companies and gas station price setters is simple: this is a time of war and global danger,” Biden tweeted Saturday. “Reduce the price you charge at the pump to reflect the price you pay for the product. And do it now.”
His tweet also garnered support from Chinese state media, with Chen Weihua, China Daily’s EU bureau chief, responding that Biden had “finally realized that capitalism is all about exploitation”.
Biden’s tweet comes as gas prices average $4,822 nationwide, up more than 20 cents from just a month ago.
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President Biden tells gas station companies to “cut” their prices because “this is a time of war and global danger.” (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images/Getty Images)
He often shifts the blame for rising gas prices to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it “Putin’s price gouging,” a term repeatedly used by the White House despite his campaign promise to always take responsibility and not blame others.
It’s not the first time Biden has made a direct appeal to “gas station companies,” saying in a June 22 speech that “these are not normal times.”
“So, let’s be honest with each other. My message is simple. To the companies running the gas stations and setting those pump prices: It’s a time of war, global danger, Ukraine. These are not normal times,” Biden said. “Reduce the price you charge at the pump to reflect the price you pay for the product. Do it now. Do it today. Your customers, the American people, they need relief now.”
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These are the gas prices at the pump at a Sheetz store in Sewickley, Pa., Monday, March 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar/AP Newsroom)
Biden’s plea follows a failed proposal from the Oval Office to implement a 90-day gas tax holiday that was dismissed as unusual even by Democratic lawmakers.
“I don’t know if we have the votes,” said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Med., according to E&E news.
“Suspending the primary way we pay for infrastructure projects on our roads is a short-sighted and ineffective way to provide relief,” said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.
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Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said the proposal is “short-sighted” and “relies on the cooperation of oil companies to pass on minimal savings to consumers.”
Gas stations actually make very little money per gallon of gas sold. Studies show that gas stations make about 15 cents per gallon before expenses and roughly 5 cents per gallon after expenses are taken into account. They sell gas to entice customers to buy snacks, drinks, and other products that bring in higher profits.
States and the federal government tax each gallon of gas at rates much higher than the profits gas stations make at the pump, with California taxing gas at the highest rate in the nation at just over 59 cents a gallon after the state raised its tax on 1 July.
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