As Gas Prices Hit 7 Year High, Biden Asks: ‘Did You Ever Think You’d Be Paying This Much?’

President Joe Biden addressed supply chain issues causing delays and increased prices for goods, and touched on the higher prices of gasoline.

During an event in Baltimore, Maryland, on Thursday, Biden said, “We got nearly 20% more goods coming into the country than we did before the pandemic struck. COVID-19 has changed the way we spend our time and our money.”

“More products are being delivered than ever before. That’s because people have a little more breathing room than they did last year. That’s a good thing, but it also means we got higher demand for goods at the same time we’re facing disruptions in the supplies that make those goods. This is a recipe for delays and for higher prices. And people are feeling it,” he continued.

Finally, Biden said, “Did you ever think you’d be paying this much for a gallon of gas? In some parts of California, they’re paying $4.50 a gallon. That’s why it’s so important we do everything in our power to stabilize the supply chain.”

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The president’s comments come as the pace of consumer price increases hit a 30 year high, as IJR reported.

In October, the price of gas hit a seven-year high, and according to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas nationally is $3.41, up from $2.11 last year. In California, the average price for a gallon of gas is even higher at $4.64.

Patrick De Haa, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told The Dispatch, “If COVID wouldn’t have happened, we would not be at $3.42 a gallon today.”

“For the simple reason that oil companies would not have had to let go workers and shut down oil production,” he added.

During an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was asked about gas prices and what the plan is to “increase oil production in America.”

Granholm laughed, then said, “That is hilarious. Would that I had the magic wand on this.”

“As you know, of course, oil is a global market. It is controlled by a cartel. That cartel is called OPEC. And they made a decision yesterday that they were not going to increase beyond what they were already planning,” she added.

Granholm also said, “The Biden plan is to diversify and to make sure that we move in a direction of clean energy where we’re not reliant upon cartels, and we’re not reliant upon geopolitical adversaries… If $80-plus a barrel doesn’t incentivize oil companies to get off the sidelines, I’m not sure what will.”

In terms of finding measures to bring the price of oil down, De Haa told The Dispatch, “Everyone’s thinking has this big lever in the White House, high and low oil prices, and he just switches it from one to another.”

“But it’s much more complex than that. He doesn’t have a lot of really good cards right now to play,” he added.