USA 2020 Elections: Thread

[grarpamp]

> Biden and his wokester ProgDems now polling under 39%
> The USA actually "voted" to install this garbage

First there was "we won't ban hydrocarbons... fracking, oil, pipelines,
related, etc" combined with wishy washy "yes we will" quotes,
making them look bad. Then there was actual policy rolled
that "banned hydrocarbon things", which wasn't exactly welcomed
or smart. Now they're embarassingly capitulating.
Clearly shows their political survival panic in face of prices,
and desire to pump oil into more wars, and to steal at least
6.25% more in "taxes" and inflation from people to prop up
their political regime in the process. Sad.



Biden Opens More Public Land To Oil & Gas Drilling In Latest
Climate-Policy Capitulation

Following a punishing surge in natural gas prices this past week (in
defiance of cooling demand for heat as the spring arrives, and despite
China's ongoing lockdowns, which have helped to undercut the prices of
all the commodities that China needs...a phenomenon about which China
hawk Kyle Bass has some interesting thoughts), President Biden has
finally decided to throw in the towel, and break one of his top
campaign promises to the environamentalist wing of the Democratic
Party.

In a report that arrived at almost exactly 1700ET on Good Friday (also
the start of Passover), the NYT revealed that the president has
decided to lift the ban (initiated by executive fiat) on selling
leases for new oil and gas drilling on public lands. But there's a
small catch: he's also raising the federal royalties that companies
must pay to drill.

Still, the administration plans to open up 145,000 acres of public
lands in nine states to oil and gas leasing next week.

    The Interior Department said in a statement that it planned to
open up 145,000 acres of public lands in nine states to oil and gas
leasing next week, the first new fossil fuel permits to be offered on
public lands since President Biden took office.

This represents the abandonment of one of Biden's "signature"
environmental policies (also: it's a capitulation to more conservative
and moderate Democrats, who have been upping the pressure on Biden to
do more to bolster oil and gas production). So far, his administration
has relied mostly on SPR releases, allowing more ethanol in gas during
the summer months.

    The move comes as President Biden seeks to show voters that he is
working to increase the domestic oil supply as prices surge in the
wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But it also violates a
signature campaign pledge made by Mr. Biden as he sought to assure
climate activists that he would prioritize reducing the use of fossil
fuels.

    "And by the way, no more drilling on federal lands, period.
Period, period, period," Mr. Biden told voters in New Hampshire in
February 2020.

However, since the administration is raising the royalty rate it
demands from producers who drill or frack on public lands, oil and gas
companies will still face higher costs on the new leases.

    In opening up the new public lands for oil and gas permitting, the
Interior Department will raise the royalty rates that companies must
pay to the federal government from 12.5 percent of their profits to
18.75 percent, an increase that could bring in billions of dollars of
new revenue.

Already, environmental activists are slamming Biden for his
'recklessness' and for abdicating the Democrats' "climate leadership".

    “The Biden administration’s claim that it must hold these lease
sales is pure fiction and a reckless failure of climate leadership,”
said Randi Spivak, director of the public lands for Center for
Biological Diversity. “It’s as if they’re ignoring the horror of
firestorms, floods and megadroughts and accepting climate catastrophes
as business as usual.”

Meanwhile, everybody else will just be happy to see lower prices at
the pump...although it will take months, perhaps years, for the new
supply to come on line and have an impact on the US market.