John,
I know we're all feeling the pain of high gas prices, and that's especially true for the hard-working Americans who commute for work and see the cost per gallon increase every time they head to the pump.
We should be using every tool at our disposal to bring gas prices down, and it's a much more complex problem than the pundits would lead you to believe. There are mostly three factors to blame. Let’s call them the Three Ps.
Pandemic. Putin. Price Gouging.
Pandemic: when COVID started, demand for gasoline plummeted. Then, after many months of lockdown, Americans hit the road again. Production hasn’t kept pace. Prices have spiked accordingly.
Putin: while only 3% of US crude comes from Russia, they’re a major producer on the world stage. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the corresponding ban on fossil fuel imports from Russia have impacted global prices.
Price Gouging: while Americans are paying more at the pump, Big Oil is taking in record profits. Exxon reported $23 billion in profit for 2021 -- its highest since 2014. Same with Chevron, which earned $15.6 billion. Even as the market price per barrel of oil fell below $100 last week, prices at the pump have remained stubbornly high.
This is a stark reminder that we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and invest in clean energy independence. But in the interim, we need to hold large oil and gas companies accountable to prevent them from exploiting American consumers.
That’s why I support a windfall profits tax on Big Oil to send the proceeds back to average people paying the price at the pump.
Will you sign our petition? As Big Oil rakes in historic profits due to price gouging, we need to pass a windfall profits tax to send the money right back to the American people.
Thanks for your support,
Mike
