Obama Blames High Gas Prices on… a Strong Economy?

October 18, 2012

Obama Blames High Gas Prices on… a Strong Economy?

Democrats Absurdly Claim High Gas Prices Are Proof That Their Stimulus Worked

Among President Obama’s absurd claims at the Tuesday presidential debate was his statement that gas prices are high because the economy is recovering.
This is no doubt news to the millions of families struggling with a lack of jobs, falling household incomes,record-high poverty … and high gas prices.
This is a clear attempt to deflect attention from the Democrats’ war on energy that has increased energy prices by attacking American-made energy.

Among President Obama’s absurd claims at the Tuesday presidential debate was his statement that gas prices are high because the economy is recovering:

HUH? PRESIDENT OBAMA CLAIMED GAS PRICES ARE HIGH NOW BECAUSE THE ECONOMY IS RECOVERING DUE TO HIS POLICIES: “Well, think about what the Governor just said. He said, when I took office the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse. Because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney is now promoting. So it’s conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices, because with his policies we might be back in that same mess.” (“Remarks by the President and Governor Romney in Second Presidential Debate,” The White House, 10/17/2012)

This is no doubt news to the millions of families struggling with a lack of jobs, falling household incomes, record-high poverty … and high gas prices:

GAS PRICES AT $3.737/GALLON NATIONALLY, UP FROM $3.469/GALLON A YEAR AGO: (“Daily Fuel Gauge,” AAA, Accessed 10/18/2012)

AP: “ECONOMIC RECOVERY IS THE WEAKEST SINCE WORLD WAR II”: (Paul Wiseman, “Economic Recovery is the Weakest Since World War II,” Associated Press, 8/15/2012)

GDP GROWTH REVISED DOWNWARD TO 1.3%: (Aanalyn Censky, “GDP Report: Economic Growth Revised Lower,” CNN Money, 9/27/2012)

23 MILLION UNEMPLOYED, UNDEREMPLOYED AND DISCOURAGED WORKERS: (“The Employment Situation—August 2012,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/5/2012)

UNEMPLOYMENT ABOVE 8% FOR 43 STRAIGHT MONTHS UNDER OBAMA, MORE THAN 11 PREVIOUS PRESIDENTS COMBINED: (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9/7/2012)

WHITE HOUSE HAD PREDICTED UNEMPLOYMENT WOULD BE AT ABOUT 5.6% NOW IF WE PASSED THEIR STIMULUS: (James Pethokoukis, “The Awful, Awful August Jobs Report,” The American Enterprise Institute, 9/7/2012)

“US POVERTY RATE 15 PERCENT; RECORD NUMBERS PERSIST”: (Hope Yen, “US Poverty Rate 15 Percent; Record Numbers Persist,” Associated Press, 9/12/2012)

MEDIAN INCOME WAS $55,198 WHEN OBAMA TOOK OFFICE; IT IS $50,678 TODAY: (“Household Income Down 8.2 Percent Since Obama Took Office,” Fox News, 9/26/2012)

U.S. INCOMES FELL MORE AFTER STIMULUS THAN DURING RECESSION: (Jeff Kearn, “U.S. Incomes Fell More in Recovery, Sentier Says,” Bloomberg, 8/23/2012)

STUDY: ANNUAL COST OF OBAMA’S DEBT AMOUNTS TO $4,000 A YEAR IN HIGHER TAXES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS: “In a new paper, AEI’s Aspen Gorry and Matt Jensen look at the real annual cost of servicing the debt for households at various levels of income — including a potentially higher tax burden. As the table below illustrates, a household making between $100,000 and $200,000 a year could find its tax liability higher by roughly $2,400 every year. Over ten years, that works out to $24,000. And when you add in the debt already accrued the past four years under President Obama (the second table), that’s another $1,600 a year. So now we are now talking about $4,000 a year, $40,000 over ten years.” (James Pethokoukis, “Study: Obama’s Big Budget Deficits Could Mean A $4,000 A Year Middle-Class Tax Hike,” American Enterprise Institute, 10/2/12)

This is a clear attempt to deflect attention from the Democrats’ war on energy that has increased energy prices by attacking American-made energy:

PRESIDENT OBAMA CLAIMED THAT OIL “PRODUCTION IS UP” ON FEDERAL LANDS: “GOVERNOR ROMNEY: And production on private — on government lands is down. THE PRESIDENT: And production is up. No it isn’t.” (“Remarks by the President and Governor Romney in Second Presidential Debate,” The White House, 10/17/2012)

CNN: “PRODUCTION ON FEDERAL PROPERTY DID IN FACT DECLINE BY 13% LAST YEAR”: “The chart above shows that oil production on federal property did in fact decline by 13% last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.” (Steve Hargreaves, “The Facts About Oil and Gas Under Obama,” CNN Money, 10/18/2012)

WA POST: ROMNEY’S TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT FALLING PRODUCTION: “Contrary to President Obama’s assertions, Romney’s telling the truth when he says, “Production of oil on public land is down 14 percent and production of gas on public land is down 9 percent.” (Juliet Eilperin, “The Truth About Oil and Gas Production on Public Land,” The Washington Post, 10/16/2012)

TOTAL FOSSIL FUEL PRODUCTION HAS PLUNGED TO NINE-YEAR LOW: The problem for the President is that a government outfit called the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) compiles these statistics. That’s where Mr. Romney got his accurate figures on oil and gas production on government land and permitting in Mr. Obama’s first term. The EIA also reports that total fossil fuel production in public areas—oil, gas and coal—has plunged to a nine-year low, to 18.6 quadrillion BTUs from 21.2 quadrillion in 2003.” (Editorial, “Energy in the Executive,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/17/2012)

CSM: “TRUE” THAT OBAMA IS ATTACKING NORTH DAKOTA OIL PRODUCERS OVER 28 BIRDS: (David J. Unger, “Romney’s Charge: Obama Used Bird Deaths to Attack Bakken Oil Producers. True?,” The Christian Science Monitor, 10/17/2012)

FLASHBACK: OBAMA SAID ENERGY PRICES WOULD “NECESSARILY SKYROCKET” UNDER HIS CAP-AND-TRADE PLAN: “ ‘Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket,’ Obama told the Chronicle. ‘Coal-powered plans, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plans were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.” (Catherine Richert, “Pence Claims that Obama said Energy Costs Will Skyrocket with a Cap-and-Trade Plan,” PolitiFact.com, 6/11/2009)

Obama Blames High Gas Prices on… a Strong Economy? http://ow.ly/eAqFV