Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: One of the topics that people are talking about right now are gas prices. And it's a topic that we talk about all the time. People ask me, well, why haven't our gas prices dropped when we were producing record amounts of oil?
Today I'm going to attempt to break down that confusing and most frustrating question that I see people asking quite a bit.
And to be honest, before I did some research in order to fully understand it, or should I say try to fully understand it, I'm not sure anyone can fully understand the oil industry.
But I would also ask, if America is producing more oil than ever before, why aren't gas prices dropping?
I think it's a fair question.
I think it's a smart question.
But the answers that I found out to those questions told me a lot about how global power works, how markets really move, and why simple talking points never match the complexity of the world that we actually live in.
And that is what I want to share with you today in this podcast.
My name is Kurt Mullet. I'm Hoosier Blue and I have something to say.
Let's get at it.
Here's the first thing that we have to understand.
Gas prices don't follow US Oil production. They follow global oil prices, which are based on many factors. Demand, production, availability and war. Like what is happening now. And these are just a few of the reasons that affect gas prices in our country and around the world. Even if we pump record amounts of oil here at home, and we did in 2023 and 2024, we're still part of a global market.
Oil is traded internationally, prices are set internationally. And the United States doesn't get too opt out of that system because we produce a lot of. Think of it like corn. If Indiana grows a record crop, but the rest of the country, the rest of the world has a drought, corn prices don't fall, they actually rise.
Oil works the same way.
Now here's a part that most folks never hear, or as the case is with maga, they refuse to hear.
All during the Biden administration, the far right MAGA cult was relentless in their blaming of Joe Biden for the price of gasoline here within the states.
And they continue with that same rhetoric today.
[00:02:59] Speaker B: All this conversation happens where Joe Biden left us in a terrible situation. And the reason why gas prices are where they are today is because of Donald Trump's work to get them lower. Because then the Biden administration, they were crazy high.
[00:03:18] Speaker A: Even though the US was hitting record oil production, OPEC was cutting production. Thus was the reason we experienced an escalation in the prices we were paying at the pump.
Eventually prices did start to drop a bit, but they have yet to hit prices that were experienced before the pandemic.
In April of 2020, Saudi Arabia, Russia and other OPEC nations pulled close to 10 million barrels of oil per day off the market.
This occurred when the fellow President made some phone calls directly asking them to do so. His motive?
Well, his oil exec buddies were losing millions due to the collateral effects from the coronavirus pandemic.
He threatened Saudi Arabia with losing military support if they did not react to his request.
And those cuts, well they are still in place today.
So even though we were producing more oil, the rest of the world was producing less.
And that kept global prices high. And that is why those higher prices continue to this day.
It's like trying to fill a swimming pool with water while somebody else is trying to drain it. You could turn your hose up all the way, but the water level still depends on what they do.
And now with the illegal war in Iran taking place, we can only expect to see our gas pump prices continue to rise at a steady pace while supplies and availability drop.
War, an illegal war initiated by a President is one direct way that a President can have an influence on gas prices here in the States and globally.
By affecting the means of production, transportation and exporting of oils from the Middle East.
So even though a President does not have the ability to set gas prices at the pump, they most certainly due to their actions can have a major influence on them.
One of the narratives that the MAGA world adopted during the felons first term was energy independence.
Energy independence.
And they continue with that same old bullshit today.
[00:06:03] Speaker B: The gas prices we're seeing today are nothing like what we saw at the peak of the Biden administration Because the pre President has set us up for energy dominance. And one of the lessons we all have to take away frankly every time we get involved in anything overseas, whether it's in the Middle east or anywhere else, the thing we got to take away from it is energy dominance and energy independence. Rely on our own people, rely on
[00:06:26] Speaker A: our own energy, they just do not get it. The United States will never be energy independent.
Never.
We not only do not have the resources to do so, but we do not have the means to make it happen.
This is why alternate forms of energy was being brought forth by the Biden administration.
Unlike any president before him.
Solar, wind, electric, green energy, advancements. That is the future.
We are way behind the eight ball when it comes to the advancements being Made by countries around the world.
But when you have a dictatorial oligarch who is focused on big oil money and the profits it creates, who will invade a nation and kidnap its ruler just to seize that nation's oil fields and supplies, then sell that stolen oil to foreign nations that he's in bed with, that will keep the profits and deposit them into an offshore account and not into our national treasury who believes that wind turbines, he calls them windmills, that they cause cancer and kill an ungodly amount of birds.
Well, you see the dumbfuckery of a president who could have a negative effect on oil availability and access, to which in turn directly affects gas prices.
He will do everything in his power to go against any kind of green type energy.
It matters none to him. It is oil and the profits that come from oil that is his main objective.
Because the higher the consumer has to pay, the more profit there is for the billionaires of the world.
It's apparent that this is his belief just by looking at his asinine tariffs and the rising cost of consumer goods.
I used to believe that he was a dumbass that didn't understand how tariffs worked. But he knows exactly how they work. He just doesn't give a shit.
He doesn't care that we, the consumer, are the ones that will foot the bill as long as there's profit and he's making money, so be it. It is what it is.
Another piece of the puzzle that I slightly touched on earlier is that the United States doesn't have the means to be energy independent.
We don't have the refinery capacity. We can pump all the crude oil we want, but if we can't turn it into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel fast enough, prices stay high. Several refineries in the United States closed during the pandemic under the felon's watch.
This sounded the alarm with his oil buddies, hence the calls being made to the OPEC cronies.
The US hasn't built a major new refinery since the 1970s.
Some refineries have converted to biofuel.
We have one such refinery in the northern part of the county here that I live in in Indiana that refines corn ethanol.
So even with our record oil production, we hit a wall.
We had the crude oil, but not the means or the places to process it.
It's like having a bumper crop of wheat, but not enough bakeries.
You don't get cheaper bread.
Another part of this that most Americans do not know.
Most US oil is light, sweet crude, but many of our refineries were Built decades ago to process heavy crude from places like Venezuela, Mexico and the Middle East.
So what happens?
We export a lot of our light oil while importing heavy oil from foreign nations to process in our refineries.
To me, that sounds like a fucked up way of doing things, wouldn't you agree?
So if we truly want to become more energy independent and efficient with the resources that we have, why not make these changes to our refineries in order to refine the type of oil that we produce?
Does that not make sense? I mean, it does for me.
Well, for one, upgrading these complex refineries to handle our oil or to build new refineries is extremely expensive.
And importing heavy oil is often more profitable for the oil and our government, meaning that if they did change the process, it would be less profit for them.
And of course, we wouldn't want that to happen, now, would we? Because it is, after all, all about money and profit.
And of course, we would also never want to remove ourselves as a nation from the global oil machine.
We have too much at stake in that game to do anything so drastic.
So as you can see, it's not about how much oil we produce. It goes much deeper than that. And I'm sure it is a lot deeper than what I have learned and what I am sharing with you in this pod.
It's about whether or not we are willing to commit to make the changes in order to be more efficient and more aware of the health of our planet and the footprint we are making on it. We could be a global leader in the advancement of green energy, but we will never fully go in that direction until we remove the power and the money that Big Oil has over our nation and our government.
So let me try to put this all together.
Record US Oil production does not equate to lower gas prices. Presidents do not set the price at the pump, but absolutely can have an effect on the global market due to their actions and their policies and sometimes the phone calls that they make.
So the next time someone says to you, why are gas prices so high if we are producing record oil?
Hopefully you now know more of the truth and the general facts that cause higher gas prices in our country.
If they are talking about this point in time right now on why the gas prices are escalating, well, you can simply say the illegal invasion, attack and war with Iran are the sole reason that gas prices are climbing at alarming rates.
Production is only one piece of a much bigger puzzle. If this helped you make sense of how gas prices are established and determined just a little more than you knew before.
Then I ask you to please share this information with someone who is asking the same questions that I have asked and many of us have previously asked.
I want to thank you for joining me and listening to my pod. I appreciate your support. If you like what I have to say, please tell your family, friends and neighbors and co workers about me. Give me a Like subscribe to my page. Drop a comment. Let's start a conversation.
My name is Kurt Mullet. I'm Hoosier Blue and I have something to say.
I'll catch you on the flip side.
