President Joe Biden is once again demanding gas stations to lower gas prices amid continued economic downturn.
On Monday, Biden lashed out at gas stations for allegedly taking a “long time” in lowering the price of fuel in line with dropping oil prices.
“We haven’t seen the lower prices reflected at the pump though. Meanwhile, oil and gas companies are still making record profits — billions of dollars in profit,” he said. “My message is simple. To the companies running gas stations and setting those prices at the pump: Bring down the prices you’re charging at the pump to reflect the cost you pay for the product.”
The president further stressed that gas stations should pass along savings to customers more quickly.
“Do it now,” Biden said. “Do it now. Not a month from now — do it now. And it’s going to save people a lot of money.”
Economic experts did not take too kindly to the president’s remarks.
“I grew up in the convenience store gas station business,” Bob Bilbruck, CEO of business strategy firm Captjur, told the New York Post. “Margins are razor-thin in these operations and depending on their relationship in the buying ecosystem, they may be buying from a bulk fueler or directly from the producer [so] we are talking very little difference in prices.”
“Having the president of the country pressuring private companies into cutting profit is not a good look at best,” free-market advocate Irina Tsukerman, who heads Scarab Rising, told The Post. “These comments indicate that Biden is avoiding responsibility for his own contribution to the price crisis — the policies that have driven up the gas prices to begin with, failure to allow for leases on federal land, the shutdown of pipeline projects, the gas tax hike, among others.”
This comes as gas prices rose for the first time last week, breaking a 99-day streak of falling prices.
Back in July, Biden was mocked online after tweeting that “companies running gas stations” should simply “bring down the price you are charging at the pump.”
Following the controversial tweet, the U.S. Oil & Gas Association blasted the president on Twitter for his ludicrous demands, saying: “Working on it Mr. President. In the meantime – have a Happy 4th and please make sure the WH intern who posted this tweet registers for Econ 101 for the fall semester.”
