On July 2, president Joe Biden tweeted one of the brilliant statements the last few US presidents have got the world used to (although I fear that, in this case, nearly the whole world probably agrees with a tough-talking ruler):
“My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril. Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product. And do it now.”
The US Oil & Gas Association tweeted a reply yesterday. We might have expected the usual empty PR of businessmen scared of government bullies and ignorant of the ways of the (free) world. But this reply, or part of it, was rather intelligent:
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…
Ignore the first sentence. What exactly are private oil and gas producers working on? Figuring out what their marching orders are and how to obey, instead of charging as much as their competitors charge just as consumers will pay as little as they can? Making Biden believe that he is to American private oil and gas suppliers what Nicolás Maduro is to state oil company PDVSA?
But the second sentence is worth repeating as it seems to emphasize with humor what are the principles of economics in a free-enterprise country:
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…
READER COMMENTS
Thomas Lee Hutcheson
Jul 5 2022 at 7:05am
Admittedly it’s attractive to go after a little solecism like this, but why not train your rhetorical fire on something actually important: immigration restrictions, trade restrictions, CO2 accumulation the atmosphere, the deficit. Not just point out the existing policy is bad, but advocate for a change.
Pierre Lemieux
Jul 5 2022 at 10:37am
Thomas: That’s what I do most of the time: suggesting deep change. But, as you know, I am not interested in measures that may, depending on who makes the calculation, increase the number of utils gained by Bob and Mary over those lost by Jim and Alice. Granted that some of the problems you mentioned are important.
Jon Murphy
Jul 5 2022 at 1:46pm
I read the sentence a little differently. In light of the snarkiness of the second sentence, I read the first as “we’re working on it, Mr. President. We don’t need orders from you.”
Regardless, I think the tweet in question shows courage. Energy companies are not usually politically liked, even in the best of times. The outright dismissal of the presidential tweet is pretty gutsy by an industry squarely in the cross-hairs. Good for them.
diz
Jul 6 2022 at 3:41pm
“Biden”‘s tweet seems more directed at retail site owners which id probably due to a lack of knowledge of how the industry works or a desire to pander to unknowledgeable voters. USOGA is an industry association of mostly oil and gas producers. I think when they say “working on it” they’re referring to drilling for more oil and gas. I don’t think they intend to give the impression they’re taking the price setting directive seriously. Producers don’t really set prices.
Pierre Lemieux
Jul 7 2022 at 10:22pm
Diz: You and Jon have more charitable interpretations than I, and perhaps you are right.
Daniel Pratt
Jul 7 2022 at 8:33am
I realize that the President didn’t write this himself, but he and the person who did likely have never worked in a business and had to do everything associated with those endeavors. Yet, they feel free to opine and will bask in their brilliance (ignorance)?
Pierre Lemieux
Jul 7 2022 at 10:23pm
Daniel: And consumers will rot in it.
Gene
Jul 8 2022 at 11:47am
Why is everyone trying to parse out the deep meaning behind this tweet (the original, not the Association’s)? The tweet is most definitely rooted in a desire to pander to unknowledgeable voters. (It probably does reflect the quality of thinking, God help us, of some parts of this administration too.) An appallingly stupid message like that–which is clearly an insult to the intelligence of most American citizens–SHOULD be responded to with snark, sarcasm, derision, and hostility.
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