Does politics really influence gas prices?

1. 79

   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   Does politics really influence gas prices?
   
   It seems many people want to blame their country's politicians for high gas prices, in particular Barak Obama even though gas prices were higher at points in the 80s. Can politicians really do something about prices?
   
   

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2. 59

   ackman1465posted 12 years ago

   Politicians can do little - if anything - to influence the prices of gasoline or anything else.....   
   
   All the rhetoric that we're now hearing.... blaming Barack Obama for today's gasoline prices, and claiming different gasoline prices in the future as a result of having someone else be POTUS.... are specious and silly.....

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3. 0

   Larry Wallposted 12 years ago

   Gasoline prices are a function of oil prices. If the price of oil goes up, the price of gasoline is going to go up. When the price of oil goes down, the price of gasoline will go down--but not as quickly,  Gas stations have to charge a higher price for a longer period to make up for the money they would lose when buying higher price gasoline on Monday and the price of oil drops on Tuesday. The station is still stuck with higher priced gasoline and has to recover as much of his investment as possible.
   
   Political rhetoric and saber rattling can push the price of oil upward and that in turn will push the price of gasoline upward, but that is a function of the speculators, who respond to a number of outside influences.

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4. 60

   rave1432posted 12 years ago

   Politics can, I mean the government controls the import of oil. But supply and demand does as well. If you notice gas prices change during election time and after an election. I could be wrong but it seems like that to me. It seems to go up around election time, and down after it is done. But you also have to think about the supply and demand in this country as well a other countries. Other countries, have a lot higher cost of gas than we do. We have it better than they do. Even though we consume more than they do, we still cost less. We have more demand. But we will not touch our oil sources in our own country. If we did, that would create a lot of jobs, and revenue. I think even if we did get our own oil, we would sell it more than we use it ourselves. Just for import and export purposes.

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5. 83

   Attikosposted 12 years ago

   Political policy, particularly regarding energy and foreign affairs, has a strategic effect on gasoline prices. There is little government can do to have a tactical impact on them. The answer, then, is yes, and no.
   
   Most politicians, however, are disinterested in that, especially during a campaign season. Their focus is always on the tactical, and they are always looking for ways in which they can demagog issues. Before he became president, Obama attacked Bush for high gas prices. Now he's president, his political opponents attack him for them. They deserve one another. None of them is worthy of our defense for what he does.
   
   The common threads are hypocrisy and misrepresentation. Pols all but universally have those characteristics. The current crop of presidential aspirants, including the sitting prez, certainly do. It's got nothing to do with truth or fact, it's all about getting themselves elected. It's disappointing when private citizens pick them up and parrot them, and that goes double for us writers on Hub Pages. We are supposed to be more concerned with truth than campaign spin. Let me suggest something novel: let's all try harder to live up to that expectation.

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