Way back when people now in their seventies watched a #1 rated TV show in the early 1970s called Laugh In. The fast-moving, one-of-a-kind show featured never-ending quick skits, one-liners, and brief physical comedy performed by a troupe of talented actors.
One such actor was Artie Johnson. Like the others, Artie played a wide range of characters. But, without doubt, his two most famous were 1) a soldier who emerged from a bush to utter the line, “very interesting, but stupid!” and, 2) a grown adult on a tiny tricycle who “biked” briefly until he always unceremoniously crashed.
This brings us to the 46th President of the United States- Joseph Biden. How? Well, he’s in his seventies. Sunday while biking at roughly two miles per hour he fell down. And, later that day safely away from the bike he uttered something very interesting, but some say stupid. Actually, he uttered some things, plural.
When doting reporters following his every Delaware vacation move asked about inflation and the economy, Biden bristled. “A recession isn’t inevitable. We have a chance to make a fundamental turn toward renewable energy, electric vehicles, and not just electric vehicles but across the board,” Biden countered.
Inflation is at a 40-year high. The national average of gas prices crossed over the $5/gallon threshold, the highest ever. Second place was $4.11 back in 2008.
Post-Covid transitory inflation that transitioned to Putin’s price hike is now not leading to an inevitable recession. Unless we are already in one we suppose.
Biden followed up this exchange in Delaware by telling a reporter that “his team” would sit down with oil executives to demand they produce more oil and question their high profits.
The great unifier, who suspended multiple domestic oil leases, is now blaming greedy oil companies. So, while none of this is his fault, at least it gives us a chance to buy an electric car with batteries made from fossil-fueled plants.
But wait! There’s more!
The President said Monday he is considering creating a federal gas tax holiday, which could save Americans as much as 18.4 cents per gallon. His ex-boss, former President Barack Obama, was against such a move on the campaign trail back in 2008, the last time prices were near this high.
Obama said at the time that a gas tax holiday was a “gimmick” to save Americans half a tank of gas over the summer so that lawmakers could “say that they did something.”
With gas at five bucks a gallon, the tax is not even 4% of the total cost to Americans to fill up. Gimmick indeed.
It also suspends the collection of said tax money that is supposed to keep up the nation’s roads and bridges. There go the roads that we can’t afford gas to drive on!
At least we printed a trillion a year ago that we don’t have to repair our infrastructure. That trillion wasn’t inflationary either, was it?
We have windmills to fall back on. We do unless the wind isn’t blowing.
Not to worry, in Washington the political winds are always blowing. At the moment they’re straight out of the left.
Maybe we should all just try to ride bikes from here on out. How about that idea?
Very interesting.
But………….