How Obama is Driving Up Gasoline Prices

No matter where you go - talking to friends or chatting at the water coller at work - everyone is complaining about the high gas prices.  It is no suprise that gasoline prices these days are causing families throughout the coountry headaches over how to budget their household finances. Let's look at some statistics to see what has happened.

- According to the Heritage Foundation gasoline prices rose 7 percent under George W. Bush versus 67 percent under Barack Obama during their first twenty-six months in office, respectively.
- Gasoline prices are 22 cents higher today than one month ago, and 81 cents than one year ago.

The AAA publishes its daily fuel gage report, and here it their price comparison:

To illustrate the trajectory that gasoline prices are headed, this chart represents and inverted hockey stick. 

A rational person needs to ask what is causing this.  To be blunt, Obama's policies are causing the spike in gasoline prices.  For starters, let's report that gas prices in Washington, DC was $1.68 on Inauguration Day (January 20, 2009).  Now, that gallon of gas costs $3.77,  and increase of 124%.  Let's see how Obama has driven up the cost of gasonline.

• Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, under Obama's order canceled 77 leases for oil and gas drilling.  One year, later Salazar did the same thing canceling over 61 leases in Montana.
• Obama Administration needlessly delayed offshore drilling preventing new rigs from becoming operational.
• Pushed for more taxes on American energy via Cap and Trade legislation.  When the Cap and Trade legislation died in the U.S. Senate, Obama insteaded settled for a carbon tax monitored and levied by the EPA.
• Imposed moratorium of offshore oil drilling following April 2010 BP oil spill.  A knee-jerk reaction to to a horrible event.
• Issuing new off-shore moratoriums preventing American oil from being extracted.

The net effect of Obama's energy policies is to limit the available resources for energy consumption thus driving the cost of oil and gasoline higher.  But more importantly, the policies are preventing America from being energy independent.