I don't know what to think. They say he is an incompetent doddering fool, but with the intelligence, power, and influence to control the price of Oil, Coal, Natural Gas, and Propane throughout the EU, Asia, Russia, South America, Africa, and Australia.
And that he rigged the presidential election without rigging the House and Senate. SMH.
Anyway, here is what I am sending to Representative Dave Joyce this week. I know that fighting propaganda with facts is tilting at windmills, but I have to do it.
Representative Dave Joyce (Ohio-14)
8500 Station Street
Suite 390
Mentor, OH 44060 January 10, 2022
Hello Representative Joyce,
I need to address some points related to your weekly wrap of January 9, 2021. First, I commend you for voting to certify the electoral votes a year ago: it was the right thing to do. Second, I will point out that accountability must be determined to avoid a recurrence of that dark stain on our history.
Lacking any credible plan to help Americans, the content of your letter blaming this administration for high energy prices reveals either:
1. complete ignorance of the global nature of the energy market, or
2. a purposeful disinformation campaign with the sole intention of stoking fear, uncertainty and doubt among the populace.
I hesitate to explain what is really happening in the energy market because I’m pretty sure you, or the RNC aide in charge of energy propaganda already know that we are part of a global energy market. I hope that after reading this macro view of this global energy market, you and the RNC mouthpiece stop wasting our time and yours screaming about energy prices that no person or country can control.
The historic plunge in global energy consumption in the early months of the Covid-19 crisis last year drove the prices of many fuels to their lowest levels in decades, forcing cutbacks in extraction and storage, while everyone loved the low prices. Now prices have rebounded strongly as a result of the fastest post-recession growth in 80 years https://tinyurl.com/2p8bhr6f, a cold and long winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and a weaker-than-expected increase in supply.
Natural gas prices have seen the biggest increase, with European and Asian benchmark prices hitting an all-time record last week – around ten times their level a year ago. This is good news for many of your constituents with gas wells on their property. USA month-ahead natural gas prices have more than tripled since October 2020 to reach their highest level since 2008. International coal prices are around five times their level a year ago, and coal power plants in China and India, the world’s two largest coal consumers, have very low stocks ahead of the winter season.
Meanwhile, global oil demand continues to recover from its 2020 lows, and prices at the pump in many countries are at or near their highest levels in years. The current high oil, coal, and gas prices are not the result of a single “shock event” on the demand or supply side: they result from a combination of supply and demand factors that tightened markets over the course of several months and even years.
Investments in oil and natural gas extraction and processing have declined in recent years as a result of two commodity price collapses – in 2014-15 and in 2020, making supply more vulnerable to the sorts of exceptional circumstances that we see today. Globally, the key drivers of energy market dynamics over the coming months will be the severity of the Northern Hemisphere winter, the strength of economic growth trends and the magnitude of unplanned supply outages. Nothing that you or President Biden can change or fix.
With that summary there is no need for the bogus “Poll” in your message, asking if we experienced higher prices for energy. Everyone on the planet is experiencing higher prices and you already know that. And now you know why: the entire energy infrastructure including coal, oil, natural gas and propane has been disrupted by factors around the globe, including fires at 3 natural gas processing plants in Russia. With this macro view of the global energy market, until you have a better idea, I hope you stop wasting our time and yours screaming about energy prices that no person or country can control.
You threw in the continuing Republican lie:“I know that the federal government shouldn't be increasing the burden on peoples’ wallets. Unfortunately, that's exactly what the Biden Administration's wasteful spending and misguided energy policies are doing.” President Biden is not in charge of wasteful spending: YOU, the Congress, not the Executive Branch are in charge of that. No policy change by the Executive Branch has done anything to change your wasteful spending or the Fed-induced inflation, or the global energy market.
The “Priority List” that you include in your letter shows the results of a Republican poll with the following items:
Reduce government spending 21.1% -- Obviated by eliminating your tax cut for the rich.
Increase border security 19.3% -- NBC news reports that according to the census, net international migration into the U.S. in 2021 was one-quarter what it was in 2016. So, DONE.
Fighting Climate Change 16.3% -- Republicans are generally in denial, so nothing there.
Lowering Inflation 14.7% -- As I pointed out last week: the Fed is taking care of this.
Reducing Price of Prescriptions 10.1% -- You voted to raise prescription prices, so no help there.
Covid Response 9.9% -- Vax deniers take up 90+% of hospital beds. Get behind vax mandates.
Supply Chain 5.7% -- Go ahead: tell us what to do here. To quote Ross Perot: “I’m all ears.”
Opioids 2.8% -- You wrote three weeks ago that you proposed a solution.
You close by mentioning you want us to be an energy exporter. The USA became an exporter of natural gas last week. Good call and good for some of your constituents.
Sincerely,
Robert Chalfant,
And at their request: Terry Carson, Diane Pekarcik, Judy Ray, Marilyn Wise, Bob Coppenhaver, Geauga Dems