Embattled Democrat governors throughout the nation have backed federal gas tax relief in response to President Joe Biden’s record-high gas prices.
Gas taxes are typically a Democrat policy, but with the midterms approaching in November, the Democrat governors of Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have supported federal tax breaks on drivers.
The federal tax on gas per gallon is 18.4 cents. Yet the Democrat-led Congress has bucked tax relief over worries Biden needs the revenue to doll out among states. Congressional inaction may hurt the governors’ reelection chances.
The Democrat governors of Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin are all up for reelection in November. According to prediction odds, Republicans have an excellent chance of toppling many of the Democrat governors who have called for a gas tax break. Republican odds of winning the following states are:
- Pennsylvania (62-42 percent)
- Michigan (54-51 percent)
- Wisconsin (63-40 percent)
NEW: @PredictIt 2022 Governor Odds
ARIZONA: GOP 72% / DEM 32%
NEVADA: GOP 51% / DEM 45%
MICHIGAN: DEM 54% / GOP 51%
TEXAS: GOP 92% / DEM 9%
WISCONSIN: GOP 63% / DEM 40%
FLORIDA: GOP 89% / DEM 8%
GEORGIA: GOP 70% / DEM 32%
PENNSYLVANIA: GOP 62% / DEM 42%
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) March 15, 2022
As gubernatorial races heat up, national gas prices have steadily risen. Increasing about a dollar from when Biden assumed office until Russia invaded Ukraine, gas prices have since additionally risen about another 70 cents. Wednesday’s national average price per gallon was $4.30, according to AAA.
The average gas prices in battleground states are also very high, such as in Pennsylvania ($4.39), Michigan ($4.21), New Mexico ($4.17), Colorado ($3.96), Minnesota ($3.94), and Wisconsin ($3.99).
Biden and the media have blamed the outrageous gas prices on Russian President Vladimir Putin instead of their anti-American energy independence stance.
“Democrats didn’t cause this problem. Vladimir Putin did,” Biden claimed last week. “It’s going to go up,” Biden noted. “Can’t do much right now. Russia is responsible.”
But people with knowledge of the fossil fuel industry believe the increased gas prices are a result of red tape. In particular, Bloomberg reported the cost of funding fossil fuel projects is ten percentage points higher than it was before Biden’s presidency. The costly funding has occurred because the Biden administration has successfully pressured financial institutions to reduce the international and domestic, public and private financing of American energy production on private lands.
For instance, Credit Suisse has reduced lending to the industry and plans to cut future financing of the industry by half between 2020 and 2030, Reuters reported.
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