Is Joe Biden Considering a New Gas-Related Stimulus? – Average U.S. gas prices dropped slightly over the weekend, though not by substantial margins. On Friday, average gasoline prices dropped to $4.27 per gallon, down 6 cents from the $4.33 record-breaking average price set on March 11. Gas for most Americans, however, is still more than the previous record of $4,10 that was set in 2008.
The good news is that the cost of oil has dropped a little from recent highs, though the price is still hitting people’s wallets hard. With uncertainty over how the United States will make up for a shortfall of oil following President Joe Biden’s sanctions on Russian oil and energy, however, it’s unclear what the near-term holds for crude oil prices – and in turn, the average cost of gas.
With prices still extortionately high – almost double the average price of gas in 2019 – President Joe Biden has reportedly considered a new form of stimulus designed to ease pain at the pump for millions of Americans.
White House Considered Pre-Paid Gas Cards But Backed Off As Prices Dropped Slightly
Axios reported on Saturday that the Biden administration last week considered the possibility of sending pre-paid gas cards to Americans across the country to help ease the pain at the gas pump. With millions of Americans finally returning to their offices as the pandemic comes to an end, the skyrocketing cost of gas has proven a major issue for the Biden administration.
A House Democrat familiar with discussions told Axios that the White House was talked out of the idea over concerns that the project would be much too expensive, ineffective, and hard for the IRS to handle at a time when it is already coping with a huge backlog of tax filings.
Dropping gas prices, however, may have changed the president’s mind.
A spokesperson for the White House claimed on Saturday that gas cards are “not an administratively feasible solution” and are not seriously being considered by the Biden administration. The comments came a day after average gas prices dropped by six cents.
The comments also came one day after reports revealed that the state-run Indian Oil Corp purchased 3 million barrels of discounted Russian oil, freeing up supply for the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada in the near term.
White House spokesperson Vedant Patel did, however, say that the Biden administration is still considering a “variety of ideas” that may “ensure that the costs American families are feeling at the pump are as minimal as possible.”
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and report on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
