Yesterday, President Joe Biden declared plans to banning Russian oil and natural gas imports. ““Today, I am announcing the United States’ intention to target a major artery in Russia’s economic life-blood,” said Biden. We are banning any imports of Russian oil or gas.
“It is symbolically a major move.” saidAvril Haines, Director of National Intelligence
It is clear that Americans do not want to use oil and gas from Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian, war-mongering regime. OK. It’s OK.
“The reality is if we’re not getting this oil from Russia, we’re likely going to be importing more from another brutal dictator,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D–Conn.) toldCNN’s Jake Tapper.
“Instead importing 3% of our oil to Russia and funding their aggression against Ukraine, our imports from Saudi Arabian oil will increase by 8%, which we believe will help finance their Yemeni genocide.” commentedTarnell Brown is an economist.
U.S. officials met with Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and discussed possible ways to reduce oil trading restrictions. CNN also reports that Biden could travel to Saudi Arabia to help the US convince the Kingdom to raise its oil production.
The majority of our oil—around 65 percent—is produced domestically, with Canada, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia as our next biggest suppliers. According to reports, Russia accounted for approximately 3 percent of U.S. crude oil imports last year and about 1% of overall U.S. supplies. The Hill.
Yet, it is likely that oil and natural gas prices will rise in the United States. Reuters reports that Russia’s economic damage will be immediate and severe. JPMorgan projects that the economy of Russia will decline by 12.5%, from peak to bottom.
The demand for a Russian oil-and gas ban has been made by both the left and right.
But some—like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D–Minn.)—have been speaking out against it. Omar declared that “that’s not just going to have devastating impacts on the Russian people, but also on Europe.” Steady Rising. “When having conversations with people, we can’t focus on the immediate, satisfying response we wish to get.”
Already, climate activists—and Biden—see this as supporting environmental protections and shifts to electric vehicles. “The transformation of our economy so that electric cars are powered by clean energy will ensure no one has to worry about gasoline prices.” tweeted Biden. It will also mean that tyrants such as Putin won’t have the ability to use fossil fuels for weapons.
However, KeystoneXL supporters see this ban as supporting their positions. Biden must remove every obstacle to American energy production immediately! tweeted U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs (R–Ariz.). “Banning Russian oil and not releasing American energy will only make us more miserable.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has come up with a solution to this problem.
Putin’s war has caused gas prices to increase, but that is not an excuse for oil companies to boost their bottom lines with war-fuelled profits.
Senate Democrats are watching closely — and already working on a windfall profits tax. pic.twitter.com/J5pwkLrgrd
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 8, 2022
FREE MINDS
Research suggests that people’s perceptions of the public are not as accurate as they think.
Today’s PNAS article: People don’t understand how America’s public opinion has evolved. This has been a long-term project of mine and it’s now my pleasure to share. You don’t need to read the entire paper. Here is a thread. https://t.co/YlHp6qAx9y
— Adam Mastroianni (@a_m_mastroianni) March 7, 2022
FREE MARKETS
A virtual case of therapy can be used.Federal court ruled that D.C. can challenge its strict regulations regarding professional counseling. Under most circumstances, D.C. does not permit out-of-state counselors to offer counseling. The lawsuit, which I wrote about in 2020, was brought by licensed professional counselor Elizabeth Brokamp—who wanted to counsel patients in D.C. remotely from her home in Northern Virginia as the pandemic started—and the libertarian public interest firm Institute for Justice. On Monday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied the motion of the city to dismiss the case.
QUICK HITS
• Rep. Jamie Raskin (D–Md.) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R–S.C.) We are asking the Government Accountability Office (R-S.C. ) to conduct a thorough review of Federal Bureau of Investigations’ (FBI’s) practices of monitoring individuals and groups using activities it calls ‘assessments’.
• U.S. lawmakers have reintroduced a bill (stalled in 2019) to study the effects of the federal sex-ads ban known as FOSTA.
• A federal court has ruled that “authorities in Virginia violated the Constitution when they used Google location data to find people who were near the scene of a 2019 bank robbery,” NBC News reports.