Wise up, consumers, to the price of eggs and gas at the pump updated 2/3/2025..

 Wise up, consumers.. Trump gets an egg on his face and an oil glut. Blaming Biden for inflation and then wondering why grocery prices cannot be reversed by executive order is a bit like when your car won't start; you blame a dead battery when the starter is the problem. So you buy and install a new battery and then wonder why the car still does not start. It's like the price of eggs issue/ If you blame the wrong reason for price increases, fixing it becomes a problem. Drill baby drill is not the issue, either. We already have too much crude as a glut, which makes drilling uneconomical for the industry.

2//9/2025: Inflation rate at the end of the Biden administration: 2.9% https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi

2/2/2025 Update There will be political fallout from the Trump's tariffs: Trump says Americans could feel 'some pain' from tariffs as he threatens more import taxes | AP News Do you really think fentanyl is more painful than inflation and higher grocery, housing construction, gas at the pump prices? This is going to hit MAGA voters in the gut, but "keep the faith, baby", it will all make America Great again. MAGA voter: did you sign on for pain? This happened on and because of Trump's watch.

White House Reacts to Rising Egg Prices and Shortages, blaming Biden for inflation is total BS, blaming the wrong problem, but making a lot of noise may mask Trump's inability to fix it , while using it to score political points.  It ignores the egg industry price gouging excess profits record and the current bird flu epidemic that caused the price hike as Trump took office the second time, as well as trying to pin the blame on Biden for inflation, which is equally bogus. Pointing their fingers fixes nothing. They can't fix it, so they use the opportunity to make political hay and try to excuse an embarrassment ...or egg on his face, so to speak... with hokus pokus..

While cultural and racial issues motivated many voters for Trump in 2024, some fell for the line that the reason grocery prices inflated was due to Biden's economics. Inflation was under 3 percent when Biden left office in January. Taking the average of inflation over 4 years is intellectually dishonest because it fails to give him credit for what he acheived. This under 3 (2% is optimum) is what Trump has got at the beginning of his second term from Biden. What happens now is on him.

Let's go back to the Biden years when the price of eggs because the cause celebre. Remember? It wasn't Biden. It was COVID causing supply chain shortages as industry revived what had been put on ice (Remember the empty toilet paper shelves and videos of shipping containers piled up on docks?). Consumers had COVID government money in their pockets and plenty of jobs and back to work to buy and pent-up demand. as retail stores reopened. Immediately after the pandemic ended.Corporate greed was a factor as some masked unjustified price hikes by blaming Biden. High corporate profit, especially by the egg industry, was evidence of their strategy. (Also, bird flu is causing the current spike in egg prices, not Trump) One of the first campaign promises Trump broke after being elected was to say it was too hard to roll back grocery prices. He warned he couldn't do it, but he was only honest about that after he got elected.. He deceived so many. To keep the drum roll going, Trump media allies are hawking Biden's fault to divert attention from Trump's own admitted predicted failure. Wise up, consumers.

The same can be said about "drill baby drill" to bring gas at the pump prices down. First, the problem is not a lack of crude oil. Biden's policies increased drilling so much that the oil industry cannot find enough customers to buy it at the price that it is now. There is a glut of crude oil available. Pumping more oil is not the problem. FYI: Presidents do not set the price by barrel; it is set internationally by cartels. Those who believed Trump's line that Biden was to blame is a cover for Trump's campaign line, "Drill baby drill." Drilling more crude was not the problem, baby. The adjustment to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the attempt to adjust to the loss of that supplier to Europe was as much at fault and still ongoing. Nonetheless, as Biden left office, gas at the pump prices was under $3 a gallon. Wise up consumers.

There are signs consumers are beginning to wise up, per the Wall Street Journal, as consumer confidence measures drop in January. U.S. Consumers Lose Confidence at Start of Trump’s Second Term

Consumers are in for more education about grocery prices if Trump carries through with his tariff plans and they learn more about gas prices at the pump if he clamps tariffs on oil coming from Canada. Stay tuned.

 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/business/energy-environment/oil-trump-drill-baby-drill.html

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Trumps-Oil-Plans-Meet-Market-Glut-in-2025.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/03/29/countrys-largest-egg-producer-saw-profits-surge-718-amid-shortage

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/11/trumps-achilles-heels-unintended.html

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-bs-of-drill-baby-drill.html

This avian flu thing is beginning to sound familiar.  Egg shortage 2025: Prices expected to rise throughout the year

Cracking Down on Egg Industry’s Excuses: It’s Price Gouging | Farm Action   in 2023."The egg industry blames avian flu and inflation for increasing egg prices. These problems are certainly real — about 43 million egg-laying hens were lost due to the avian flu through December 2022, and input costs for producers have increased. But this begs the question — how are egg companies raking in so much money in light of these costly strains?"

Consumers may beginning to feel better about the economy, but in time for November? Update 3 12 2024

Biden's economics? Bring it on. On January 5, 2024 my son paid $2.28 a gallon in Denver for gas. When Trump left office, it was $2.12 a gallon. How much it costs for consumers to pay for a tank of gas is how many consumers judge the state of the economy. There are shoots of green in general as consumer confidence indexes improve. If that is the case, the GOP making a big deal of gas at the pump prices, so drill baby drill, will find that campaign strategy a nothing burger by election time in November. Eventually, Biden will get credit where credit is due, and it will be in time for fall.

 In response to a FB post  that they are worse off than they were before: So sorry you feel left behind. So few are without jobs now and those working have seen wages go up which was over 4% more than the current inflation rate of 3%. That is an average and for some reason, you are below average. The winners have been blue-collar workers, and if you are in high tech you may be hurting. I have both in my immediate family. By all other measures, the GDP growth is the top in the world. Consumer confidence is on the upswing.

Why do I think that?

It is already happening. Americans are actually pretty happy with their finances (axios.com)

https://www.conference-board.org/topics/consumer-confidence/press/CCI-Dec-2023#:~:text=Consumers%20End%202023%20with%20a,downwardly%20revised%20101.0%20in%20November.

Biden deserves credit for record oil production to offset the impact of the Ukraine war and the end of COVID pent-consumer demand. He can't take a victory lap because of pressure from those in his party who want less drilling of fossil fuels now and forever. Biden can take credit for policies that begin the transition to green.

The answer for Biden is to argue that gas and oil are still needed in the transition to green. It is temporary both as public policy and necessity. Natural gas in particular is the bridge to green since it is less environmentally damaging than oil.. It is up to the government not to lose sight of the goal: going green and developing the technology and production and consumer acceptance simultaneously. in the transition. Biden has threaded that needle by keeping his eyes on the ball in battery and EV production support. New concerns that may hike gasoline prices are emerging in the Red Sea as Houthi pirates have forced commerce, including fossil fuels, to take a much longer route around Africa instead of through the Red Sea and the canal. No wonder there is greater focus on that issue. The chaos and damage to the economy upon a Trump re-election could also cause a setback MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: How Trump election would create chaos in our economy on day one

The following of a December 21, 2023 post.  MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Why Biden feels frustrated that Biden'economics are not felt in the polls, but it is temporary.

 Recently there was some good news. US Consumer Confidence Increased Again in December (conference-board.org)  Consumer confidence indicators improved, but not before Biden's approval ratings tanked (his handling of the Israel-Hamas war was a factor too), but long term and until  November 2024, it will be about how consumers feel themselves about the economy.  

Consumer confidence is also tied to consumer price inex, as well.  Prices go up, and they lose confidence.  Going down, prices are slow to register, but it happens eventually.  The most sensitive to consumers are prices at the pump. The reason Biden gets frustrated is that one fact playing the most in consumers' minds is how much it costs to fill up a tank at the pump.  The problem is, that Biden has little control over it since prices per barrel are set by the oil cartels abroad, and demand and supply depend upon consumers' actions, refinery capacity, and supply availability.. One thing Biden should get credit for is increasing supply. Record U.S. oil production is pushing prices down (axios.com)

‘Pipin’ Hot’: Fox Business Gleefully Reports on Record U.S. Oil Production, Gives Biden Credit For Replenishing Strategic Reserve (msn.com)

Prices always peak in spring and summer and decline later. https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/gasoline-prices-explained#:~:text=Retail%20gasoline%20prices%20are%20mainly,intense%20pressure%20on%20available%20supplies.  That is also true for Trump if he gets another term.  If that is so, November 2024 should help Biden if prices go down.   Measures of gasoline price change : Beyond the Numbers: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov)    When Trump left office, national price at the pump per gallon was $2.20, but that was because, between 2019 and November 2020, demand went down 14+%.  Demand dropped, and prices followed.  Nonetheless, he likes to take credit for it." But looking just at the recent rise can be misleading, or at least incomplete. For one thing, a year ago, the United States was battling yet another wave of COVID-19 cases, large parts of the economy were still shuttered, and demand for gas was way down. Estimated consumption in 2020 was 534 gallons per driver, down 14.4% from 624 gallons in 2019"  Gas prices are up, but this has happened many times for many reasons | Pew Research Center

Drill baby drill, shouts Trump from his platform and the gullible cheer. Wait a minute, uninformed, the US is producing and exporting the most oil in history.  Not only that, we have offset Russian and OPEC, and Ukriane factors.    "Not only is the U.S. producing more oil than any country in history, but the amount of oil (crude oil, refined products and natural gas liquids) that it is exporting is near the total production of Saudi Arabia." As 2024 Approaches U.S. Leads Global Crude Oil Production (forbes.com)    Biden can take credit for increasing supply,Record U.S. oil production is pushing prices down (axios.com)

 Nonetheless, that is politics, like it or not.  Prices go up, and opponents point blame; prices go down, and opponents shut up.    So...let us look at the relationship between price per gallon and how consumers feel (confidence).   Now that the price per gallon has really dropped, consumer confidence is going back up.as the price at the pump goes down.  Today, it is good news for Biden...and again in November 2024. 

This summer:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gas-prices-are-higher-again-hitting-consumers-very-directly-and-very-profoundly-142018507.html

Now: December 2023

https://gasprices.aaa.com/state-gas-price-averages/ 

Why Biden feels frustrated that Biden'economics are not felt in the polls, but it is temporary.

 This post has been incorporated in January 7 and 17, 2024, updates on the topic.

Americans are actually pretty happy with their finances (axios.com)

 Recently there was some good news. US Consumer Confidence Increased Again in December (conference-board.org)  Consumer confidence indicators improved, but not before Biden's approval ratings tanked (his handling of the Israel-Hamas war was a factor too), but long term and until  November 2024, it will be about how consumers feel themselves about the economy.  

Consumer confidence is also tied to consumer price inex, as well.  Prices go up, and they lose confidence.  Going down, prices are slow to register, but it happens eventually.  The most sensitive to consumers are prices at the pump. The reason Biden gets frustrated is that one fact playing the most in consumers' minds is how much it costs to fill up a tank at the pump.  The problem is, that Biden has little control over it since prices per barrel are set by the oil cartels abroad, and demand and supply depend upon consumers' actions, refinery capacity, and supply availability.. One thing Biden should get credit for is increasing supply. Record U.S. oil production is pushing prices down (axios.com)

‘Pipin’ Hot’: Fox Business Gleefully Reports on Record U.S. Oil Production, Gives Biden Credit For Replenishing Strategic Reserve (msn.com)

Prices always peak in spring and summer and decline later. https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/gasoline-prices-explained#:~:text=Retail%20gasoline%20prices%20are%20mainly,intense%20pressure%20on%20available%20supplies.  That is also true for Trump if he gets another term.  If that is so, November 2024 should help Biden if prices go down.   Measures of gasoline price change : Beyond the Numbers: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov)    When Trump left office, national price at the pump per gallon was $2.20, but that was because, between 2019 and November 2020, demand went down 14+%.  Demand dropped, and prices followed.  Nonetheless, he likes to take credit for it." But looking just at the recent rise can be misleading, or at least incomplete. For one thing, a year ago, the United States was battling yet another wave of COVID-19 cases, large parts of the economy were still shuttered, and demand for gas was way down. Estimated consumption in 2020 was 534 gallons per driver, down 14.4% from 624 gallons in 2019"  Gas prices are up, but this has happened many times for many reasons | Pew Research Center

Drill baby drill, shouts Trump from his platform and the gullible cheer. Wait a minute, uninformed, the US is producing and exporting the most oil in history.  Not only that, we have offset Russian and OPEC, and Ukriane factors.    "Not only is the U.S. producing more oil than any country in history, but the amount of oil (crude oil, refined products and natural gas liquids) that it is exporting is near the total production of Saudi Arabia." As 2024 Approaches U.S. Leads Global Crude Oil Production (forbes.com)    Biden can take credit for increasing supply,Record U.S. oil production is pushing prices down (axios.com)

 Nonetheless, that is politics, like it or not.  Prices go up, and opponents point blame; prices go down, and opponents shut up.    So...let us look at the relationship between price per gallon and how consumers feel (confidence).   Now that the price per gallon has really dropped, consumer confidence is going back up.as the price at the pump goes down.  Today, it is good news for Biden...and again in November 2024. 

This summer:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gas-prices-are-higher-again-hitting-consumers-very-directly-and-very-profoundly-142018507.html

Now: December 2023

https://gasprices.aaa.com/state-gas-price-averages/