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The Politics of Gouging – More Pain, More Gain [1]
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Date: 2022-07-09
The ding-ding-ding of the gas pump is drowning out any meaningful dialogue... briging a partisan widfall...
Don’t expect any relief soon; pain at the pump is a political windfall
It’s complicated. That’s the response to questions about why prices, especially at the pump, have skyrocketed. It is true, the causes and nature of inflation can be very complex. Full employment can exacerbate a wage-price spiral, the downstream effects of the pandemic likely contribute, even distant wars—everyone has their favorite got-to explanation. While everyone is preoccupied with seeking to assign blame, there are those who are reaping not only a financial windfall, but a political one as well. The latter is almost assured to have repercussions that could take a generation (or more) to undo.
There is absolutely no incentive, or hammer, for the fossil fuel industry to do anything about your pain at the pump. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Americans have been conditioned to believe that fuel prices are controlled by a dial on the desk in the Oval Office. Prices go up; the person at the desk get pilloried. If prices moderate; they can take credit. Carter got the blame for (among many things) the gas lines of the 1970s—that began while on his predecessors watch. 45 got praise (mostly from his own lips) for moderating fuel prices—that started under his predecessor. This game goes on no matter who is in power, or who wants to be.
Inflation is a particularly effective pollical rallying point. Culture war rallying points aside, if you look at most economic wedge issues, few have had true staying power. For a while the “taxed enough” and deficit cries were sustained just long enough to get folks in power that quickly reduced taxes (on top earners, with a token temporary cut for some lower tiers). Then same fiscal warriors went on to balloon the deficit anyhow. Remember when it was all about “jobs, jobs, jobs!” We’re now at full employment—to the point where worker shortages are exacerbating supply and services, increasing inflation—yet few seem satisfied.
“But inflation!” is the new battle cry. It does not matter that crude prices have actually seen drops, the price at the pump will not reflect this. Few other issues have the same triggering effect as first hand pain to the pocket. This is the ultimate winning strategy for 2022 and 2024. Campaigns do not even have to propose any practical solutions to be victorious—just fuel (no pun intended) anger. Once there are majorities of those sympathetic to their cause, there might be a symbolic gesture by the fossil fuel industry, and oil producing nations, to moderate the pain at the pump. But never for long.
Once all three branches of government are firmly in the hands of the revanchists, then the real work can begin. Re-inventing the electoral process to ensure that they cannot easily lose future elections. This likely future is one where just enough partisan state legislatures can overturn any loss (with full blessing from the super-majority in on the bench). The cost of this inflation fixation could mean minority rule indefinitely.
Speaking of the bench, we’ve already seen a glimpse of what the fossil fuel industry can expect in the way of super majority activist bench kneecapping of green legislation and regulations. Yes, this current bout of inflation may cripple any green progress. And just imagine what a potential super-duper-majority on the bench could do, and legislative majorities hell bent on crushing anything green.
Democracy will take a hit domestically, but also globally. Inflation-driven wins for the revanchists is exactly what a certain despot needs to realize his dream of a restored empire. The assist from here will come quickly. The most valuable “assets” are those that have no idea they are assets. No kompromat needed when flattery will do just fine. As fatigue sets in form the war of attrition, the public will be eager for a negotiated settlement—no matter how much territory is given up. If a lapdog for the empire is (again) in office and oversees this settlement, they’ll be hailed as a hero. Will “peace” in that region bring down prices at the pump? Perhaps as a fleeting symbolic gesture, but not in the long term.
What can be done to stop the gouging? Not much. There are some anti-gouging laws and rules on the books, even in (of all places) Texas; albeit limited in scope and ability to enforce. During the early part of the pandemic, there were anti-gouging acts proposed, and there is a new one on the books. Will these go anywhere? Not likely with the mid-terms almost assured to give majorities to those who would never support such efforts. And then there is the recent kerfuffle between the WH, who has called out gouging, and the billionaire-champion-for-the-hyper-wealthy defending such practices. There is a certain irony to such dialogues about gouging, in that the thieves are hailed as heroes and the cops get the blame.
No, the only way to counter the likely effects of the price-gouging-political-windfall is by decisive action at the polls. There are those who have everything to gain from your pain at the pump and are thrilled that your despair seems to be turning to voter apathy.
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