Many things in the economy are misunderstood, and the price of oil/gas is no exception.  The only thing worse than the media peddling half-truths and falsehoods, is when their ‘fact-checking’ suffers from the same ignorance with a dash of bias. 

And so it is with the San Antonio Express-News, syndicating from the Houston Chronicle this week.

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“American presidents have little control over fuel markets. Petroleum products are global commodities and their prices are dictated by supply and demand.”

Partial BS. 

They are indeed “global commodities,” which undercuts the goal of so-called “energy independence.”  Different countries produce slightly different grades of crude, which determines the type of refining capacity we have. 

The main reason we became a global leader in production and export (not a bad thing if you support the domestic industry) is where the president absolutely has control: the condition of the dollar.

Crude is priced in dollars worldwide.  In the absence of set exchange rates, such as when the dollar had solid gold backing, when a presidential administration supports and defends a strong dollar (think Reagan and Clinton), it takes fewer of them to purchase goods and services.  When they let it flail, and weaken, as has been the case this entire century so far, it takes more.

This is acutely true when it comes to commodities.  It’s no coincidence that hydraulic fracturing took off, unlocking vast quantities of American oil and natural gas, when President Bush failed to defend and support a strong national currency. 

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“Prices are high because supplies are tight and demand is high.”

BS. 

As measured in barrels per day, the demand for, and supply of oil is nearly identical.     

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“One could easily argue these policies are discouraging new investments in oil and gas projects … can and do eventually influence market trends, which could cause more pain at the pump in the future — if you’re still driving a gasoline-powered car.”

Partial slant.

Not only do policies absolutely influence the market, but it starts well before that.  Shrinkage in investment, already obstructed by the main source of high energy prices (the aforementioned weak dollar), starts when pro-government activist policymakers are campaigning for public office.  It sends a signal to owners (i.e. investors) and management of companies. 

The slant comes from the very last passage.

Currently, less than 1% of the automobiles on the road are electric.  The market is moving that way, but unlikely to meet goals set by politicians.  Moreover, such goals usually involved coercing industry to do this or that.  Downstream, government reaches into the pocket of one taxpayer to give to another to ‘influence’ their buying patterns. 

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“The interplay between the loss of Russian supply and recovering post-pandemic economies …”
“Fuel demand tanked when the pandemic hit …”
“Oil producers … also face pandemic-induced labor and supply chain constraints making it harder to ramp up production.”
“The world has lost 3 million barrels per day of refining capacity since the start of the pandemic …”
“COVID-19 changed the way they do business …”

BS.

Blaming everything on the “pandemic,” or “COVID-19,” or the “coronavirus” is pure slant.  People were adjusting to the spread of the coronavirus.  We were never given a chance to see that through, to sift from the millions and millions of actions and ideas from individual decision-making that could have shown the best way to navigate the pandemic. 

Instead, politicians at every level across the world either panicked, or saw an opportunity to seize control of our lives.  There is never any legitimate reason to rob people of their individual freedom, and freedom to associate with each other.  Every time policymakers, the media, bureaucrats peddle such authoritarian BS, citizens should push back fervently.

The post Fact-checking the Fact-checkers: Gas Prices first appeared on Infuse SA.

• The government lockdowns as an “opportunity (for) transformational change.”
• Turning failed government education policy into government jobs.
• A preview of what’s in store for bond debt-funding.

Back in 2008, with the country in the throes of a mortgage meltdown and onset of the Great Recession, incoming White House Chief of staff Rahm Emanuel pounced: “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”

So began an explosion of government spending and regulation.  A similar occasion has materialized over the last couple years, with some of the outlays raining down on municipalities.  The latest installment just so happens to coincide with a billion-dollar bond proposal.

City Council is currently trying to figure out how to spend $88 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).  It’s nominally earmarked to “determine what impact the coronavirus pandemic had on San Antonio in areas ranging from small business to mental health.” 

There’s no way to ever know that though, because the fallout wasn’t totally related to the virus.  What they will find out is the destruction that followed in the wake of government lockdowns. 

Businesses were ordered closed, some never reopened, and people (especially those with families to support) stressed out over the jobs they lost.  Where’s the mystery here? 

Ahh but wait: the city has received dozens of “unsolicited requests from groups and agencies seeking” 4-times what Uncle Sam has bestowed upon us.  Wiper blades are needed to clean the computer screen of the drooling over who will get what.

Councilwoman Melissa Cabello-Havrda (D6) strikes an opportunistic tone, claiming the pandemic gave us the chance “to improve our communities.” 

If the pandemic gave us a chance for anything, it was to find ways to navigate this new virus that was spreading amongst us.  And we were starting to do that: wiping counters and doorknobs, having more hand sanitizer available, using bandanas and handkerchiefs as masks, etc. 

Whether out of fear of the virus, fear of poor emergency planning, or fear of being seen as not “doing something,” authoritarians snuffed out the adjustments citizens were making. They brought the bureaucratic hammer down on us instead.  We all remember the hysteria, grocery shortages, and strife that ensued.

Given Uncle Sam’s loose spending standards, it’s not a stretch to say they, and their special-interest and academic cronies saw this “opportunity” coming.  That may be why they fell in line with state and federal officials rather than stand with their constituents.

One could be forgiven for thinking that this kind of gravy train is connected to the repercussions of politicians’ continually pumping more taxpayer funds into higher education: a greater number of college grads possessing degrees of diminished value. 

When kids who might otherwise have explored vocational careers, are instead lured to a university by artificially easy loan terms, you’ll see a shortage of labor in the former, and a surplus in the latter. 

It’s leading some to push for unionization, which tends to suppress economy dynamism, and therefore depress prosperity.  Or worse: to ‘careers’ in lobbying, the kind that depend on government spending for their livelihood. 

Never let it be said that government doesn’t create jobs. 

Concerns have been aired about making sure these ARPA funds are used for their intended purpose, and that we avoid commitments that would put pressure on future city budgets, etc.  That’s beside the point though. 

When you have folks like Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3) who believe the arts are “an economic driver,” or that it’s possible for the public sector to spend “a bucket of money … efficiently and effectively” like the private sector, as Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8) does, there’s a disconnect.

Moreover, when Councilwoman Havrda (D6) feels the aforementioned opportunities “to improve” exist because they had “previously been underfunded,” doesn’t that imply that citizens have been undertaxed?  Given their reaction to recent property tax appraisals, they probably disagree. 

If voters don’t deny the council the $1.2 billion gusher of bond debt they’re so enthusiastic about, while at the same time demanding the property tax be eliminated, this cycle will continue regardless of the source of funny money.

Somewhere Rahm is smiling.

The post The Gravy Train Leading Devalued Degrees to Government ‘Work’ first appeared on Infuse SA.

Newspaper editorial pages generally lean one way or another politically.  Given that they’re made up of individuals with their own leanings, this is no surprise. 

However, even though the New York Times and Wall Street Journal tend to sway left and right, respectively, each have columnists that go against that grain, providing some semblance of balance.  If that characteristic has trickled down to local outlets, it missed us here in the Alamo City.

What we have is a media that leans one way, unchecked.  They leverage this to essentially promote government programs, and sugarcoat their inevitable failure.  History is no guide to them.    

The latest example revolves around San Antonio’s “Train for Jobs” (TfJ) program, which itself is a precursor to the “Ready to Work” (RtW) initiative.  The San Antonio Express-News editorial defending it contains slants, omissions, and the failure to connect some dots.

The Slants:

“When COVID-19 brought San Antonio’s economy to a standstill …“

The popular narrative, from the international level down to the local, is that the coronavirus/COVID-19/pandemic caused the massive recession last year.  That is not the case, and we’ll never know for sure the extent to which it was responsible.

Businesses were starting to stock (more) hand sanitizer.  Those in charge could be found wiping down door handles.  People were making adjustments.  It was the primitive government lockdowns that sent society and the economy into a tailspin. 

Whenever we hear of Wall Street gyrating because of a new variant, it’s not the virus they’re reacting to.  From Warren Buffet to the casual day-trader, people putting their resources at risk do so with the utmost diligence.  They’re generally not dumb people.

Most of us, investors or not, know from life experience that viruses mutate, especially as we adapt to them, bolster our immune systems, update vaccines, etc.  What is more difficult to predict is the collective wisdom, to use a term loosely, of officeholders that today’s politics tends to produce.   

The reaction of governments at every level to the coronavirus, regardless of the political party in charge, is merely the latest example of what usually causes such a “standstill.”

“That said, a Dec. 15 city report offers optimism. More than 16K people have expressed interest in the program, more than 9,500 people have completed the intake process, and more than 4,400 people have enrolled.“

A right-leaning publication might just as easily have substituted “cause for concern” for “optimism,” and rounded the figures up to the nearest thousand in order to use “less than” rather than “more.”  “Roughly” would have been the most objective word here.

The Omissions:

”Consider the cost of the status quo — unemployment …”

“The job training was launched in the middle of the pandemic, in spring 2020, when 140K city residents found themselves out of work.  It’s a different job market today. “

The EN does not elaborate on this last point, so we will:

The employment situation in San Antonio is approaching where it was before the government shutdowns.  As the EN reports, roughly 900 of those jobs can be attributed to the TfJ program.  The disparity is obvious.

What explains it?  Actual job creators do, not to mention the pre-existing educational infrastructure.  The former already “invests in people” via training, while the latter regularly “revamps our workforce.”   

Nevertheless, despite the early, lackluster returns of the federally-funded TfJ, San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg led activists in convincing three-quarters of voters to commit a portion of sales tax revenue to the RtW program. 

Why?  Do they believe the efforts of employers and schools, with whom they’re reportedly partnering in this venture, to be inadequate?  Was it simply a quest for a ‘political victory’? 

Do they believe in government dependence i.e. “wraparound services”?  Was it redirect more taxpayer money to other public institutions (colleges) as a favor?  In this case, it arguably adds fuel to the tuition-inflation fire.  Shouldn’t leaders, not to mention the press, know all this?

The result is a huge deadweight loss to society to benefit the well-connected.

Connecting the dots:

”The city also was slow to set up it (sic) internal structure and only hired a permanent director … in August.”

”Be critical of the city’s workforce efforts, but also be patient.  Generational change takes time.”

Government faces next to no threat of going out of business, even when it encounters competition.  It lacks the incentive that drives their stiffest rivals (postal delivery, education, book stores) to succeed: the profit motive. 

Private entities in these sectors have found a way to deliver higher quality at acceptable prices even as their customers continue to be poached via taxation to finance the public options.  That’s how inadequate the latter are.

Nonetheless, since these public bodies aren’t going anywhere, they face less pressure to deliver a valuable service in a timely manner.  And the people running them know it.

So do others eager to jump on the gravy train.

Lifetime politicians, bureaucrats and activists who advocate for/run government programs have little inclination to promote private alternatives.  They have every motivation however, to convince voters to pay a ‘tiny’ fraction more in taxes for another government program. 

An objective media would point all this out.

The post Local Media Does Citizens Disservice By Avoiding Balance first appeared on Infuse SA.