When Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear recently announced his idea for helping the state's residents get some relief from skyrocketing gas prices, his laughable suggestion was properly met with scorn and ridicule.
Beshear's proposal is to suspend a scheduled two-cent-per-gallon tax increase that is set to go into effect on July 1. That idea went over about as well as could be expected -- that is to say, it wasn't well-received at all.
A price reduction that minimal wouldn't even be noticed by consumers who've seen prices at the pump more than double since President Biden took office in January 2021. Indeed, prices have risen 20 to 30 cents a gallon in the week since Beshear offered up his idea.
It's questionable, in fact, if the governor even has the legal authority to suspend the tax hike. The two-cent increase was passed by the General Assembly as part of a sliding scale measure a few years ago to set a floor on the gas tax rate to shore up the state's Road Fund, which pays for construction and maintenance of state highways and also funds maintenance of county roads and city streets. Since the legislature approved the tax structure, the legislature would have to alter it.
Beshear also rightfully was ridiculed when he said he was going to consult with Attorney General Daniel Cameron about declaring a state of emergency so the state's price gouging prohibitions could be enacted. This little bit of political grandstanding came about because the legislature limited the governor's powers to declare emergencies after Beshear abused his authority in dealing with the Wuhan Chinese virus.
To the average Kentuckian, the price of gas -- and inflation in general -- is more of an emergency than the Kung Flu ever was. Unlike the pandemic, where people could make their own decisions as to how they were going to protect themselves, the economy is something over which they have no control. They're helpless as prices continue to rise to the point that they have to make tough decisions on which bills to pay. For many, who have to drive long distances to work because jobs are unavailable in their small towns and rural communities, their paycheck is being consumed by the fuel it takes to get to their place of employment.
Meanwhile Cameron, like the Democrats who preceded him in office, sits idly by while gasoline retailers collude to set prices in their individual neighborhoods or communities. Ever wonder why when one station in a town raises its price, everyone else does too? Big news was made a few years ago when a gas station/convenience store/restaurant in Clay County refused to join the collusion game and instead consistently priced its gas well below other stations in the Manchester area. Other retailers began threatening the station, but it didn't back down. Although the station wasn't identified in the news story, it later became known that the business was Alvin's, which also defied many of Beshear's Kung Flu orders regarding masks.
The sad truth is, the Democrats in charge of Kentucky and the United States want these high prices. They want gasoline to be unaffordable. It gives them a chance to push their "Green New Deal" agenda and assert even more control over the populace.
If Andy Beshear was serious about helping Kentuckians with these rising costs, he wouldn't propose a laughable delay of an implementation of a two-cent-per-gallon tax increase. He would, instead, go ahead and declare the state of emergency to invoke the anti-price gouging legislation, then call the legislature into special session to extend that emergency order for as long as gas prices remain exorbitant and at record high levels.
During that special session, Beshear could also ask the legislature to suspend the state's 28-cents-per-gallon gas tax until pump prices fall below a reasonable level, such as $2.50 a gallon. He could also ask the General Assembly to reconsider the proposed income tax rebate that was considered in the regular session earlier this year but became a victim of the reconciliation process between the House and Senate. A tax rebate of $500 for individual filers and $1,000 for joint filers was proposed by the Senate. Offering that tax rebate could help Kentuckians offset inflationary pressures.
Likewise, Biden could do more to help relieve the economic pain by asking Congress to suspend the federal gas tax, repealing all the executive orders he's issued since taking office that have driven up oil and gas prices, and reverse the embargo on Russian oil. He could also ask Congress to provide a tax rebate to assist working Americans.
Believe it or not, Biden still has defenders out there who agree with him that Vladimir Putin caused all this grief when Russia invaded Ukraine. Unfortunately for the Delaware Dummy and his fan club, there's an easily verifiable timeline that shows how Biden's actions have driven up prices before and after the invasion. Read it and weep, Biden sycophants:
Anytime someone makes the claim that the president is not responsible for gas prices, find this chart and show them. Each executive decision Biden has made regarding oil production, starting on his first day in office when he canceled construction of the Keystone XL pipeline that would deliver Canadian oil to Gulf of Mexico refineries, has made the price of gas go up. There's a definite cause and effect relationship here. Should a Republican take office in 2025 and immediately reverse these decisions, you'd see an immediate resulting reduction in prices.
There are definite steps that liberal politicians like Beshear and Biden could take to provide consumers with some relief, but they aren't inclined to do so. It will take more than the clueless Biden's "Putin caused this" feeble and helpless claims for him to escape responsibility for the economic destruction his energy policies have caused. And it will certainly take more than Beshear's politically pandering but worthless promise to stop a minuscule impending gas tax hike to protect the working class from runaway price increases.
In Beshear's case, relief depends on him trusting the GOP-controlled state legislature and allowing it to do its job. A narrow special session call designed to address the gas price crisis is all it would take. Beshear should be on the phone immediately with House Speaker David Osborne and Senate President David Williams to hammer out a consensus for a legislative agenda. The Republicans are anxious and ready to provide relief to consumers. Beshear needs to relinquish his need to control everything and work in a spirit of cooperation to help the state.
The Democrats are going to take beatings in the Kentucky state legislative races and in the national congressional elections this fall unless they take bold measures to protect the people from these unaffordable price increases. Silly reductions in scheduled tax increases won't get the job done, and most will see through that idea for the ineffective political ploy it is. Leaders' words ring hollow unless they are willing to take real, decisive action and not just practice performative politics that accomplish nothing.
