By RICK WHITBECK | POWER THE FUTURE
As we approach our nation’s 246th birthday, we should have a lot to celebrate.
Let’s start with the end of pandemic life. But, Dr. Anthony Fauci would like a quick word …
Our economy is booming! Yeah, I know inflation is at a 30-year high, but …
Gas prices are… OK, gas prices are their highest in history now, even adjusted for inflation.
At least there’s nothing that can ruin that cherished tradition of the summer cookout.
Think again. Under the “What the Biden White House doesn’t want you to read” file we find this little firecracker from the U.S. Farm Bureau:
Cost of July 4th Cookout 17% Higher Compared to a Year Ago.
The Farm Bureau annually calculates the U.S. average for a 10-person cookout, and this year’s jump is the highest in their history. Chicken breasts, hamburgers and all the sides, plus ice cream and lemonade, will run $69.68, instead of last year’s $59.50. Of course, this is no shock to anyone who spent any time in a grocery store over the last year.
However, we’re all old enough to remember that one year ago, the White House infamously celebrated a 16-cent savings for the exact same meal.
Alaskans know our cost of groceries and food is always significantly higher than our Lower-48 brethren pay at the checkout stand. Our food prices are approaching 40% higher year-over-year for numerous items in our urban areas, and nearly double the price for essential goods like milk, and bread in many rural regions across the state.
There’s a reason the average Alaskan is seeing double-digit percentages of increased costs for nearly everything this summer, compared to last: Joe Biden’s failures.
From day one, Biden and his “leadership team” were hell bent on a forced transition away from traditional energy as fast as possible. By doing so, they surrendered an America-first energy agenda that had made the country energy independent and a net oil/gas exporter.
Instead, Team Biden continues to attack oil and gas development at nearly every turn, which cost the industry nearly 30,000 jobs in 2021, according to a new report. That’s 30,000 good-paying jobs; potentially now a drag on government budgets, rather than an uplifter of them.
Elections have consequences. We are living with the consequences of the 2020 election, but a new opportunity isn’t too far away. Alaskans will go to the polls in August and again in November, when we’ll have the opportunity to elect rational, pro-Alaska, pro-progress and pro-responsible candidates. We should reject those calling for an end to the energy jobs that drove our past, drive our present and will be foundational for our future.
We’ll have a clear choice this election season between fear-over-facts candidates who use actual data and analysis instead of make-believe, hypocrisy and outright lies to move their political needle.
Make no mistake, America is and should remain the envy of the world. Not even the short-sighted policies of the Biden Administration (or any politician for that matter) can take that away. We do have a lot to celebrate, and let’s all take a moment to do so this weekend.
Alaska, let’s make the right choice, and celebrate this July 4th knowing that if we and our friends and reasonable Alaskans do the same, brighter days, and lower costs are ahead of us.
Rick Whitbeck is the Alaska State Director for Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @PTFAlaska.
It’s literally $10 extra. Calm down
Yeah, have a piece of cake, instead.
And… Derek wins the “just missing the point” award.
.
Do you really think the issue is spending $10 more on a BBQ? Do you?
.
No, Derek. It is about the factors pushing that $10 increase. You know, the cost of shipping goods, increases in minimum wage, a job seekers market, etc… If your 4th BBQ is costing $10 more, what does that mean for your overall living expenses? HINT: They went up a LOT more then $10.
Another item to mention are the poor souls who have decided to fly to a destination this weekend. After the 2020 election I would always tell young people who voted for Biden… You’re going to be saying, “Remember when we could easily get on an airplane and travel almost anywhere.” The same goes for filling the tank and buying food. I just never thought it would happen this fast.
Bingo, Professor Whitbeck! Life in general is consequential! Are you peddling some version of Johnson’s Great Society and trying to excite the lazy hordes to vote. Leave them alone: they are happy when they needn’t think about the affairs of state and are spoken for!
Edit: “Are you peddling some version of Johnson’s Great Society and trying to excite the lazy hordes to vote?”
The full stop at the end of the second sentence was changed to a question mark.
I wonder if Usurper PotatoHead Joe and his family will be celebrating the Fourth of July this year with Peking Duck or with General Tso’s Chicken?
That dip s— in the Whitehouse couldn’t find his ass with both hands. He reminds me of Barney fife. He is a disaster and an imbecile. Been on the government tit so long he has not a clue what makes this country tick. Most in Congress are exactly the same.
So this article is just an ad for a rather useless non-profit? “Alaskans will go to the polls in August and again in November….” It doesn’t matter how many times any of us go to the polls, there will never be another free and fair election in this country. The last line is perfect: “Vote this way & prices will come down!” Prices are not going to come down.
You sir are correct. Prices will never go back down to this pre-hyperinflation time, especially fuel. We will never, ever again see Diesel and petrol in the $2.50 range again. We might get into the vicinity of $4.50 but not much lower than that. Most of all, I hope pain is being felt the most by people who voted for Biden.
Comments are closed.