The Biden administration should promote domestic oil production to lower gas prices, said Rep. Bill Huizenga, a Republican from Michigan.
“When it comes to addressing the Russian energy sector, sanctions are only part of the equation,” Huizenga said. “The Biden Administration must also end its war on domestic energy production.”
While many politicians like Huizenga support the sanctions, Hillsdale’s mayor, Adam Stockford, holds other beliefs.
“The oligarchs in Russia and the elites in every country rarely feel the sting of sanctions in the way the average citizen does,” Stockford said. “The idea that the Russian populace will throw off the leadership of Putin because of a little economic pressure is a gross misunderstanding of a people who suffered a half century under the grip of Stalin.”
Stockford compared the negative effects caused by sanctions to the economic slowdown caused by federal and state responses to COVID-19.
“We’re still reeling from the poor decisions of our leaders in Lansing and Washington, D.C., and the subsequent inflation and devastation they’ve willfully caused,” Stockford said. “Now they’re going to shackle us with an overseas war and the continuation of their toxic policies. It is utter stupidity.”
In contrast, Professor of Economics Gary Wolfram said he believes the sanctions won’t have a lasting effect, and are worth the temporary frustration to achieve diplomacy in Eastern Europe. A follower of the Austrian School of economics, he largely believes in a free market, but also that coercion has powerful effects.
“It certainly won’t move the United States into a recession; it will just probably slow the growth, maybe by one or two percentage points of GDP,” Wolfram said. “Instead of maybe 4% growth we will end up with 2.5% growth or something like that.”
One of Wolfram’s main concerns, however, is the rising cost of gas.
“Part of the inflation is going to be due to the increase in oil prices, because think of how much goods are moved about,” he said. “Let’s say there are goods in the Port of Long Beach: they’ve got to be moved to a warehouse and then they’ve got to be moved to, let’s say, a Walmart storage center where they hold the product, then out to the Walmart stores. So, there’s a good deal of transportation costs in any product that’s out there.”
Huizenga emphasized the importance of transitioning back to energy independence.
“America can and should use energy diplomacy as a force for good to help lower prices here at home and support our allies abroad,” Huizenga said.
Oil is not the only transportation resource the United States imports from Russia.
“It turns out that Russia produces a number of other components. For example, there’s a lot of components that are in semiconductors that are produced in Russia, such as batteries and palladium,” Wolfram said. “Palladium is used in auto engine exhausts, so that’s going to result in an increase in the cost of producing automobiles. They’re also a major producer of nickel and aluminum and steel.”
Wolfram said he expects inflation rates to increase.
“I’m guessing that you’re going to see an inflation rate of somewhere around 8%, which is the largest that it’s been since the early 1980s,” Wolfram said “On an annualized basis, a good chunk of that will be due to this worldwide destructive disruption in the supply chain.”
Despite personal views about handling war in Ukraine, something all three said they agreed on was that America should come first.
“We should utilize and develop our energy resources to counter the influence and supply of Russian oil,” Huizenga said.
Wolfram noted the diplomatic benefits of the situation.
“I don’t think he expected that there would be such unity with NATO and the United States,” Wolfram said. “The sanctions have been quite strict, and it’s costing the Russian economy a good deal.”
Stockford said he is more of an isolationist.
“I’m not unsympathetic to what is happening in Eurasia, but I’m of the opinion we need to stay out of it,” he said. “This state and country is being governed by morons and special interest lobbyists.”