More "disinformation" being peddled to excuse this administration of the high prices they've caused. If anything, Putin has probably increased production and been forced to give discounts to entice countries like India to go against the US sanctions, so blaming the Russian conflict is ridiculous.
There is probably no other good or service in the world more sensitive to global politics than petroleum. The whole "gas lines and stagflation from the 70's" that we're reminded of were absolutely due to our political support of Israel and against most of the Arab block - very little was based on supply and demand.
Likewise, other mass price increases were almost entirely due to either military conflicts or currency issues caused by central banks.
If this administration just came out and said, "Listen - we think fossil fuels are a losing bet. We're gonna make it as painful as possible for our citizens to continue to use them. Lube up, but it's for our own good." then I'd at least respect them, even if I don't agree with the policies.
But I'm not even sure that's what's happening. What I think is that it's just massive mismangement, an uncoordinated and ad-hoc set of policies being pushed by dozens of different actors, causing price increases. And the administration is just flailing around throwing out false narratives and talking points that their hacks in the media regurgitate to the public.
I'm afraid there is no competent technocratic "elite" easing us into a sustainable future where we're all driving Teslas with a nuke-powered charging grid as ubiquitous as gas stations are today. Instead, we're gonna end up with rolling brown-outs, $1500 domestic airline tickets, severely reduced mobility, etc. It's a disaster, IMO.