Motorists gassing up this Fourth of July holiday want President Biden to do something to ease their pain at the pump, but not if it means making gas station owners the fall guy.
Brian Rodgers, a pharmaceutical worker from Texas, was filling up at a station on 11th Avenue on Monday.
“I filled up in Texas the other day for $4.50 [a gallon]. The prices are too high and they shouldn’t be too high,” the 49-year-old told The Post. “There are a lot of constraints on production here, but if we loosen that, it will help. Talk about the Keystone Pipeline and drilling on federal land.
But Rodgers didn’t agree with the president admonishing gas station owners to lower prices unilaterally, as Biden did in a tweet on Saturday.
“Everybody is taking a hit. It’s a big shock to spend that much and there’s a lot that can be done to fix production here. Biden shouldn’t blame the little guy, as in the gas station owners,” said Rodgers, who paid $70 to not even fill his tank halfway.
Nabil, the manager of a Mobil station on 8th Avenue, put the blame for the high cost of gas on the taxman.
“The gas station owners aren’t at fault. [Gas] costs $6 per gallon here and $4 per gallon in Brooklyn. Biden or the city need to step in. Manhattan taxes are insane,” said Nabil, who didn’t give his last name.
New York, along with a number of states, suspended its gas taxes through the end of this year, effective June 1.
Brenda K., 47, who said it cost her $65 to fill up her 2019 Acura, wanted Biden to stop blaming others for the price spikes.
“Joe Biden has no plan to lower gas prices. Blaming the astronomical prices on gas station owners, CEOs, the [Ukraine] war, or [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is dumb. He needs to restart the pipeline and restart drilling oil on federal land,” she said.
“Gas prices could easily be fixed. Biden needs to let drilling on federal lands continue and let new areas open up,” she added. “I didn’t vote for Biden to pay $80 to fill my tank.”
Medi Halqu, 33, said it cost him $120 to fill up his Cadillac Escalade.
“Last summer it cost me $80 less. What can Biden do? There’s are too many factors of why gas prices are high but he needs to take some action,” Halqu said. “He is the president, the gas station owner don’t occupy the Oval Office.”
The president was pilloried over the weekend when he tweeted that gas station owners should pitch in for the good of the country and lower the costs of fuel.
“My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril,” Biden posted on Saturday. “Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product. And do it now.”
The US Oil & Gas Association ridiculed the president’s message.
“Working on it Mr. President,” the industry group said in response on Sunday. “In the meantime — have a Happy 4th and please make sure the WH intern who posted this tweet registers for Econ 101 for the fall semester…”
Biden’s posting even rubbed Jeff Bezos, the country’s second wealthiest man and founder of Amazon, the wrong way.
“Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this,” he said.
“It’s either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics,” added Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post newspaper.
