When something goes wrong in a country, it is only natural to blame its leader. However, President Joe Biden should not be blamed for the recent spike in gas prices. 

Do you remember when the pandemic began and gas prices plummeted to nearly two dollars a gallon? April of 2020 gas prices averaged $1.94, reported Statista. You could fill up your standard four-door sedan for less than $20. Unfortunately, just two years later those numbers have doubled. 

The most recent gas update reported Illinois prices to be averaging $4.40 per gallon and the national average at $3.92 per gallon. 

Many factors influence the price of gasoline and most of them are due to the urging of the American people. 

Gas prices decreased during the first shutdown because the demand decreased, but as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and more people are going out, the demand for oil goes up and prices increase.  

The most recent spike in gas prices is due to decisions that were made by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The organization currently controls 80% of the world’s oil, according to OPEC. 

OPEC members consist of countries such as Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

OPEC announced on Oct. 6 that it would be cutting their oil production by two million barrels a day in an effort to increase gas prices around the world, as reported by CNBC. 

What was the reason for this cut in oil production? Simply because they could and are hungry for more money. 

This could not come at a worse time as many countries are already struggling with soaring gasoline prices. 

The United Kingdom’s gas price has gone up 141% in just one calendar year, reports UK Parliament. 

Canada’s gasoline prices were decreasing with the end of the summer months at $1.20, but are projected to go right back up to over two dollars, as recorded by Trading Economics. 

In response to the oil production cuts, President Biden is reevaluating the United States’ relationship with Saudi Arabia, as Saudi Arabia and Russia co-chair OPEC+. 

“I am in the process, when the House and Senate gets back, they’re going to have to – there’s going to be some consequences for what they’ve done with Russia,” Biden told CNN. 

There are many factors that go into what the price of gasoline ends up being at the pump, but citizens should not jump to conclusions by immediately pointing fingers at the man in the Oval Office.