Republicans love to blame President Obama for the increase in gas prices, but they forget to mention that they’re ones giving Big Oil companies $7,610 a minute in tax breaks. They are the ones stopping Democrats in Congress from repealing $4 billion a year in tax breaks for oil companies who don’t need it. Republicans should understand that they cannot blame the President for gas prices while they are giving free money to big oil companies. Some in the Republican Party, such as the jokes they having running for their party’s nomination, are the same ones arguing that repealing tax breaks for big oil will not change the price of gas.

Well, they are right in that. The repeal of tax breaks for those companies won’t change the price of gas at the pump. But then why are they giving free money ($4 billion a year) to big oil companies? Because Republicans are for corporate welfare. Blaming the president for gas prices is pure politics, a game that the current Republican Presidential field is playing.

Under President Obama’s administration, America is producing more oil than before the last eight years and we are importing less foreign oil. Since president Obama came into office, our dependence on foreign oil has decreased from 52 percent to 45 percent (Energy Information Administration). That is something that we Americans should be celebrating, especially since for the last 40 years politicians after politicians have been saying that we should be less dependent on foreign oil.

President Obama outlined in his “Blueprint for American-Made Energy” that the focus our country needs to take on energy is one that focuses on clean renewable energy. Our energy shouldn’t have one source, it should have many. In his plan, President Obama calls for establishing a clean energy standard, which would require companies to produce a larger percentage of their energy from clean energy sources over time.

Lastly, I know education isn’t their favorite program to spend money on, but it wouldn’t hurt the Republicans to take Economics 101 to understand that the president doesn’t set gas prices, the global market does.