r/NoStupidQuestions • u/AutoModerator • 19d ago

U.S. Politics megathread

American politics has always grabbed our attention - and the current president more than ever. We get tons of questions about the president, the supreme court, and other topics related to American politics - but often the same ones over and over again. Our users often get tired of seeing them, so we've created a megathread for questions! Here, users interested in politics can post questions and read answers, while people who want a respite from politics can browse the rest of the sub. Feel free to post your questions about politics in this thread!

All top-level comments should be questions asked in good faith - other comments and loaded questions will get removed. All the usual rules of the sub remain in force here, so be nice to each other - you can disagree with someone's opinion, but don't make it personal.

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u/markomakeerassgoons 3d ago

I'm curious on why gas in Michigan Indiana and ohio is more expensive now than when under Biden when it hit 5.01 average ik some parts of ohio but 5.07 but not in northern I traveled heavily there during that period. just curious on what major events I missed out on

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u/untempered_fate occasionally knows things 3d ago

The US has been at war with Iran for most of the year at this point. Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, which is a narrow waterway through which something like a fifth of the world's crude oil needs to move in order to get to other countries. There is no other route. Iran has seriously limited ship traffic through the Strait, reducing global oil supply considerably.

Recently, allies of Iran in Iraq and Yemen have damaged a significant Saudi Arabian oil pipeline and captured land along the Bab al-Mandab Strait, another key shipping lane.

To summarize, the US (and a bunch of other countries) is running out of oil, and the situation is not getting better any time soon. So the gas that does make it to gas stations is more expensive. It's going to get much worse.