As the most fortunate of Americans attempt to enjoy vacations this summer — as they run out of money and run up high-interest credit cards — they should wrap their minds around one basic underlying cause for the struggle: Far-left activists and an infirm president they control have attacked our way of life.

Set aside socialist social reconstruction and consider a few economic facts in isolation. They alone are enough to cause widespread misery:

—Unleaded gasoline has hit a record-high price nationally for 35 of the past 38 days.

—As of Friday, the national average price for gasoline topped $5 for seven days straight.

—Forecasts show the cost of fuel going higher with no imminent end in sight.

—Fixed mortgage rates last week reached the highest level in more than 20 years, thanks to inflation forcing a massive interest-rate hike, meaning few young Americans can buy their first homes.

—A Willis Towers Watson survey last week found more than one-third of U.S. workers with salaries exceeding $100,000 live paycheck to paycheck — more than a doubling from 2019.

—A survey by Lending Club finds more than 55% of millennials who earn $250,000 live paycheck to paycheck.

—Lending Club finds nearly 100% of millennials barely make ends meet, regardless of income.

For low-income households, the economy under President Joe Biden means going without adequate food, shelter and transportation. Throughout Colorado and the country, donations to food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters are down and on a downward trajectory.

When people can't afford food for themselves, it is hard to give to others. This means the poorest of the poor struggle with even less, meaning the economy causes disproportional suffering among nonwhite minorities Biden claims to care so much about.

This began with Biden, and he perpetuates it every chance he gets.

Fossil fuels are the world economy's foundation and will remain so throughout the lifetimes of anyone living today, regardless of activist pipe dreams. It's just a fact. Without fossil fuels — at this juncture and for at least another century — we don't have food, shelter or clothing. We don't have solar panels or windmills. None of it is possible without oil, gas and coal.

No country produces more oil and gas than the United States, and we do so with the highest safety and environmental standards in the world. Biden has consistently pledged to destroy the world's economic base, and we're starting to see what it looks like.

"Kiddo, I want you to just take a look. You don't have to agree. But I want you to look at my eyes. I guarantee you. I guarantee you we're going to end fossil fuel."

That was Biden answering a question and shaking a young woman's hand during a campaign stop on Oct. 6, 2019, in New Castle, New Hampshire.

Two months later while speaking in West Virginia, coal miners expressed concern that Biden's anti-energy agenda might threaten their jobs. Biden did not dispute this concern.

He told the miners to learn to code computers — a let-'em-eat-cake moment that left the crowd silent.

In a debate with then-President Donald Trump on Oct. 23, 2020, Biden promised to "transition from the oil industry."

On the day of his inauguration, Biden signed an executive order shutting down construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. With the swipe of a pen, he shut off the most environmentally friendly and efficient way to transport crude the world needs for everything.

One less pipeline extension means more dangerous, expensive and environmentally damaging transportation of crude by trucks, trains and fuel-guzzling tankers that can spill.

Biden's messaging has, in every way possible, undermined confidence to invest in fossil fuel exploration and production. His decision to artificially inflate the economy with trillions of dollars backed by no labor or production has contributed so heavily to the labor shortage that domestic oil and gas companies cannot ramp up production regardless of profit potential.

The price and availability of everything the world needs to flourish and survive depend on a lavish supply of fossil fuels. It's an irrefutable fact. Biden and his far-left base want to banish primary energy to the detriment of humanity and the environment, and the pain has only begun.

When it costs too much to live, blame Biden and his left-wing puppeteers. In November, render them powerless by giving control of Congress to the party with more compassion for humanity and the planet we live on.

REPRINTED FROM THE COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE

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