1st Place, Pro-Con Opinion Columns
2021-22, Division 2, News Writing
By Anna Childs & Henry Melcher
Occidentalist
Traverse City West HS
YES
The Biden administration has exasperated the price of raw goods. The Biden administration has been the direct result of rising inflation. When you pump more money in the form of unemployment benefits and “social infrastructure” into the economy, it drives the cost of everything up. His administration wants to give trillions of more dollars into the economy which would cause inflation to rise so fast it will outpace wages, resulting in the expansion of the lower class.
This rise in the cost of goods such as oil can also be attributed to the failing ports in the U.S. Over this year, not a single U.S. port was rated in the top 50 of getting ships in and out of port according to Reuters. The vital port of Los Angeles ranked 328 barely beating Tanzania. This is all because of bad union deals and not because of infrastructure funding. Longshoreman union deals with the port of Los Angeles have caused a lack of productivity; the deals block the ports from running 24/7 and the increasing wages which drive up labor costs. Biden has pointed the finger at private companies, when in reality it is him and his colleagues signing and upholding these crippling union deals. On top of the fact that the ports do not run 24/7, the rhetoric of the Biden administration is keeping people at home and on unemployment/welfare which has caused a massive worker shortage. Now cargo is piling up from across the world and is not being moved because of closed ports and shortages of longshoremen causing prices to increase.
Biden and his colleagues are now pushing for the overhaul of the American energy system amidst a need for economic recovery. Despite this supply chain disaster, the Biden administration has closed down the Keystone XL pipeline which would dramatically reduce the gas prices by delivering 830,000 barrels of oil a day. Next, the Biden administration and their colleagues in Michigan have been considering shutting down Line 5 which is solely responsible for delivering cheap gas to the state of Michigan and surrounding areas.
This ‘bidenflation’ is a huge threat to the lower and middle classes. This is already apparent as energy costs have risen 30 percent. Inflation will begin to outpace wages, causing families to be unable to buy food, heat their house, or drive to work, in a time where get-ting back to work is the key to economic recovery. The Biden administration might not be solely responsible for the increase in gas prices, but their disastrous spending bills and inaction has not helped with surging inflation.
NO
As gas prices rise across the country, an upset population is eager to point fingers at political leaders and direct blame. However, while it may seem that President Biden has caused this recent spike, the rise has very little correlation with his presidency and much more with the state of the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the early stages of the pandemic, the demand for gas took a steep nosedive, as many Americans switched to virtual schooling and working from home, no longer using their cars to commute daily. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) soon decreased gas production due to this huge decline in demand and is now struggling to meet the new need from surging numbers of U.S. drivers for gas. With such a low supply and newfound high demand, it was only inevitable that higher gas prices would soon follow.
Many accusers reference the President’s decision to close the Keystone XL pipeline, which was set to carry oil from Alberta, Canada to Nebraska, as well as his choice to suspend oil and gas leasing permits on federal lands as the reason for the limited oil supply. This connection doesn’t take into account the delayed nature of the free market. There is no way that a decision as recent as the pipeline closing would have such an immediate impact on gas prices in the U.S. As Severin Borenstein, a professor of Business Administration and Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley said, “At this point, there is no plausible connection between Biden becoming president and the increasing gasoline prices” (CNN).
President Biden has called upon OPEC to increase oil production, but OPEC “is refusing to increase production, despite surging demand for gas. As Axios reported, U.S. independent producers also are reluctant to ramp up ‘thanks to a recent wave of bankruptcies and investors demanding more focus on returns’” (Deseret News). As OPEC has only very slowly and recently begun increasing its oil pumping pace, the supply will likely take some time to meet the ever-growing demand. Though the President could make decisions to speed up this process, his influence is, in the end, fairly minimal.
While irritation with the state of gas prices may be simple to direct at a prominent authority figure like the President, this frustration is misplaced. He may be able to take steps moving forward to improve the state of oil production or address this issue through other means, but it will take some time for them to go into effect.
NW-10. Pro-Con Opinion Columns
Each entry must:
- have two (2) columns that express opposing viewpoints on one topic
- the columns should be written by two people and should be packaged together on the same date in the opinion/editorial section
- have both columns submitted together in the same entry form
- have a standing head that indicates the pro/con nature of the package
- carry bylines or other writer identification to indicate the personal opinion nature of the content
Judging Criteria
- Topics relevant to interests and/or welfare of school or students
- Two pieces, while offering opposing views, are consistent in style and tone
- Both pieces win reader interest with compelling leads
- Present evidence/interpretation in logical sequence
- State issue; uses effective examples, facts and comparisons to clarify
- Deal with specific issue; avoids preaching, rhetoric and clichés
- Show sufficient thought and knowledge of subject, developed with personal style
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar