Will the Inflation Reduction Act Work?

August 16, 2022--Researched by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The fight against U.S. inflation and the push for an all-of-the-above energy sector depends largely on matters outside of the United States, a new report finds. Working for much of the year to combat rising prices, U.S. President Joe Biden was able to push a watered-down version of an all-inclusive bill meant to control inflation, while at the same time advancing a more climate-friendly energy policy. But a lot depends on China. Case in point: a decision to lower interest rates in China to avert a dramatic economic slowdown took 5% off the price of oil in early Monday trading. That rate decision did something the White House has struggled mightily to accomplish--lower the price of oil. Besides, all the lease sales in the world do nothing for energy security unless the discovered resources have a place to go. That means pipelines, and the U.S. lacks the iron and alloy steel to make them. And the minerals used in electrical vehicles? Those aren't in abundance in the U.S., either.