Americans are once again feeling the pain every time they pull into a gas station.
The national average for regular gasoline has climbed to about $4.48 a gallon, compared with $3.18 a year ago. Diesel has reached a record $6.51 a gallon, nearly double what drivers were paying at this time last year, according to AAA.
Those numbers affect much more than family vacations or weekend drives.
Nearly everything Americans purchase spends at least part of its journey aboard a diesel-powered truck. When diesel rises, so does the cost of groceries, building materials, farm supplies and almost every product delivered to a store. Small businesses pay more, farmers pay more and consumers eventually receive the bill.
The fighting involving Iran and its allies has disrupted oil production, shipping lanes and refinery operations throughout the Middle East. Attacks and threats near critical waterways have forced tankers to take longer and more expensive routes. Oil traders are also adding a risk premium because nobody knows what will happen next.
That uncertainty is part of the problem.
President Donald Trump must decide what America’s objective is and clearly communicate it. Are we prepared to escalate military action to protect shipping routes and prevent Iran and the Houthis from disrupting the world’s energy supply? Or are we going to pursue negotiations and work toward ending the fighting?
Remaining somewhere in between is not a strategy.
Reports that Trump called off planned airstrikes against Houthi forces at the last minute may have prevented an immediate expansion of the war. But without a larger plan, such decisions can also leave our allies, enemies and energy markets guessing about what the United States will do next. Reuters reported that the continuing conflict is threatening major energy routes and increasing the cost of moving oil.
War should never be entered casually. Escalating American involvement could cost lives, widen the conflict and push oil prices even higher before conditions improve. Nobody should pretend that dropping more bombs will automatically produce cheaper gasoline.
At the same time, endlessly postponing a decision carries consequences of its own. If hostile forces believe they can attack pipelines, tankers and shipping lanes without a serious response, the disruptions may continue. If oil producers, shipping companies and insurers cannot predict what comes next, they will charge more to protect themselves against that risk.
The president does not control gasoline prices with a switch in the Oval Office. Prices are set by a complicated combination of global oil production, refinery capacity, transportation costs, demand, taxes and market expectations.
But presidential decisions matter. Clear American policy can calm markets. Confusion and hesitation can frighten them.
Some elected officials are now calling for a temporary suspension of state gasoline taxes to provide immediate relief. Others want Congress to suspend the federal gasoline tax, which adds 18.4 cents to every gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents to every gallon of diesel.
Michigan leaders should seriously consider a temporary state gas-tax holiday, and Congress should do the same at the federal level. Suspending both taxes would not solve the underlying energy crisis, but it would leave more money in the pockets of working families and businesses when they need it most.
For a family purchasing 50 gallons of gasoline each month, even a reduction of 40 or 50 cents per gallon would mean noticeable savings. Trucking companies, farmers, contractors and newspaper delivery operations that consume hundreds or thousands of gallons would receive considerably more relief.
Critics correctly point out that gasoline taxes help pay for roads and bridges. Any suspension should therefore be temporary, with a firm expiration date and a plan to replace the lost transportation revenue from another source. Government should also monitor prices to make sure oil companies and retailers pass the tax savings along to customers.
A gas-tax holiday would be a short-term measure, not a substitute for a coherent foreign and energy policy. Washington cannot tax-cut its way out of a prolonged Middle Eastern war. If the fighting and shipping disruptions continue, prices will eventually overwhelm whatever savings a temporary tax suspension provides.
Trump should address the country and explain the mission, the limits of American involvement and the conditions under which military action would end. If he chooses force, it should be targeted, authorized and tied to a specific objective. If he chooses diplomacy, he should pursue it aggressively and demand enforceable protections for international shipping.
He should also increase domestic energy production where practical, remove unnecessary obstacles to refining and transportation, and coordinate with American producers and allies to keep supplies moving. Those actions will not reduce prices overnight, but they can demonstrate that the administration has a serious plan.
What working Americans cannot afford is an open-ended conflict accompanied by an open-ended policy.
Families are already struggling with grocery bills, insurance premiums, housing costs and high interest rates. Another prolonged energy crisis could push inflation higher and erase whatever economic progress has been made.
Temporarily suspending state and federal gasoline taxes could provide some breathing room. But the only lasting answer is to restore stability to the energy markets and bring this conflict to a conclusion.
The president faces a difficult decision, and either course carries risk. But leadership means choosing a direction and accepting responsibility for it.
Mr. President, decide whether America is going to escalate this conflict or lead an effort to bring it to an end. Then tell the American people exactly what the plan is.
The longer the uncertainty continues, the more Americans will pay—at the gas pump and everywhere else.
