Rosy retrospection misunderstands history

Regarding the letter by Dave Van Singel on Aug. 26, I decided to investigate his premise.

First let’s travel back to March 2020. The human cost of achieving a “1.2% inflation rate and gas $2.50 per gallon.”

Massive lines ballooned across several U.S. airports as European travelers made a mad dash for home — a situation created by the quick rollout of the Trump administration’s European Travel ban. On March 15, while having breakfast with a relative, I held up my cellphone with pictures of every major US Airport so jammed that if you passed out, you would not be able to fall down and said, “These will be the pandemic epicenters.”

Who would think that the highly contagious virus would be coming home with them? Obviously, not the Trump administration. Hospitals began to experience unprecedented increases in admittance rates. By March 26, 2020, the United States surpassed China and Italy as the country with the world’s highest number of confirmed cases.

The dead do not buy gas or goods, neither do the sick. Those who could worked from home. It only took a national tragedy so Mr. Van Singel could enjoy low gas prices and inflation rates. It had nothing to do with any legislation from the Trump administration. However, the cost of human suffering was directly made worse by the Trump administration’s mishandling of the pandemic.

Regarding import and export of oil, if you look at the actual graphs, you will see the ups and downs. If you only reference a particular point, imports are down the exports up. Imports would have to be sustained to count this as being “down.” Imports fluctuated in Trump term and they are not why gas was $2.50.

Ed Manning

Roselle