With the price of a gallon of gasoline up more than a dollar in the last 12 months, averaging around $3.40 across the nation, and consumers fuming about inflation, President Joe Biden has chosen to follow the typical political strategy: Blame the problem on gasoline producers and sellers and call on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the industry for possible price gouging. Putting the industry in the spotlight will call attention to the billions of dollars oil companies are making, humiliate executives for earning so much, and remind ordinary people far and wide that the government will bring relief. It’s good politics.

Most likely, when all is said and done, the FTC’s investigation will generate some long reports and testimony and identify some anomalies in the pricing data. But in the end, it will tell us that what we have is a problem of supply and demand.