Is it time to put your car on a diet?
High oil prices are taxing us to the point where it might be time to put your car on a diet, leave it parked at home – an intervention to free it from its gasoline addiction.
You think the price of oil is bad now; well, … what does it say that if our economy starts to improve more reliably, the price of oil will rise becauuuuse … more consumers consuming will trigger the powers-that-be-of-the-global-oil-markets, notwithstanding the hedge funders and oil speculators, to raise prices accordingly; … and, just when you think you were getting a foothold on your financial situation, you’re not.
You didn’t really think that the price of oil is directly connected to economic fundamentals, did you? This gives new meaning to “Shell” game.
If economic fundamentals truly do determine the price of gas, then what does it say about a scenario where Europe has to collapse, and that trauma has to spread globally, and then and only then, would that global economic meltdown be the tipping point that would bring down the price of oil … which, ‘they’ say, ultimately would bring down the price of gas?
So, therefore, if I calculate this correctly, we should all be hoping for a major global economic collapse … so we can reap the benefit of lower gas prices, which will afford us the luxury of freer use of our car, to shop, to travel, to pay less to drive to work… uhhhhh … work … that’s if we still have a job; and if we are one of those fortunate few who, once at work, hope that there is work to do; because the slowdown will slow everything down, and thus business will slow down; there’ll be fewer clients and customers, or they will be buying cheaper or spending less or not at all; which translates to more businesses folding … but remember, at least the price of gas will be lower (not necessarily more affordable), if you can still afford your car and all its other operating costs, because your employer will surely have to cut your work hours. Right? Does this scenario seem familiar?
Really? Seriously? So this is how capitalism, the free-markets-system thingy, is supposed to function? It’d be great to see lower gas prices and the resulting lower prices on all the many oil-derivative products, goods, and services, … you know the trickle-down effect at its finest … well, not exactly the right correlation here, but you get my point.
I’m not assuming or advocating any position, just trying to think it through (take stock), expose some aspects, trying to make sense of a system that is not functioning as it was intended and seeking solutions that everyone will be willing to adopt.
Yeah, sure, it’d be great to see lower prices at the pump … but at what cost?!
(video 3:30)
Good write-up. I’m a regular visitor and going to be for a long time.