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2. Economic stimulus
Necessity being the mother of invention, $8 gas would trigger all manner of investment sure to lead to groundbreaking advances. Job creation wouldn't be limited to research labs; it would rapidly spill over into lucrative manufacturing jobs that could help restore America's industrial base and make us a world leader in a critical realm.
The most groundbreaking discoveries might still be 25 or more years off, but we won't see massive public and corporate funding of research initiatives until escalating oil costs threaten our national security and global stability -- a time that's fast approaching [Chris Plummer, "$8-a-Gallon Gas: Eight Reasons Higher Prices Will Do Us a World of Good," Marketwatch.com, 2008.05.28].
Don't forget reducing the power of petrodictators like the Saudis and Hugo Chavez, checking urban sprawl, and restoring a little fiscal discipline.
$3.84 at the Madison pumps this week... halfway to the energy revolution?
I'm trying to smile. Really.
I would like to have some of what he is smoking. If I did, I might be a happier person about this whole situation. :-(
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad that we have to be driven to the crisis point to do what must be done. Alas, Cory, you are right; but I suspect ten dollars a gallon would be the trigger for the "revolution."
ReplyDeleteThe revolution has already started. Gas skips, home breakins, burglaries, and muggings (and we aren't even at $4 right now).
ReplyDeleteIf gas starts hitting $6 or $7/ gal, I can only imagine. Locking gas caps are going to start showing up, and I wouldn't put it past people to start hi-jacking vehicles (especially ones with a full tank of gas). The people who are driving the gas prices probably aren't thinking about the vigilantism that will take place as the price of fuel soars.
"The people who are driving the prices"-like you and me.
ReplyDeleteThe American consumer is driving the price up. They raise the price, and we respond by buying more fuel than ever.
How many parents have taken their teenagers cars away, or not alowed them to drive up and down main drag for an hour every other night.
How many cars with one person inside make the daily trek from Madison to Sioux Falls and back.
We want a small world, we want to be able to fly anywhere anytime. Make a couple trips to Sioux Falls a week with no second thoughts. Drive my kids all over the midwest for basketball tournaments. And if you want to do that fine. It's your right, it's America, that's the great thing. But don't expect it to come without a price.
Say what you will about gas companies (and I could say a lot) but if I grew tomatoes and people bought them faster than I could grow them, I would charge more. And if I charged ten dollars a tomato, and they bought all I had in an hour, you'd better bet I would charge 11 dollars the next day.
The world is going to start getting a lot bigger soon. Small town America (as always) is going to be a really good place to live.
Annon.. I disagree to a point. People are changing the way they drive. The news reports this last week stated that americans drove 11million miles less because of high gas prices. The cost per barrel is going down, demand has gone down slightly, but price keeps going up. I heard someone at work today talking about the oil companies are blaming people for not buying as much oil for the rising gas prices. I am confused.
ReplyDeleteI learned in college the law of supply and demand. In the case of oil, it doesn't seem to matter what the supply or demand is, someone is driving the prices up. The govement has some regulatory controls over utility companies. Why shouldn't gas for your car be considered a utility? Fuel for your house is???
There was a news story last night about a family that owns a trucking company and they are buying diesel fuel at $2/gallon in Mexico. The Mexican government regulates maximum prices that fuel companies can charge. For once, I think our neighbors down south have a great idea. But what gets me is, where is Mexico getting their oil???
Pennypincher said, "I heard someone at work today talking about the oil companies are blaming people for not buying as much oil for the rising gas prices. I am confused."
ReplyDeleteWell, I ain't. The reason is the same as the one that proves the fact that nicotine is not addictive.
More seriously, I do believe that high gas prices will change the way we live, and in many ways, that change will be for the better. Less driving equals less carbon emissions, fewer accidents, more time spent on things that "really matter," and less general hurry-sickness. Higher crime rates will drive people out of large cities and into smaller towns, and those smaller towns will be forced to become more self-sufficient as commutes (e.g., Madison to Sioux Falls or Lead to Rapid City) become impractical.
Once again, I count my blessings. I can work from home and do all right with one trip a week to Spearfish (round trip 35 miles) and two or three to Deadwood (round trip 7 miles). It's the driving back and forth to Rochester, Minnesota to visit my aging parents that may be the future killer. But then, they can jolly well come out here, too!
In any case, the free lunches are over. Matter of fact, they never existed. We got them on credit. Now the bill, plus interest, is coming due.
The unfortunate thing about the rising gas prices is that it's also going to lead in an increase in crime. More thefts, home invasions, gas drive offs, etc... Desperate people are going to go to desperate measures. Lock your doors, cars, and keep your belongings inside.
ReplyDeleteThere are alot of people out there that are just making minimum wage and aren't going to be able to keep up. Smaller employers are taking hits with increasing product costs and aren't going to be able to afford to pay their employees more. This will also lead to higher rates of unemployment, thus the banks are going to feel it because people are going to default on mortgages and credit cards. You may see gas prices making a positive change in gas emissions and less accidents, but other things will suffer as well.
There may be light ahead: These prices are driven by speculation, and the bubble may burst. That would bring prices down in a hurry, especially with someone like Barack Obama in the White House to be sure consumers get the best of it.
ReplyDeleteFor some people this "light at the end of the tunnel" could be an oncoming train, but so what? One might argue that they have it coming.
In the long-long term, we must devlop alternatives, and this spike, however long or short, can serve as a warning. Obama knows this and will, I suspect, act accordingly.
As for the crime thing, I'm glad I don't live in Miami or L.A. anymore. South Dakotans tend to come together in times like this, so I'm not worried on that score.