Hi, Glenn - Pretty much everything you say seems to me to be common sense. As the saying goes, the Stone Age didn't end because they ran out of stones. People don't seem to realize that resources are never fixed, because they are a matter of technology. All the oil in the world didn't constitute a resource in 1810, because there was not use for it, and it may be equally useless in 2050 for the same reason; or like horses, still with us, but not important to the functioning of contemporary society. In the present post-industrial information age, the chief natural resource needed is -- SAND! That's the primary physical resource that all our silicon computer chips, silica-based plastics, etc., are made out of. Could the day come when Saudi Arabia will be wealthy again because of its sand reserves, which are indeed considerable?
The trick is how long we have to make the adjustments. The less time, the harsher the process; the more time, the less painful. In this sense, $5.00 oil would be a good thing, as it would encourage the shift to other kinds of fuel more quickly. Which is not to say that a sudden spike in oil prices wouldn't wreak huge havoc on financial markets and national economies; but Armageddon it isn't.
One of the marks of a rising civilization is that they always think they are in decline; the corresponding mark of a declining culture is that they are quite complacently sure that everything is hunky-dory, to lapse into technical jargon. C.f. the old stock market saying that markets rise by climbing walls of worry, and fall through floors of reassurance.
Huge rally planned in Madison tomorrow, and people are pouring into local offices to sign recall petitions for legislators who pushed the governor's coup through. Walker is undismayed, sure he did the right thing and will prevail, but I think he is sadly mistaken if he thinks the battle is now over & won, time to move on, etc. This is just beginning to bite back, both locally and nationally.
Love, Dad
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