“The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences…”
—Winston Churchill, November 1936
If you want to lower the price of oil, you have to hit demand. You hit demand by:
1) raising interest rates
2) allowing energy prices to reach a natural level (foregoing subsidies)
3) introducing additional taxes on fuel if 1) and 2) are not sufficient.
Naturally, being as hellent on spending and demanding-our-daily-bread as we do, politicians, governments and everyone else are trying to avoid the inevitable - which means oil can only go up.
On the news tonight in SA reference was made for the incredible petroleum demand inland, and that an additional 5 cent tax would be levied to help coastal refineries keep up. The tax is good in one sense, but the psychology of 'keeping up' with demand is wrong. Demand must be managed downward. It won't be, hence we face shortages and pretty severe market indigestion.
Meanwhile Jim Kunstler on the Kunstlercast was saying that airlines will probably be obsolete within 2 years. The carnage has begun. And as such rail is terrific investment for right now. Of course, it will take a few months for the market to digest the bad news, time that needs to be directed towards action (not digestion). Unfortunately, the media, governments, 'experts' and the masses are so far off the mark of understanding all this, that I am not sure if they ever will.
What I mean is society will tear itself apart and we will ask why and not really know why. We'll blame presidents and politicians, or oil companies or biofuels, or the most contemporary culprit, but no one will really know what to do...and we will expect someone to give us something for nothing, an answer, a solution, a reprieve. In our society we're used to getting what we want at the press of a button. But energy is different. It takes a process, a special set of circumstances to store...and when those systems aren't there it becomes a different world for people...we begin to feel the effects of life on earth like every other creature. We're ALL culpable. We all need to change. But we are sorely out of practise.
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