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Showing posts from April, 2006

OK, now you can impeach him

Alright, I don’t mean that. But what on earth is George Bush doing? Gas prices are spiking again. Global demand of oil is rising, global supply is uncertain. One of the world’s leading suppliers, Iran, is in theoretical danger of having sanctions placed upon it. In a worst-case scenario, it gets attacked militarily. Either of these events will disrupt the flow of oil, and send prices skyrocketing. Facing that prospect, prices in the short-term will rise as those who can “stock up” do, thereby increasing demand and raising prices. Price is the antidote to shortage in a capitalist economy. As supply shrinks relative to demand, there must be an arbiter of who gets that precious supply. This can be done either by playing favorites and creating lists and preferred recipients, or it can be done via price, with the supply going to whoever is willing to pay for it. So, the price of oil goes up and the price of oil byproducts (gasoline, heating oil) also go up. So the middle class gets annoyed,