Why the question mark after "Independence day" you ask? Well, thanks for asking. Because very little about this country seems to be about independence any more. The most obvious dependency we have is energy. We are still dependent on dirty fossil fuels that either we dig up as coal and ruin million year old mountaintops or OH YEAH that thing in the gulf is still happening. Not to mention we don't even churn up enough to support ourselves. We have to buy it from other countries that at the same time use the money to fight against us in wars. And if you think that "drill baby drill" was EVER a good idea, know this, "
Since oil is a global market, the relevant measure for that vulnerability is not U.S. dependence, but world dependence on Middle East oil -- and that has not shrunk." (http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/oil_market_basics/trade_text.htm#Import Dependency) ITS A WORLD MARKET! That's the thing the Redumblican "Earth Pokers" don't fill you in on. ANY oil drilled ANYWHERE goes into a giant exchange "vat" that everyone gets to bid on. And what's WORSE, because we are one of the few nations that has not nationalized our mineral production companies, private industry has ZERO incentive to sell what they produce here. The highest bidder gets it and lately that's probably China as they are the only ones with money because they actually make things people want.
The unavoidable and truly depressing fact is that the world's entire economy is based on oil. Just switching to something else would most likely collapse the whole economic system as oil is the only tangible thing that our money is based on. We once had a gold standard. Every dollar actually was backed up with a dollar's worth of gold. There was a time when you could bring your "gold certificates" to a bank and get some gold. Now, there is no gold, silver or large rock doughnuts to make a "standard" to back up anything. At least with gold, you KEPT the gold around. Oil we just keep burning up until eventually it will be gone. Ok, ok ok, we get it, Ken. But do you have an alternative? What are we supposed to do? I DON'T KNOW! If anyone has an idea I'd love to take it and win a Nobel for Economics. Ill pay you in the only thing left that has value. Pop rocks. Or my slice of the Jesus cross. I got a certificate and everything! Happy "Dependence" day! Ill be drunk and passed out in a kiddie pool soon, hopefully, waving my "flag."
The unavoidable and truly depressing fact is that the world's entire economy is based on oil. Just switching to something else would most likely collapse the whole economic system as oil is the only tangible thing that our money is based on. We once had a gold standard. Every dollar actually was backed up with a dollar's worth of gold. There was a time when you could bring your "gold certificates" to a bank and get some gold. Now, there is no gold, silver or large rock doughnuts to make a "standard" to back up anything. At least with gold, you KEPT the gold around. Oil we just keep burning up until eventually it will be gone. Ok, ok ok, we get it, Ken. But do you have an alternative? What are we supposed to do? I DON'T KNOW! If anyone has an idea I'd love to take it and win a Nobel for Economics. Ill pay you in the only thing left that has value. Pop rocks. Or my slice of the Jesus cross. I got a certificate and everything! Happy "Dependence" day! Ill be drunk and passed out in a kiddie pool soon, hopefully, waving my "flag."
Wow, this is pretty deep. I wish I had an answer about what we can do re: the oil situation. But one issue you touched on really struck a chord - we hardly make ANYTHING in this country any more. People say "buy local" - I really try to, but there are some things you just can't find unless they're made in China or some other faraway place. One reason we're burning up so much fuel is transporting all this CRAP across the ocean. I heard that the trees being cut down in Oregon - most of them go to China. If we're cutting our trees down, seems to me we should use them here rather than sending them the materials to make stuff & send it back to us. I'm for trading with other countries, don't want to be an isolationist, but really - we need to start making things here again instead of shipping random crap that we don't really need all the way across the ocean.
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