Mmm. I'm not sure how much of the gas prices are irrevocably linked to the war. Gas prices are high globally, despite there being plenty of producers and consumers not disastrously embedded in the current conflict. Russia is continuing to produce at a profligate rate, as are parts of South America. OPEC has plenty of options, but has specifically chosen to keep their production rates low in the face of increasing demand. Much of the increased demand is from parts of Eastern Europe, and much of it is from China, which is unabashedly growing and insatiably consuming resources from around the globe.
The war certainly hasn't helped, by tightening political and economic concerns in the Middle East, by channeling our own sources and reserves more towards the military sector, by increasing our international debt (again, China as the fastest growing giant comes into play here), and by frittering away a lot of political capital. The economic downturn, not entirely tied to the war, is also having a negative effect on the pump prices. Unfortunately for us, oil prices are also the foundation of transportation costs, which in turn affect almost every sector imaginable.
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Re: No doubt about it
Date: 2008-03-20 03:12 pm (UTC)The war certainly hasn't helped, by tightening political and economic concerns in the Middle East, by channeling our own sources and reserves more towards the military sector, by increasing our international debt (again, China as the fastest growing giant comes into play here), and by frittering away a lot of political capital. The economic downturn, not entirely tied to the war, is also having a negative effect on the pump prices. Unfortunately for us, oil prices are also the foundation of transportation costs, which in turn affect almost every sector imaginable.