That person in Congressman Ron Paul, whom the media ignores and maligns, gets the largest crowds, more donations from our Military than ALL the other candidates combined (including Obama), gives specifics on cutting the deficit by $1 Trillion dollars the first year, will downsize the govt., eliminate the Federal Reserve, promote private enterprise, and supports freedom and prosperity for all, NOT the elites and corporatists and international banksters!
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Panic is in the air as gasoline prices move above $4.00 per gallon. Politicians and pundits are rounding up the usual suspects, looking for someone or something to blame for this latest outrage to middle class family budgets. In a rare display of bipartisanship, President Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner are both wringing their hands over the prospect of seeing their newly extended Social Security tax cut gobbled up by rising gasoline costs.
Unfortunately, the talking heads that are trying to explain the reasons for high oil prices are missing one tiny detail. Oil prices aren’t high right now. In fact, they are unusually low. Gasoline prices would have to rise by another $0.65 to $0.75 per gallon from where they are now just to be “normal”. And, because gasoline prices are low right now, it is very likely that they are going to go up more—perhaps a lot more.
What the politicians, analysts, and pundits are missing is that prices are ratios. Gasoline prices reflect crude oil prices, so let’s use West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil to illustrate this crucial point.
As this is written, West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI) is trading at $105.88/bbl. All this means is that the market value of a barrel of WTI is 105.88 times the market value of “the dollar”. It is also true that WTI is trading at €79.95/bbl, ¥8,439.69/barrel, and £67.13/bbl. In all of these cases, the market value of WTI is the same. What is different in each case is the value of the monetary unit (euros, yen, and British pounds, respectively) being used to calculate the ratio that expresses the price.
In terms of judging whether the price of WTI is high or low, here is the price that truly matters: 0.0602 ounces of gold per barrel (which can be written as Au0.0602/bbl). What this number means is that, right now, a barrel of WTI has the same market value as 0.0602 ounces of gold.
During the 493 months since January 1, 1971, the price of WTI has averaged Au0.0732/bbl. It has been higher than that during 225 of those months and lower than that during 268 of those months. Plotted as a graph, the line representing the price of a barrel of oil in terms of gold has crossed the horizontal line representing the long-term average price (Au0.0732/bbl) 29 times.
At Au0.0602/bbl, today’s WTI price is only 82% of its average over the past 41+ years. Assuming that gold prices remained at today’s $1,759.30/oz, WTI prices would have to rise by about 22%, to $128.86/bbl, in order to reach their long-term average in terms of gold. As mentioned earlier, such an increase would drive up retail gasoline prices by somewhere between $0.65 and $0.75 per gallon.
At this point, we can be certain that, unless gold prices come down, gasoline prices are going to go up—by a lot. And, because the dollar is currently a floating, undefined, fiat currency, there is no inherent limit to how far the price of gold in dollars can rise, and therefore no ultimate ceiling on gasoline prices.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke uses a “core CPI index” that excludes food and energy to guide monetary policy. From Big Ben’s point of view, rising gasoline prices are not a problem. For the rest of us, they are becoming a big problem.
Over the centuries, gold has been “the golden constant”. Eventually, all prices equilibrate with gold. This is why gold represents the best available standard in terms of which to define the value of a monetary unit. Forty-one years ago, when the value of the dollar was defined in terms of gold at $35/oz, WTI was selling for $3.56/bbl.
Right now, the threat posed by rising gasoline prices is not just to family budgets. An even greater danger is that the government will use escalating oil prices as an excuse to do something stupid.
After President Nixon abrogated the Bretton Woods monetary arrangement in stages starting in September 1971, both gold prices and oil prices started to rise. The government responded by imposing wage-price controls. This made a bad situation much worse.
This time around, the stupid policies being considered to “deal with” rising gasoline prices include additional cuts in payroll taxes and higher taxes on energy producers.
During the 1970s, the toxic combination of a weak dollar, high tax rates, and onerous regulations introduced a new word into America’s economic vocabulary: stagflation. Reaganomics banished this word to the history books. Now, President Obama and Fed Chairman Bernanke are teaming up to give stagflation another try. It is not likely that Americans will like it any more this time around than they did 40 years ago
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@Dan exactly right - everything is controlled by BIG money, of which the ordinary person has no control or money... We are but slaves to their manipulations.
Isn't it interesting the stock market is UP? Could it be that they AGAIN changed the way it was calculated? same with unemployment? same with SS checks?
Everyone can look at their 401k or IRA and see the dollar amount of loss, it currently reflects via way of the dollar totals, but everyone would puke if they knew how worthless it really is regardless of what the bottom dollar line tells them? WHY? the value of the dollar is in the tank!
IF people kept their own money, invested in land or products or anything they had control over, they would have much more to show for their hard work. Letting others, including the stock market, is gambling, and if you've ever been to Vegas, it's easy to see who the winner is when gambling!
The govt, current or future will not change until we kick all the career politicians OUT - ALL of them! Like diapers, change them for the same reason! Start local, county, state, and national - ALL of them!
All our presidential candidates EXCEPT Ron Paul, are on the same page as the current administration, regardless of what they say - Just LOOK at their record! Who they voted with! How they voted? How wealthy are they today compared to when they went into office. We have career thieves running this country, the Federal Reserve, the Stock Market, the Banks, the gas and oil, the auto industry, and on an on...
Our tax money bailed out (Nationalized) GM, Retired lost their pensions, and the administration gave HALF of it back to the Union! Now, how do you suppose the union workers will continue to vote? They'll want to keep the dirty diapers right where they are!
If we, the middle class, have an opportunity to become free, wealthy, and prosperous, the dirty diapers will figure a way to steal it from us. Oil, like coal, will be taxed while still in the ground!
Linda,
This is nothing new under the sun. The census bureau has been writing articles since the 60's about the unfair lop-sided re-distrubution of wealth in our country outside of free market commerce. No one paid attension. During good times Tax incentives, subsudies thru loans or no-tax, breeze right thru the house and senate because everyone is "comfortable" (6 pak, pizza and movie..........all is good). When times get tough we bitch but it is even easier when markets are volitile to push agendas and wealth grab. I think Ron Paul would be the perfect president in "good Times" when the pinch wouldn't hurt so bad, but I don't see the country ever leaning that way when times are good or today. We have all spent our intire lives to get exactly where we are. It seems we are now in a position we have to pay for the last 50 years and two wars waged without sacrafice and no one wants to step up to the plate. I am very negative on our ability to fix the problems and probably have far less faith in humanity than most. If people went thru life doing the right things to do, none of us would even be in this discusion. Still, there is an old saying I think we all need to remember. "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water"
Whether president or not, Ron Paul is speaking the truth and as more people have access to quick research through the net, the more his arguments are easily supported.
HOWEVER, another problem we NOW have with our research is that articles are being removed and others scrubbed to slant the truth, and others yet outright lie - the history they are teaching the kids in school is NOT real because 'we learn from history'. Great book, "Lies My Teacher Taught Me" is very specific with the discrepancies and outright lies!
Thanks randall... but many are not aware that the wars are all about controlling the oil to keep the "dollar" the reserve currency of the world. If we loose that currency standing, our country would no longer be the super power of the world. Our plans have been in the works and put in place for years, but the oil rich countries still work to protect their resources, and when they do, we go to war to destroy their efforts.
“If the Washington/Tel Aviv-promoted hysteria is already at fever pitch, wait for March 20, when the Iranian oil bourse will start trading oil in other currencies apart from the US dollar, heralding the arrival of a new oil marker to be denominated in euro, yen, yuan, rupee or a basket of currencies.
(click on link above)
And, there are many more articles explaining why the dollar is fading and why the plan is deliberate. By continuing to steal our money, via of taxes and printing more flat/paper money, the U.S. will maintain it's super power. Those of us who are reaping the rewards of gas/oil leases NOW will see how our money will continue to confiscated, more regulations to keep our prosperity and freedom at a minimum. 'redistribution of wealth' so those voting for this administration's policies can continue to sit at home and reap the benefits, thus they are 'buying the votes of the poor'.
http://www.dailypaul.com/215073/march-20-2012-iranian-oil-bourse-wi...
Unlike most people on Earth, Barack Hussein Obama doesn't seem to be interested in enabling the nation he claims, during election cycles, to take advantage of its natural resources, in America's case, vast, world-beating resources.
If American citizens were free to produce energy at will, we wouldn't just be the #1 oil and natural gas consumer AND SUPPLIER on the planet, but our economy would be growing at a pace faster than China's, and our electricity would be among the least expensive of the industrialized nations.
But that doesn't seem likely, any time soon, since a political party representing roughly a third of Americans of voting age, seems hell-bent upon stopping reasonable, safe American energy exploration. And their figurehead leader, Obama, seems to have a vendetta against American energy production, and against inexpensive energy prices here in America. American energy consumers can't catch a break with this guy. It's as if he's waging jihad against American consumers and the American economy!
Here's the excellent story from The Heritage Foundation's 'The Foundry' Blog...
VIDEO: The Perfect Storm of Regulations on American Energy
Both parties are the same on energy....They point to each other blaming each other....I read we are exporting hydrocarbons for the first time since 1947.....Cushing oklahoma is filled to the brim with oil....We are awash in energy at the moment. Blaming Obama is a canard. Europeans have been paying $6+ a gallon for diesel for years....We're at $4 now and folks are saying the sky is falling....It's all relative, but oil seems cheap to me.
Today the $ is way down in 3 yrs?
Reality is it goes way up and wy down.
If you don't like 4.50 gas use less!!!!
People will and it will slam the brakes on the economy.
@ melissa - people should not have to cater to our leaders who are destroying this country, starting with the dollar - guess the point was lost here...
All fiat currencies are doomed....But don't waste your life preparing for it.....The US dollar is still the best currency in a bad neighborhood.....
I am beginning to form the belief that any staple of life has no place in a commodity market.
Anyone care to enlighten me as to why they should be , and how this idea originated ?
Seems that due to speculation and blatant greed , we all suffer.......?
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