It’s almost like a circus where the elephants wrap their trunk around the tail of the elephant in front of them to form a continuous link and all of them blindly follow the leader.
There’s something to be said for the educational value of this simple to imagine image.
Inflation, the word is spoken almost non-stop by the economic gurus, political types, and splashed all over the media. The fear grows as we have the word inflation beaten into our daily lives.
Like the elephants, central banks around the globe feel that the way to thwart inflation is to raise interest rates and they do so blindly by following their fellow central banker’s decisions.
Look further into the picture. The people in charge are not that smart and it goes without saying that the smartest people don’t go into politics, they influence political decisions. Why do, when you can control?
Oil, it is an intricate part of our lives and has been for generations. We can not all of sudden stop using it. Developing alternative methods to replace its many uses takes time, technology, and money.
Time is precious, technology is behind what are needs are, and money is tight.
Oil becomes plastic bottles and bags, the tires on your vehicle, your plumbing, and the insulation on the wire in your home, the asphalt you drive on, the packaging of your food, the case of your laptop, the vinyl chair you are sitting in, and an almost uncountable number of items.
In addition it fuels the world of vehicles, factories, homes, and lubricates to cut friction.
Consumption of oil is veracious and constant. There isn’t enough corn to replace petrol. Solar is still awaiting a technology breakthrough, batteries are in development, but costs are high.
The world has been eating donuts every day and now wonders why it has diabetes and is fat. The donut, of course, is being the metaphor for the world’s oil consumption.
Take away oil and your life as you know it, couldn’t exist. The world has waited until Sunday evening after the Ed Sullivan show to do the term paper due Monday morning.
In the 70s, the world got a hint and fuel injection, better drilling methods, and smarter management pulled us out of the valley of gas lines, but we returned to our old ways.
Enter the speculators, betting on our misfortune and don’t be mad at them, they’re the same people who are in one way or anther managing your retirement and investments.
All out for a good return, investment managers are pushed (by you, the firms they work for, and the competition) to deliver higher returns. Their so-called greed is your gain, your future, and your piece of mind.
So, don’t blame the speculators, the government, or anyone else. You the consumer are running out of quick-fix answers.
The chain reaction has already begun. Costs go up because of the dependency on oil and its many uses, so the cost of things go up (inflation), but the economy slows because your discretionary income gets chiseled from a dramatic jump in fuel that powers your life. Remember the big smile on your face as you drove that 3 ton SUV off the New Car lot.
Remember those light weight garbage pails you purchased to throw out all those plastic bottles, bags, and packaging.
Remember admiring the “cool” design of your computer, big screen, and coffee maker.
The world has no choice but to adjust to high oil prices and all the off-shoots of what comes from it. The economy will slow because the elephants are stupid and see raising interest rates as the only solution. People will lose their homes because of the increase in their adjustable rate mortgage payment.
Businesses will close because they fail to make a profit, people will go unemployed for months, if not years, and they’ll still spend money on things that they don’t need, can’t afford, and can’t do without.
Happiness will turn into sadness, the media will beat you over the head with how bad it is and just when you think it’s the end to society; the governments will introduce urban renewal projects, building bridges, office buildings, and other mega-projects to get the workers of the world working, earning, and feeding their families.
Your taxes will go up to pay for all these things, but as long as you have food, a roof, a car, a big screen, and a credit line, you’ll be happy.
This is not a new cycle in life or the planet, economic downturns are cyclical and the U.S. is getting squeezed right now, as well as the U.K., and Europe, but there are countries that are flourishing with demand for their goods (Chindia) and services.
For every dollar you do not spend you put someone out of work, for every dollar you spend you put someone to work, but risk your own livelihood. Balance is the key, where you spend a fair amount and save for the monsoon of bad economic events.
What are you doing to make life easier for your neighbor and yourself?
It’s not them or it. It’s up to you and the horses have already gotten out of the barn.
It’s too late to start over, but the time is right for change.
Old people are one hundred percent for progress and one thousand percent against change. Stay young in your head and with your actions.
In one hundred years, none of this will matter, maybe less. Just don’t get me started on the financial benefits of war and the ugly reality of what war does to an economy, the morale of a nation, and the family unit.
Learn the difference between want and need and don’t ever retire.
