"As you can imagine, our opposition to this will be quite strong and we'll be making these points throughout the week," said Keith Hennessey, director of Bush's National Economic Council.
U.S. gross domestic product could be reduced by as much as 7 percent in the year 2050 and gasoline prices -- already at record highs in the United States -- could soar by as much as 53 cents a gallon by 2030, he said. [emphases added]
Gas was an average of $1.91 a gallon between 2000 & 2006, but went to $2.80 in 2007. Price for crude oil went from $50 a barrel in 2005 to $68 in 2007. Now oil is about $140 a barrel and around $4.00 a gallon.
Of course, one of the really major problems with the economy today are the "bubbles" that arise and burst. First there was the "dot-com bubble," then the "housing market" bubble, now it looks as though we've got a "hydrocarbon bubble" in the making. Major problem that this article identifies, of course, is the extremely unequal distribution of wealth, with those at the top of the income ladder making all kinds of money and with those in the middle and bottom making much less. Wealthy people with "money to burn" are much more wasteful than are people who spend to survive and to live decent lives. Our current president, with his tax policies, is very much in favor of giving the wealthy ever more money. The Republican scuttling of the "windfall profits" tax has everything to do with Ronald Reagan's old "Reverse Robin Hood" policies of taking from the non-wealthy and giving to the wealthy. America then gets an increasingly top-heavy economy that becomes ever more unsteady.
Price of gas - why it's going up by OPEC President Chakib Khelil. [emphases added]
OPEC president says weak dollar, Iran crisis will drive oil prices to US$170
ALGERIA. OPEC President Chakib Khelil predicted that the price of oil will climb to US$170 a barrel before the end of the year, citing the dollar's decline and political conflicts.
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The rising cost of crude is not linked to supply, Khelil told Bloomberg today. "There is more than enough oil in the market to meet the international demand," added the OPEC president.
Video - Ron Paul agrees. Price of oil linked to Iran saber-rattling.
