The Convenient Populist

MANIFESTO

It would seem that America has a new cross of gold … black gold, Texas tea, oil that is. Presumably fresh out of good ideas and with the “gas tax holiday” gaining traction with everyone but economists and policy experts (an admittedly small demographic), Hillary Clinton has decided to attack the root of America’s gas problem: OPEC. Someone should tell Mrs. Clinton it might be better to focus on issues that are actually causing this crisis, like consumption, rising global demand, a lack of investment in feasible alternatives and the debt-driven decline of the US dollar. Oh wait, they have … twice.

UPDATE: A Goldman Sachs analyst is predicting oil at $150 - $200 a barrel within the next 2 years. Why? Not the pricing power of OPEC, but the inability of OPEC to meet increasing demand. The article provides additional information on the basis for the estimate, and also notes that in 2005 this same analyst predicted oil would reach $105 a barrel by 2009 - now a seemingly conservative estimate.