The Saudis are dumping oil in the market (possibly at our behest to hurt the Russians, Persians, and IS??, possibly for economic reasons of their own).
This isn’t a healthy sign.
If we were smart and had some balls, we’d slap a 100% surtax on gasoline tomorrow and put the money in an alternative energy trust fund. Electrify and heavily automate all major freight rail lines. Get those long distance trucks off the road. Invest in medium-speed passenger rail. Invest in alternatives and nuclear energy to beef up the power grid. No more coal and natural gas power plants should be built. Encourage adoption of electric and H2 cars to create an economy of scale there. Rebuilt infrastructure.
We’ve been through a few energy crises, and we’ve always kicked the can down the road when prices fell. Now’s the time to do something vs going back to buying mastodon SUVs and commuting 60 miles each way.
Cheap oil should be viewed as an opportunity to prepare for the next rise in prices and prepare to end the use of oil for energy permanently, not a permanent thing.
