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Nice Interview. A good dose of media alarm-ism shunted by practical economic counterpoints from Florence EID-Oaken (I'm a new fan of this lady).
With regard to US selling oil to China and other countries. Wonder if it will be paid for with US Reserve Notes held by these exporting nations. Nice to see we finally have something to balance the trade with these countries other than simply issuing IOUs. Maybe one day soon we will have the same "debt to GDP ratios" that the OPEC nations espouse (2% debt to GDP in Sudi Arabia...wow).
Interesting additional inteview with Florence EID-Oaken in April 2015: arabia monitor
I saw her this morning but was TRYING to get back to sleep. So, my reaction is along the same lines as Scott's. The strategic oil reserve is not so strategic, anymore? If/when we need it, it just won't be there. Another step in solidifying the oligarchy. Oil and gov't are in bed together, with all the other Big Money Players. The rest of us pay for their antics. And it's damned expensive.
(*footnote: In 2003, Lampert was kidnapped from the parking lot of his Greenwich office, but was able to convince his captors to let him go after two days of captivity.) Judas Priest!
"So, my reaction is along the same lines as Scott's. The strategic oil reserve is not so strategic, anymore?"
Yeah, for me it's not as much the SPR selling (although it's clear we have no energy plan whatsoever and the selling will almost certainly be a case of "buy high, sell low") but the idea that we're to the point where we have to sell things like our strategic energy reserve.
It seems that people no longer want to be part of any country that doesn't do precisely what they want it to do. So I wonder if people care about the reserves anymore. I also wonder if the assumptions that are used to determination the reserve size have been updated since the cold war days.
One other thought - I guess oil isn't as important strategically as submarines and war planes or are we extending the budget with those too?
Know what - there are a lot of abandoned DOD facilities in the US and other places. Maybe China wants to expand their military presence and will pay a premium. Maybe even the national defense highway system. So much stuff - this is fun.
"So, my reaction is along the same lines as Scott's. The strategic oil reserve is not so strategic, anymore?"
Yeah, for me it's not as much the SPR selling (although it's clear we have no energy plan whatsoever and the selling will almost certainly be a case of "buy high, sell low") but the idea that we're to the point where we have to sell things like our strategic energy reserve.
*Ya, thanks. That's what I meant to say. We are living through the long, slow, laborious, dreadful deterioration and decline of the USA.
Oh, don't get so dramatic. The SPR was always pretty useless and now that we're producting most of our own petroleum it is entirely useless. It was also never used, even when oil rose to heights it may not see again in our lifetimes. This was just politics, a way to raise a little money since the Republicans refuse higher taxes and the Democrats don't want to cut social spending. Yeah, they maybe could have waited a few years to see if they could have gotten a better price, but do we really want the government engaging in market timing / energy trading? And the amount of money involved is small change compared to what a default on the national debt would have cost.
The good news in this whole deal was that the two parties actually made a deal -- to me that's far more important, and positive, than anything to do with the SPR.
If you want signs of government dysfunction the US they're not hard to find, but this one is really pretty minor.
Comments
With regard to US selling oil to China and other countries. Wonder if it will be paid for with US Reserve Notes held by these exporting nations. Nice to see we finally have something to balance the trade with these countries other than simply issuing IOUs. Maybe one day soon we will have the same "debt to GDP ratios" that the OPEC nations espouse (2% debt to GDP in Sudi Arabia...wow).
Interesting additional inteview with Florence EID-Oaken in April 2015:
arabia monitor
(*footnote: In 2003, Lampert was kidnapped from the parking lot of his Greenwich office, but was able to convince his captors to let him go after two days of captivity.) Judas Priest!
Yeah, for me it's not as much the SPR selling (although it's clear we have no energy plan whatsoever and the selling will almost certainly be a case of "buy high, sell low") but the idea that we're to the point where we have to sell things like our strategic energy reserve.
One other thought - I guess oil isn't as important strategically as submarines and war planes or are we extending the budget with those too?
Know what - there are a lot of abandoned DOD facilities in the US and other places. Maybe China wants to expand their military presence and will pay a premium. Maybe even the national defense highway system. So much stuff - this is fun.
The good news in this whole deal was that the two parties actually made a deal -- to me that's far more important, and positive, than anything to do with the SPR.
If you want signs of government dysfunction the US they're not hard to find, but this one is really pretty minor.