Food for Thought

posted by The Vidiot @ 8:10 AM Permalink

Spent the weekend in NOLA for a wedding. I've been going there pretty regularly for the last few years and here are some things I've noticed: beer is still cheap, po-boys aren't. Planes used to be half to three-quarters full, now every single one is packed to the brim. Every hotel is expensive and kind of dirty, no matter where it is, whether it's NOLA proper or St. Francisville or Natchitoches, which tells me hotels are cutting major corners.

With everything in the news saying oil is going up and thus effecting gas prices which, in turn effects food prices, it got me wondering: is the price of oil really going up, or, since we import so much of our oil, is it really because the dollar buys so much less? Are we really 'running out of oil' or do we just have a purchasing power problem?

I'm no economist, but I'm beginning to think that the hullabaloo over the cost of food and the food shortage meme is more related to the dollar being worthless than it is for any food supply problem. Though, I know the result is the same, but the proper reason must be addressed. If we're addressing the wrong reason -- i.e. oil supply -- then the real reason -- the purchasing power of the dollar -- won't be properly dealt with.

OK. Maybe this is just naive or common sense and all of you have thought about it already I'm I'm late to the train, but it sure seems to me that if the US is in the Middle East trying to secure a cheap supply of oil, well, it's just yet another argument against the present US foreign policy.

Labels: big oil, dollar, Economy