SAR #9188

Energy sets the rules.

Patterns: Back in the Great One, economists proposed massive stimulus spending which was curtailed by politicians bedazzled by the glow of balanced budgets. This time Obama gelded the stimulus in order to placate a few Repubicans, who then were not placated. The weakened stimulus is a pale imitation of what was and is needed. Now Biden is floating a 'let's wait and see' balloon - which will make the GOP happy and the situation worse. If we are to try to save the system with a stimulus, then spend! Wheres the WPA? At what levelof unemployment will a new version be acceptable? Just before the riots, or right after?

Can't Get There From Here: Wind power is one of the answers to future energy needs. But the crashing economy has taken 50% of the wind our of the wind generator business. The problem with the future is it isn't here yet, and when it gets here we'll find we couldn't afford to get ready for it.

Schitzo: Last week demand for gasolinehit an 18 month high. Today reports say gasoline prices are peaking because demand is slowing and refinery output is at all time highs. And over the weekend, petroleum fell off the table. An explanation?

Rich Uncles: Wealth is a relative thing. When I was a kid a milionaire was about as rare as a billionaire today. Wealth hasn't increased all that much, just the money supply. Expanding debt expands the money supply (under one rubric or another). It does not expand wealth. Ask Uncle Ralph, we've been spending credit, not wealth.

Sound Familiar? Gazprom is arranging bank loans for the Ukraine so it can buy gas from Gasprom. Remindyou of China and salad shooters?

Misdirection: "Bumper Harvest Eases Zimbabwe Food Shortage" reads the headline. Fact cited: A farmer managed, after two years of failing crops, to grow enough corn to feed six families for a year. All told, Zimbabwe has grown enough this year to feed two-thirds of its population. Some bumper.

Two Things: Did you know that Spain has more land devoted to vineyards than any other country? Did hyou know that Spanish vineyards are being moved to higher ground to escape the effects of global warming? Nowyou do.

Wish I'd Said: There aren't any jobs. There won't be any jobs. We need to figure out another way to make an economy work. People at the top got paid well to figure out how to disemploy the rest of us. They were very good at their jobs. But now we don't have any money to buy the stuf that they can make without our help. We need a whole new apporach. As I've been saying for a couple of years; Capitalism works well, but our distribution system doesn't.

Biased Basis: "Economists merely use models to argue for their preconceived political views."

Mathew 5:5. The poor may inhereit the earth, but not until the rich are done with it. In the last 6 months rich countries & corporations have acquired an area half the size of Europe's farmland from the poor and needy. Son the rish willhire the peasantry at pennies a day to work what is no longer their land. It's been called "land grabbing" or "neo-colonialsm," but what it really is is the return to feudalism.

Self-Hoisting Petard: Iran's net exports of petroleum are declining, as is its production. Only domestic consumption keeps growing. In five years (2014) Iran will export zero oil. None. Nada. If this reminds you of the Export Land Model, good.

Porn O'Graph: More is less in employment.