Thursday, February 24, 2005
Weak Dollar, Soaring Oil, and Georgie Fiddles
Reuters.com reports that oil reached "a new four-mounth high" with U.S crude selling for $52.05 per barrel. London Brent crude is selling for $49.68 per barrell up a $1.17. That "prices have soared by about $6 in the past two weeks" is troubling because as Reuters notes, "a steep fall in the dollar -- the currency of international oil trade -- spurs funds to switch money out of foreign exchange markets and into commodities such as energy, metals and coffee." The Radical Republican tax cut fueled deficit is starting to have serious economic consequences as central banks and other money managers are pulling away from the dollar. The Saudi's and other OPEC countries that are heavily invested in dollars, and thus dependent on dollars for their income, are unwilling to see oil prices go lower for fear of seeing their real income decline. But never mind all this, just be glad Georgie Bush and the Radical Republicans gave you a tax cut for buying that oversized gas guzzling SUV for your "business."
I'm sure somewhere there are a bunch of Republicans hatching up another tax cut to "solve" the problem. Or maybe they're hatching up some kind of "reform" that will entail borrowing trillions of dollars and putting millions of Americans's retirement at risk. They'll do this because addressing the very real structural problems facing the U.S. economy will mean admitting that their policies of tax cuts, encouraging corporations to move overseas, gutting corporate accountability regulations, etc. are in large part responsible for these structural problems. It's the old Republican bait and switch all over again, except this time the stakes are much higher. Republicans are like parasites that just don't starve their host they kill it and when that happens you can say bye bye to public schools, safe roads, safe air travel, clean drinking water, regular trash pick up, public hospitals, public funding of mega-sports stadiums, and even the Republicans's most sacred of sacred cows the military won't be able to buy million dollar missles or billion dollar planes because the dollar won't buy diddly. In their zest for tax cuts and corporate welfare the Republicans have forgotten that Constitution they love to say they are following starts off by stating that the purpose of government is to "promote the general Welfare." Never mind that one of the duties of Congress is to "lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the [. . .] general Welfare of the United States." Funny how the Radical Republicans always forget about that bit.
Reuters.com reports that oil reached "a new four-mounth high" with U.S crude selling for $52.05 per barrel. London Brent crude is selling for $49.68 per barrell up a $1.17. That "prices have soared by about $6 in the past two weeks" is troubling because as Reuters notes, "a steep fall in the dollar -- the currency of international oil trade -- spurs funds to switch money out of foreign exchange markets and into commodities such as energy, metals and coffee." The Radical Republican tax cut fueled deficit is starting to have serious economic consequences as central banks and other money managers are pulling away from the dollar. The Saudi's and other OPEC countries that are heavily invested in dollars, and thus dependent on dollars for their income, are unwilling to see oil prices go lower for fear of seeing their real income decline. But never mind all this, just be glad Georgie Bush and the Radical Republicans gave you a tax cut for buying that oversized gas guzzling SUV for your "business."
I'm sure somewhere there are a bunch of Republicans hatching up another tax cut to "solve" the problem. Or maybe they're hatching up some kind of "reform" that will entail borrowing trillions of dollars and putting millions of Americans's retirement at risk. They'll do this because addressing the very real structural problems facing the U.S. economy will mean admitting that their policies of tax cuts, encouraging corporations to move overseas, gutting corporate accountability regulations, etc. are in large part responsible for these structural problems. It's the old Republican bait and switch all over again, except this time the stakes are much higher. Republicans are like parasites that just don't starve their host they kill it and when that happens you can say bye bye to public schools, safe roads, safe air travel, clean drinking water, regular trash pick up, public hospitals, public funding of mega-sports stadiums, and even the Republicans's most sacred of sacred cows the military won't be able to buy million dollar missles or billion dollar planes because the dollar won't buy diddly. In their zest for tax cuts and corporate welfare the Republicans have forgotten that Constitution they love to say they are following starts off by stating that the purpose of government is to "promote the general Welfare." Never mind that one of the duties of Congress is to "lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the [. . .] general Welfare of the United States." Funny how the Radical Republicans always forget about that bit.