Hell is Hot and Gas is High

Two observations, only one of which is new. Gas is moving higher, Wall Street is moving lower, and jobs continue to move overseas. It seems as if the American public is caught in a terrible B movie. Unfortunately, neither congress, OPEC, nor anyone else in the energy complex is yelling “Cut!”

Now that we understand there is no concern for Joe Public or his ability to afford driving to work, many things will change. Many people are paying closer attention now more than ever before to what their senator, congressman, and even what the local county officials are doing. Gas, and its price, has had the unintended affect of causing Americans to wake up, sit up, and take names.

When a retired worker has to decide whether to buy gas, food, or medicine, she doesn’t forget the face on the evening news promising everything is just fine. For the sake of completeness, there are many who blame their current financial woes on gas, when in actuality, they were just as financially irresponsible when gas was $1.25. For the other half, who are hard working, skilled and educated, these prices will forever change the political landscape.

I, for one, do not believe in “punishing” the oil companies for making profit. There is, however, an authentic case to be made when the nature of your product is a necessity for a civil society to operate. Selling a $5000 Versace suit, acceptable. Selling a $5000 gallon of water, unacceptable.

The quality of deception that engulfs the average American concerning Wall Street is fascinating. This period of high energy prices has made one point with clarity; Wall Street is not your friend. The cold hard reality is that The Street is in the business of making money from your expense. You invest so they can trade. You buy so they can sell. You lock up your retirement funds in financial products so the managers can make pro forma projections to other investors. In other words, they garner copious now money on the basis of your future funds. That’s the game. Don’t hate, adjust.

Here’s the good news. Twenty years from now I predict the number of American billionaires will quadruple when compared to the previous twenty years. Why? Because the economy is squeezing the talented and the untalented alike. The result? Inventions will be made, products marketed, services conceived by many who are now unemployed, unfulfilled or both.

There are literally thousands of people who will, out of frustrated inspiration, create that new Apple or Google idea that can only be birthed out of economic pain. So in a sense, we should thank all forces involved with obscene gas prices. When all is said and done, this gas is fueling our future wealth.