Pray for global warming. It may keep you warm next Winter. But don't hold your breath. So far GW (Global Warming, not the other GW) is a big dud (well, maybe the other GW too).

For immediate action, if every working stiff would stay home from work on one selected day it would send a message to the powers that be to bring their oil prices more into line with the traditional ratio of the past. If it doesn't work, then make it a week! We could turn it around if we would all do this. This would be a time when we could really show an interest in our neighbors and help them through the difficulties that may ensue. Impossible you say? Well, if we don't do something on this order we may all be sitting home anyhow in the not to distant future. Don't think another Great Depression can't happen. If the money becomes worth less than the paper it's printed on...

Which leads to my next topic: Real Economics 101
1933, the U.S. ends the gold standard. Federal Reserve notes circulate. Only $1.00 bills (for the most part) have silver backing. Many arguments pro and con have been argued over gold since before the American Civil War. "The inflexibility of the (perceived) intrinsic value of gold has lead (no pun intended)", the opponents say, "to several recessions and also to the Depression." Roosevelt orders a meltdown of all 1933 gold coinage (except for 5 Double Eagles) but throws the public a bone by fixing the price at $32 an ounce. Silver's price is fixed to a permanent ratio of 1:32 but now Uncle Sam can print all the money he wants. Yes I know, it is much more complicated than that but this is Econ 101, remember. The U.S. is saved with Roosevelt's wisdom, work programs, Social Security and World War II.

1964, Kennedy/Johnson and Congress take us off the silver standard in a move which echos what most of the rest of the world has already done. Again arguments pro and con preceded this event. Certain sheikdoms and kingdoms demanded all payments for oil in silver. The U.S. Silver standard was bankrupting many foreign economies including some big U.S. trading partners. Argentina (ironically) and Mexico were constantly going into financial free fall on a regular basis. World Bank didn't like our silver standard. Good bye AU, hello CU.
Before we discuss Copper (CU), note that another brainy thing Jimmy Carter did is make it legal for U.S. citizens to own gold again. This was a mixed bag as it freed U.S. gold from the artificial $32 an ounce and allowed it to seek its own level and thereby establishing a relative "intrinsic" value of the Dollar against gold in the global commodities market. This was one of the things which lead the infamous Hunt brothers to try and corner the silver market which had an astounding effect on the price of silver which is still with us today.

1982 Goodbye Cu, hello Zn. Our last coin of ancient intrinsic value was the U.S. small cent. Trillions of the little things had been minted over the years but the copper cent was too strong against the Dollar. As the price of copper rose ( or rather as the value of the Dollar fell) it became cost prohibitive for the U.S. to continue to mint them. Since 1982 all U.S. cents have been made out of Zinc which has a thin copper plating around it.

What has this got to do with oil? Well, if you stop and reflect for a moment, the thing that has changed is NOT the gold or the silver or the copper, it's the Dollar. Fiat money. Uncle Sam say "Let it be money!" and he wants you to think it's money! It isn't money. It's just the government's word that it's money. The metals all have an intrinsic value. They also have a technical value which is why they are bought and sold in the commodities market. Oil also has a value as a commodity. The difference between the metals and the oil is this. Once the oil is used, it is (for the most part [gasoline]) GONE! There is very little left of any value after it has been used. Most of the metals can be returned to a pristine state and could be reissued as coinage. Because of the nature of oil and it's consumption, it hammers many of the world's economies which are dependent on it. The wise sheiks still want payment in something more stable than the U.S. Dollar. They will take whatever they can get in influence, military hardware and business inroads into this and any country where it is legal to do so. England has just about handed it's existence over to the powers of those certain Middle Eastern Kingdoms and the U.S. is not far behind.

There are measures which this country could take which would turn the situation around but it will not do so. Our sovereignty has been compromised and our "leaders" have all bowed the knee. We are headed toward a one world government and very few Americans are going to like it. Sorry.