Three great videos, Mr. Cooper. I fear what people fail to realize is what will happen when, as Mr. Faber says, energy prices rise a lot. When the cost of transportation fuel increases dramatically, demand for a whole lot of other things will decrease, just about everywhere.
What happens when demand decreases a lot? People lose their jobs. Tax revenues fall. At the same time, the demand for government services increases. Deficits explode. Banks go under, etc. Normally, the cycle is self correcting, but if the price of liquid fuels can’t fall due to a chronic oil shortage, we could be talking about a whole new bad ball game.
If anyone can figure out a way to prevent that from causing another Great Depression, you will become very famous and possibly very rich.
Oh, Merry Christmas.

Bill Simpson, you are quite correct. We just recently HAD exactly the scenario you outlined: fuel just got too danged expensive, with all sorts of knock-on consequences on down the line: namely, increased prices on all sorts of consumer goods which have to be trucked, shipped, airlifted and delivered, etc… Coupled, of course, with the fact that people were/are losing not only their jobs, but their houses, and perhaps more importantly, their HELOC’s attached to those houses.

I should clarify and say that we not only HAD the scenario you outlined, but for all intents and purposes, we’re still living with it: consumer prices for lots of things have not come down, people are not spending – either because they’re not able to or because prices are just still too high… So I think we currently have some nasty Stagnation going on, which can only get worse if the price of fuels should happen to spike upward again. Can you imagine what a bombshell it’s gonna’ be for the overall system if we have fuel prices edge up to $4.50 a gallon for gas again??

We’re limping along right now as it is. Another fuel price spike is going to kick the crutches right out from under us, I guarantee it…