Monthly Archives: June 2011

How can a government fix its debt problem?

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Gail Tverberg

We have all read about the standard “fixes” for a governmental debt problem–(1) inflate your way out of the problem, (2) cut programs and/or raise taxes, and (3) restructure debt, perhaps delaying repayment and giving bondholders a “haircut” on promised … Continue reading →

Posted in Financial Implications | Tagged , | 71 Comments

Release of Oil from the SPR – Desperately Trying to Fix the Economy

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Gail Tverberg

The International Energy Association (IEA) announced a plan today to make 60 million barrels of oil available to the market over the next month from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), in response to the disturbance in supplies from Libya. Half of … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy policy | Tagged , | 85 Comments

How to develop a more rational energy policy

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Gail Tverberg

It seems to me that most policymakers have missed some basic issues with respect to our energy problem. One of these is that world oil supply is very inelastic–that is, even with high price, it doesn’t rise much, if at … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy policy | 23 Comments

Should We Take United Nations’ Projections Seriously?

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Gail Tverberg

This is a guest post by Dr. Gary Peters, author of Population Geography. The United Nations warned recently that the global consumption of natural resources could almost triple to 140 billion tons a year by 2050 unless nations take drastic … Continue reading →

Posted in Planning for the Future | Tagged | 32 Comments

Planning for Higher Food and Energy Prices, and their Wider Impacts

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Gail Tverberg

Over the years, we have become accustomed to a rising standard of living. One of things that has helped this happen is a gradually declining ratio of food costs to total personal expenditures. Energy costs have not followed as clear … Continue reading →

Posted in Financial Implications, Planning for the Future | Tagged , , | 27 Comments