Interesting posts, but from the shared animosity towards one another, I still don’t observe any realistic solution to reducing the risk to American economy when the consumer price for fuel increases roughly 50% in a 2 year period and is now suggested to be at risk of rising another 50% in the next 2 years.
All the time, the same justifications are being promoted by globalists who also buy into the argument that the planet is now warming 2-20 degrees more than eternity past so the common man must simply sit back and await being burdened moreso by globalism.
IMHO, 20 years ago I wouldn’t buy into a ‘conspiracy theory’ regarding fuel pricing. Today, those who foment conspiracy in globalism have read the skepticism of upper middle class educated leaders to conspiracy theories and use it as a cover to actually practice some of the most heinous conspiracies imaginable. I haven’t observed anything justifying the jump in oil prices to explain the recent financial swings other than a orchestrated pricing to promote globalism.
The refining squeeze has its roots in the 1980s. Refining was a terrible business back then -- there was simply WAY too much capacity. Not surprisingly, the industry began mothballing old plant, a perfectly sound decision. Who wants to operate a plant that returns 2-3-4% on capital? Right, nobody.
However, two other trends intervened. First, the refiners in most cases have simply refused to sell mothballed plant to those who would intend to operate it, thus keeping capacity somewhat lower than it would otherwise be. Second, however (and I do believe the industry was not ready for this development) the demand curve, particularly from India and China, has increased notably faster than anticipated. This in turn implies that restricting throughput capacity was a sizeable error.
If you say that this is evidence of a conspiracy, well, it might be, although it would be a very difficult one to bring to light. OTOH, the whole situation today, Asian demand or not, wouldn't have occurred in the first place had the Feds and state gooberments not become praeternaturally restrictive in permitting for exploration and adding refining capacity.
Anthopogenically driven ''global warming'' is a crock, pure and simple. It doesn't matter who is behind this scam (and, btw, I should put 'globalists' well down the list, but that's neither here nor there); what matters is how many gooberments can be suborned into believing this nonsense. Unfortunately, the answer here is : lots of 'em. Gooberments crave power, and what could be a tastier type of power than the statutory ability to control absolutely everything, eh? It's a politico's wet dream, and the typical politico will cheerfully ignore hard science in favour of druidism if it leads to his accrual of more power.
I believe you've underestimated one thing in your view of the global price shift in energy, to wit, the power of human fear. Over 35 years, I've seen this phenomenon occur again and again, in grains, energy, sugar, metals, even lumber, and it's always spookily similar. People get scared, for whatever reason, that X goods will become unavailable or not conveniently available. They 'reason' that they'd better buy the goods now, because who knows what will happen in future?
If enough do this, prices go berserk. Worse, the shortage stories **always** get bigger and badder over time. Now, combine this phenomenon with A) sharp worldwide demand increases and B) refining capacity increases being unable to keep up with actual demand increases, and bang! you've got a whole new pricing range for energy.
There are of course any number of practical solutions to this situation. There's no shortage of energy on this planet; indeed, we've untold reserves of carbon BTUs...just not necessarily available from 'traditional' sources. The question is: which if any will be implemented, or be allowed to be implemented by the mkt, by gooberment?
The answer, or at least my answer, is: none, until such time as gooberment can increase its power by implementing (allowing, more likely) production of one or another of these sources.