StreetScooby

And how much has our govt stuck their nose into those markets? We are all engines of karma

ROFLMAO!!! We are all engines of karma

+2. We are all engines of karma

Google efficient market. Most markets aren't fully efficient, but they're close enough. Look around you. You're surrounding by functioning markets. It's what has made our society what it is today. Were the examples you cite really markets? Or, govt attempts at markets? We are all engines of karma

I know this. That is my point. Let the market work. Our Congress is not letting that happen in this industry. We are all engines of karma

That's been my personal experience We are all engines of karma

I am a capitalist. Functional markets have proven themselves many times now as the best mechanism for resource allocation. We are all engines of karma

Yep. We are all engines of karma

That sounds high to me, though I don't have the data to back up that impression. How did you come up with this? We are all engines of karma

Shouldn't the market be allowed to decide that? I think that's the whole gist of this discussion. Having worked for Exxon, I see their senior management as being extraordinarily competent and responsible people. I expect other oil company executives are not too different. We are all engines of karma

not that there is anything wrong with that... We are all engines of karma

Isn't Turtle playing with your lawnmower in the yard? We are all engines of karma

My understanding is about 100 will do the earth in... We are all engines of karma

I think that argument is flawed, also. I personally think we should open up our resources, including shale oil and coal. We're going to need time to transistion. We also need to protect ourselves during that transistion period. We are all engines of karma

Ah, we've also been known to defend a few... We are all engines of karma

This is pretty amazing stuff. Just getting a vocabulary up and running must have been an incredible challenge. We are all engines of karma

That sensible priorities link looks good. Thanks for posting it. We are all engines of karma

As always,Darius, a thoughtful post. Agreed. Fanatics are not known for their perspective. I find myself quickly dismissing such people, from software coding to religion. But, you can have strongly held beliefs and still have perspective. I would love to see this question, what does it mean to be American, raised and debated in higher circles. I think it might bring some much needed perspective to my country and the direction our leaders should take us in. We are all engines of karma

I'd imagine if you had 2 or 3 kids running around screaming all day the problem would solve itself. Would you like to rent some for a few days? We are all engines of karma

You cannot trust that number, or others being tossed around by our government. Re: unemployment, once you're unemployed after 6 months, and lose benefits, you're no longer considered unemployed!. We are all engines of karma

We are all engines of karma

LOL! We are all engines of karma

Good article. Thanks for posting it. Bernanke has been printing a huge amount of money. They've only recently stopped the rate of printing. He needs to stop it. It's driving inflation around the world. So, what are those pesky Canadians doing? Trying to stay warm or something? I worked for Exxon for many years. A friend of mine was a planner. That's someone who works in the refinery, and keeps a steady supply of oil coming into the refinery. This must be planned weeks to months in advance. Refineries are a HUGE capital investment, absolutely HUGE. The return made on that investment is next to nothing. I've worked for investment firms in NYC with 50 people that made $1MM per day. This planner told me the only way they really made money was through "fire sales". If a refinery had already purchased crude, and it's on the high seas, it's theirs. If the refinery has an operating problem where they can't accept that tanker, then they have to sell it at a loss to another refinery. What this would do is ensure a longer time frame for us to transistion our economy. We're looking at a 50 year time line here. Adding another 10 to 20 years will help us through the transistion. We are all engines of karma

That was, and still is, my expectation. I am patriotic, and proud of it. Likewise. Agreed. Yep. And I expect everyone around me to do the same, especially our political leaders. I think the same, everytime I see our flag. And I say an internal thank you to the men and women serving our country. I also verbally thank them when I see them. Agreed, and this drives me nuts. Actually, it pisses me off. And they will continue to do so, as long as the aircraft carriers work. I want them to work for a long time to come, because bottom line, the world is not a place where everyone plays well together. No, we can't all get along, and it's not our call. Big time. It's another reason that prompted me to ask this question. Agreed. While I'm not an isolationist (it's simply not feasible), we do need to get our shit together within our borders, and all pull together to keep America strong. Hopefully, by focusing on being Americans. I'm a hawk on national security issues. We are the good guys, though mistakes have been made (usually seen in hind sight). I'm a middle of the road Republican elsewhere. At this point in time, "middle of the road Republican" has become an oxymoron here. Yes I do, and apparently so do alot of other people. That's why so many want to come and raise their families here. I'm all for that, as long as they realize they are in America and they're focus is being American. We are all engines of karma

Exactly. This presidential election actually frightens me, and prompted this question on my part. My observation, for some time now, has been my country is losing its identity. While I'm all for multiculturalism, it must have its limits. We are all engines of karma