Hakan Falk wrote: >$25 is a target price by US, where they can maintain the >"American way of life". $40 for a longer period will be very >difficult and close to $60 the American society will start to >deteriorate. This is not my analyses, it is based on several >US data, so do not get angry with me. > Well, yes and no. On its face, such a statement is true as $60 a barrel would disrupt American life somewhat. However, such a malthusian reading of the situation ignores other forces and adjustments that could come into play. Texas, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana crude become economically viable once prices spike. Increased trucking costs would cause the cost of goods to rise, but it might also shift more freight back to the railroad. Increased cost at the gas pump would drive people away from SUVs and toward carpooling and smaller cars. Likewise, I'd bet that 3 billion pounds of surplus soybean oil the USDA has laying around would get turned into SMEs pretty damn fast. I also bet people would figure out how to do something with all that West Virginia and Wyoming coal.
So anyway, distruption, yes. Deterioration, No. >For many years now, US have also >sabotaged UN by withholding its agreed member fees. > >I also want to tell you, if you do not really know, that US and >UK are the industrial countries that contributes the lowest >amounts per capita to UN and other help programs for the >developing countries. Sweden is among the highest and I am >in that sense proud of being a Swede. > Yes, and the US pays 25% of the total UN budget as well as 30% of the peacekeeping budget. Nor does this include the billions of dollars the US donates in manpower and logistics to worldwide peacekeeping opperations for which other nations are routinely reimbursed. Do I think the US should pay its dues in full in a timely manner? Absolutely. But I also think it is disingenuous to ignore that the US is the largest contributor in absolute dollars. Some other facts to consider: US population as percentage of total of World Population: 4.6% US GNP as a as percentage of total of World GNP: 29% Percentage of UN dues paid by the US: 25% My point being that you can argue it either way based on population or economic wealth but it is unfair to only pick the statistic that supports your agenda. John ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Your own Online Store Selling our Overstock. http://us.click.yahoo.com/rZll0B/4ftFAA/46VHAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
