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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (124258)	9/19/2000 7:36:10 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1580088

OT Tim, The markets are not nearly as efficient as you give them credit. In the 70's we had a oil crisis/shortage and now we're about to have another one. The 70's oil crisis had little to do with free markets. Oil embargos and cartels, combined with price controls and rationing does not make for a smoothly functioning free market. Oil is getting more expensive, maybe we will see $40 a barrell. But we are not entering a crisis shortage. It will probable not become a crisis shortage unless governments intervene in the free market (either OPEC raining in production, or price controls by oil using countries neither of which is very likely in my opinion). The difference between you and I is that I am not willing to lose a precious resource, waiting for the markets to become efficient. The markets are self serving so that conservation and preservation will be trumpeted only if that meets the markets' interests. Conservation and preservation aren't trumpted by "markets", they would be the reaction to further large price increases. Price increases reduce demand. The price of oil is extrodinarily high now only if you compare it with recent lows, or with old non-inflation adjusted prices. Also the amount of oil used for each dollar of the economy (inflation adjusted or not) is lower then it used to be. I'm not saying the oil price rise has not hurt and will not continue to hurt but it is not a major disaster for the country and most likely will not become one. Tim