Post by epaul on Nov 23, 2014 13:17:02 GMT -5
More and cheaper energy is good to grow an economy, but since energy, especially oil, is a worldwide market, US oil production does not explain the difference between the US and European economies. Cheap oil here is cheap oil everywhere.
Yes it does explain the difference.
More specifically, the economy fed by fracking-led domestically produced energy rather than Russian pipelines has had far more success these last 10 years. We have growth, Europe doesn't. And it is far more than just cheap energy (these low oil prices that have only been in effect for half a year or so).
The fracking-led energy boom has created real economic growth. There are the actual jobs created by the burgeoning energy field, there is the resurgence in U.S. manufacturing which is supplying the tools, material, and products needed to find, move, and transport natural gas and oil, AND...
AND every dollar an American spends on oil and gas and anything made with American oil and gas is a dollar that floats around our economy rather sailing over to Saudi Arabia's. This shouldn't need explaining, but evidently, it does.
The oil and gas boom is real gain, money that is created by our economy and sustains growth in our economy. It isn't an internal reshuffling of resources from "A" to "B" that ultimately goes nowhere. The energy boom has brought new money to the table. Money that used to fly overseas to buy some fat-assed prince a new Bentley is now going into American pockets (and the fat ass is our ass and it is sitting in a brand new Ford F-150 made with American steel...er, aluminum).
America has created new, game changing, domestic energy sources these last 10 years.
All Europe has done with their energy policies is jack up their electricity rates and make a bunch of Russian outlaws richer than hell.