Tag / Oil
-
![]()
7 Years of Plenty, 70 Years of Famine: Understanding Venezuela’s Crisis
“I’d have been better off broke.” This is how Abraham Shakespeare, a $30 million American lottery winner, described his windfall. “It’s just upheaval that they’re not ready for,” a financial consultant explained. “People have had terrible things happen.” A common “filler” story for news channels is the “Curse of the Lottery.” These cautionary tales warn…
-
![]()
Venezuela: The anatomy of a failing state
Venezuela is spiraling out of control. Inflation is above 700 percent, and only rising. There are drastic shortages of basic consumer goods. Venezuelans wait in lines several blocks long just to enter grocery stores, only to find empty shelves. Even when certain products are available, the sky-high inflation rate is eating away at Venezuelans’ ability…
-
![]()
What Cheap Oil Means For Us
Oil is cheap right now, and has been for longer than usual. The record-low oil prices of the last six months stem from an oversupply, helped by a boom in shale oil and other unconventional sources. In the past few weeks, falling expectations for oil demand, especially from China and Europe, have pushed prices down…
-
![]()
Nigeria’s Nadir
Nigerians presently face a huge decision regarding their upcoming presidential election. The incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will try to maintain his party’s dominance which dates back when the nation resumed democratic elections in 1999. However, he faces Muhammadu Buhari, a former Nigerian military dictator in the 1980s, whose popularity…
-
Putin is the Leader America Needs, But Not the One it Deserves
BY HENRY KOPESKY I’m envious of Russia. I know that, with that line, I’ve lost a good chunk of you already. Russia is, for a lack of a better word, a bully. Russia is the bully who is a few years older than everyone else in its class and is past its prime, but still…
-
Gambling With America’s Energy Security
BY BEN GOTTESDIENER In October 1973, Egypt and Syria, with the support of other Arab states, launched an attack on Israel, sparking the conflict that would later be known as the Yom Kippur War. The United States provided Israel with both financial aid and military aid throughout the war, but their support had consequences. Specifically,…
-
Attempts at Independence
BY BEN GOTTESDIENER Between 1973 and the present, there have been numerous shocks to the energy marketplace, the oil market in particular. With each shock came a subsequent call for energy independence, and a national energy strategy to make the United States achieve it. However, with each call for independence and with each plan to…
