One might read this before being critical of the Iran/oil problem
en.wikipedia.org
Close call to killing 2/3 of world population. Iran is similar in attitude. Oil problem is a temporary problem. Same when the 'dplt' was in charge and during iraq. Remember when Iraq set their oil fields on fire?
I thought those sand cooked eggs were called bluts but now I hear it is baluts. And the Philopenas I worked with in Corpus had their 'booze' fermenting behind the reefers. I didn't partake of either.
Dad's ancestor came over after Cromwell died, Mom's were Quaker refugees. Wife's were escaped from French prison and went to what is now Quebec. All pre-1600s and not an easy life.
“The oil problem is temporary.” Maybe—but the price spikes and the inflation that follow don’t feel temporary to the people paying for it.
People tend to focus on a couple of flexible, headline items—gas, eggs—while the broader trend keeps creeping up. Take something simple like soda: how much did a bottle of Pepsi cost when you were a kid? When have you ever seen that price truly go down, outside of sales or buy-one-get-one deals? It doesn’t. Prices might dip temporarily, but they rarely return to where they used to be.
Same logic applies across the board. When shipping costs rise, they get passed to consumers. And when those costs fall, corporations don’t suddenly say, “Let’s cut into profits and lower prices for everyone.” That’s not how the system works. So the idea that grocery prices were going to meaningfully drop always deserved a little skepticism. They’re quick to raise prices when costs go up, but much slower to bring them back down.
Now, to be fair, you’re not wrong that the “oil problem” can be temporary in a narrow sense. We don’t hear “peak oil” much anymore—American shale pushed that concern down the road. But that doesn’t mean the issue is solved, just delayed. Demand keeps growing, and unless alternatives catch up, supply pressure comes back. It’s not about running out—it’s about oil becoming harder and more expensive to produce at the scale we need. I think we will see future wars tied to oil if we stay short sighted.
History already gives us a preview of how that plays out. During the Gulf War, retreating forces set oil fields on fire rather than let them fall intact. It wasn’t strategic brilliance—it was scorched-earth desperation. And Iran has shown a similar mindset: if pushed hard enough, they’re not above damaging their own infrastructure to deny an advantage.
So yeah—temporary problem, maybe. Temporary consequences? Not even close.
