We buy cheap manufactures made with cheap energy. Low oil prices reduce economic pressure to move resources into alternative energy sources, so we still don t have solar homes, electric cars, windmills or wave power. We still heat our homes, run our cars, and produce our electricity by burning petroleum. Al Gore s a liberal idiot for wanting to get rid of internal combustion engines. One day the countries that sell us this oil try to bring back the OPEC oligopoly, and make a deal among one another to limit production.
Supply decreases, more dollars chase fewer barrels of oil, and prices rise.
In this way, OPEC can guarantee each member a minimum income with no infighting, and can perhaps also set the stage for political concessions. Gasoline prices rise. Heating homes with oil is no longer economical. But we already have the SUV s and the oil furnaces. We re stuck, and we pay.