Artist Josh Speer
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Hail Caesar or Robbing Peter to pay Paul.
After the Obama election there should be a grace period for him and the economy.  Stock market weakness, however, will be the excuse to implement his socialist ideas.  His first couple of years, will no doubt, be similar to the Caesar 's son in "Gladiator".  Basically he will be holding two years of money games.  As the corrupt Caesar did, he will be using this tactics to disguise his true agenda.  The money game will please the masses for a short time but eventually the effects of the "money fallout game" will immerge into stagflation.  His money game will give a short term boost to the economy but all he's doing is robbing Peter to pay Paul.  It sure looks like the dollar will eventually have to crash.  This will be another short tern disguise of the real economy.  It looks like there will be a boost in John Q's paycheck by some sort of government spending program to rebuild our infrastructure but since we are just using the printing press to finance this growth the eventual result in a massive loss in  purchasing power.  During the time of the Caesar all sorts of policies will be put in place to increase the power of government and reduce the individual's freedom.  Don't blame the inevitable move to Socialism on Obama and his policies.  The roots of this have been growing for many years and the results are the natural course of a fiat currency.  I think that capitalism in America has been on it's way out for many years, regardless of democrat or republican.  Comment

Clinton revisited.
Well the cards stack up again for a democratic moral and economic victory.  It's not that they will do anything different but the stars are aligning for them.  Think about it, Clinton came into an economic disaster that was due for a macro economic resurrection.  The economy was scheduled for a rebound regardless of what he did but given "the winner is who's standing mentality" of the American public Clinton was given the credit for a robust economy.  Then as cycles would be, as he was ending his term, the economy was due for a recession.  So even if George Bush inherited the recession from the excess of Clinton policies the buck still stops with who's sitting in the chair.  Now we have one of the worst economic environs that for all practical purposes has reached it's low point.  Along comes Obama at just the right moment for an economic rebound and of course this rebound will happen on his watch.  Once again the right things happen with the credit being given to the wrong "chair".

Election Day 2008e
Are we getting polls or polecats?   
Being a news hawk, I will emphatically say that media with all their polls and pundits skew the election outcome.  All day and all night coverage and projections destroy one's own opinion as to how to vote.  No one wants to bet on a looser and given this if you are at all plugged into the media hype you can't help but vote for Obama or not vote at all.  This 24/7 election coverage has got to be altered.  I use to think that election day banter really didn't make much difference but I was wrong.  With the pollster's chirping all day long that it's an Obama landslide, why would you bother with voting if you support someone else.  The fact is you wouldn't.  Normally you could count on the apathetic Obama supporters to stay home and bask in the glow of their candidate's victory, but not this time.  
If you believe the press the election is over if Obama wins Virginia..  So the election could be called 3 hours before the polls even close.

The Global Economic according to www.yago.com.
Having been an economic junkie for over 30 years, it's time to comment.
As stock markets across the world gyrate like a drunk hula girl no one really has a clue about what to invest in.
Following are a few observations.
The looming problem is not the price of oil.  It is the ability for refiners to deliver gasoline.
Looking at the refiners we observe that they are loosing their shirt.
With oil at such lofty levels the crack spread (the difference between the price of gasoline and the cost it takes a refinery to make one) is non-existent.  This means that the people who make gasoline are basically loosing their shirts.  I know most people think that higher oil and gasoline prices are good for the oil industry but we think this is folly.  With oil prices moving in such an abrupt manner oil companies can not budget properly to ensure profits.  This is especially true with the refiners.  Not only are they the most hated members of the petroleum industry but their ability to make any money is being demolished.  This mean that even if America cuts back on driving and starts to conserve energy and oil prices come down, gas prices will continue upwards.  Why?  The refiner's are caught in a catch 22 situation.  They simply will not continue to make gasoline if they loose money on each gallon.  They are not in the charity business.  So facing loosing money on each gallon they will simply shut down.  This means no gasoline for you.  Even if you've bought a hybrid or a scooter their simply won't be any gas to put in them no matter how many miles you get per gallon.

We can't find a positive outcome for this problem no matter how far oil prices drop.  The scenario seems to be;  the refiner's shut down because they are loosing money and the demand for gasoline is dropping per conservation and cost.  As long as oil stays above say $110 per barrel, the refiner's have no way to make money.  They shut down.  Demand for gasoline is dropping hence oil prices start down.  This doesn't matter since the refiner's are already closed because they can't make any money and demand is dropping.  As oil prices drop one would think gasoline prices correspond, but there's the rub.  With demand shrinking the refiner's are in no hurry to open a refinery that has been loosing them money hand over fist since oil went above $90 per barrel.  So the public is seeing oil prices come down and are feeling better about their plight and decide to take a vacation.  Flying is out because of the expense and frustration is just not worth it, so they decide to drive to Disneyland, which is half way across the country.  This action is taking place all over the country.  Suddenly million's of people are feeling they same way.  So the masses start their trip to "La La" land or where ever.  It is a nation feeling better party about oil prices coming down.  As the trips start demand for gasoline increases but the refiner's are shut down so gasoline is in short supply.  The refiner's see an opportunity to make money so they start to retool their refineries to satisfy the increasing demand, but in the short term, because they have been shut down, the supply demand equation dictates that gasoline price must increase for John Q.  So oil prices are down but gasoline prices are increasing, John says, hey, what's the deal.  John decides he's not in the party mood when he realizes how much it cost to fill up is hybrid tank.  Demand for gasoline falls.  Now the refiner's have spent all their money restarting their refineries just at the moment demand starts to fall.  A glut of gasoline suddenly with no one to buy it.  The refiner's can't hold their gasoline for higher prices so once again they must sell at a loss.  The refiner's had enough of this and shuts down his refinery.  John Q.  sees lower gasoline price and decides the party is back on.  Again, he starts on his trip and demand increases but the refiner's are shut, so once again the gasoline prices skyrocket.  Well the refiner's have seen this play before and decide to wait awhile before restarting to supply increased demand.  All the while gasoline goes higher and John Q's. appetite decreases but gasoline price's don't decline this time because the refiner's never restarted so gasoline prices continue upward.

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