Storm May Be the Coup de Grace for the American Economy

[Speck Tater]

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/092105_rita_storm.shtml

<snip>

Fully 30% of all US refining capacity is in the target zone. Perhaps most importantly, almost every refinery capable of producing diesel fuel is in immediate danger. This promises (especially in the wake of Katrina) a devastating and irreplaceable shortage of the diesel fuel needed to power America’s harvest of grain and food crops this month and next. Without diesel fuel to power the harvesters and combines, crops may be left to rot in the ground presenting a double whammy: food shortages (with prices that may treble or quadruple) and export defaults negatively impacting the financial markets and trade deficit.


<snip>

For those of you who expect FEMA to behave any differently in Texas than it did in New Orleans you are in for a crude awakening. FEMA will do what it must now do to preserve even a functioning part of America’s governing and economic infrastructure. Saving lives will be one of the least important functions in its mandate. While I had serious doubts about America’s ability to recover from Katrina, I am certain that – barring divine intervention – the United States is finished; not only as a superpower, but possibly even as a single, unified nation with the arrival of Hurricane Rita.

[phantom power]

1. I think he's laying it on a bit thick.

But we're definitely going to take another hit to our oil/fuel infrastructure, and it's going to hurt. Again.

[Verve]

2. Whoa! Pretty depressing article!

"I am certain that – barring divine intervention – the United States is finished; not only as a superpower, but possibly even as a single, unified nation with the arrival of Hurricane Rita."

[Tesha]

4. One can only hope...

> but possibly even as a single, unified nation...

One can only hope; it's been far too long that the Red Zone has been
sucking at the teat of the Blue Zone's economic successes while taking
every opportunity they can to sh*t on us with their regressive politics
and social attitudes.

Tesha

[Verve]

8. You don't really want the redneck bible thumpers living in your state do

you? To each his own (state).

[Angry Girl]

3. It's ALREADY moribund! This just hastens imminent death. n/t

[walkon]

5. Amazing

What an irresponsible and greed based government can cause. No wonder they're practicing for martial law in D.C. If there had never been a Bush administration there is no way a couple of hurricanes could bring us so low. The treasury is empty, our infrastructure is decayed and under maintained. Revolution is in the air and being fanned by nature's ill winds.

[orwell]

6. The South...

...probably should have seceded long ago. There really are two different nations trying to live under one big tent. From its founding, the United States has lived with a bipolar disorder. Instead of one side forcing its worldview on the other, what would be the great harm in an amicable no-fault divorce.

As far as Rita devastating the US economy, that seems rather hyperbolic, even for the likes of Rupert. The US economy is over 10 trillion per year, largely fueled by government expenditures and cheap fiat money. In the larger scheme, the most potent storm that could hit the US would be major cutbacks in government spending concurrent with a rapid rise in interest rates.

Now that would be the perfect storm.

[mattclearing]

7. Hard to take seriously someone who subs "treble" for "triple" in copy.

People seriously need to hire editors.

[Tesha]

9. Next time, look up "treble" before posting.

Treble adj:. 1. Triple; threefold.

Treble: It ain't just a dial on your stereo.

Tesha

[mattclearing]

13. Ow. My bad. n/t

[Seansky]

10. In the meantime, stocks from companies as Exxon aren't doing

bad..And the scary thing is that if the US economy takes a great dive, it'll impact the entire world, even those who own us by owning our debt.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Ridiculous Article

The extrapolations are preposterous. The economy is far larger than what would be needed for these scenarios to deliver a coup de grace.

And economies move glacially which means that a sound fiscal and monetary policy can always undo the damage of the neocons. Clinton's policies established that damage can always be undone.

This is as silly as the "end world" folks.
The Professor

[The_Casual_Observer]

15. Having lived through the 1970's I would say that there

is a good possibility that the damage due to the spike in oil prices hasn't even begun to take effect. The economy is slow to react alright, but it is also hard to stop it from slowing down.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Please Take The Time To Model It

I think you'll find that there is a gigantic difference between negative impact and a coup de grace. Any multivariate technique will do, and any number of iterations will demonstrate that no amount of storm damage in one year, or price spikes in gasoline, will take the economy to the point of collapse.
The Professor

[Mari333]

12. Soaring heating costs this winter, no one can file bankruptcy,

add to that loss of jobs and credit card companies demanding double the minimum payments by Oct..
I have a feeling by next yr at this time you wont even recognize the US of A.

[Ikonoklast]

14. I love this guy!

He is a pretty smart feller! I am sure that there are people that will listen to this kook, and start buying grain and commodity futures hoping that the price will go up. Maybe he is trying to create a market movement so that he can cash in on the downside price swing when the "shortages" fail to appear.

We also import refined diesel. A lot of it. Hell, two months ago a huge amount of diesel was sold to Mexico because it had too high a sulfur content for our domestic use. We didn't miss it much. The price that Europe is willing to pay for diesel dictates that market more so than any other factor.

[katty]

16. Right about FEMA--concerned with COG and Elites

[damntexdem]

18. Oh, the U.S. economy can survive. It merely has to become ...

a subsidiary of CITGO.

[jayfish]

19. John Titor Must Have Done Something To The Space...

time continuum that cased everything to be pushed forward a year. :tinfoilhat:

Jay