Traverse City Record-Eagle

Opinion

November 10, 2007

Other View: Here comes $100 a barrel

Ready for $100-a-barrel oil? Despite a stall in oil's steep price climb, that symbolic milestone could be here by Thanksgiving. So what can we do to reverse the surge in prices, or at least soften its impact? Not much.

Americans are wincing every time they fill up their cars' tanks. They should at least understand what's driving prices to such levels.

To start, forget the usual suspects -- the mess in Iraq or oil shortages. Instead, look first at traders in the futures markets of New York, London and Tokyo, where oil is just another commodity. When the subprime mortgage markets imploded, big investors looked elsewhere to find profit. They found it in oil.

For our part, Americans should consider parking their big SUVs and driving fuel-sipping compacts while dialing down the thermostat. It won't change oil prices immediately, but it will cut costs.

Newsday

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    Continued ...
    Feb 11, 2012 7:14 am
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    Continued ...
    Feb 11, 2012 7:14 am
  • Letters to the editor: 02/11/2012

    Throw them all out; Losing our liberties

    Continued ...
    Feb 11, 2012 7:14 am
  • Trades students get chance to demonstrate their skills

    The issue: TBA sponsors Skills USA Competition; Our view: Recognition is important

    Continued ...
    Feb 10, 2012 7:24 am
  • TC officials' 'office hours' an outreach

    Some city commissioners have begun to hold regular "office hours" at the Governmental Center so residents could drop in to chat person-to-person. Let's hope it translates to city business.

    Continued ...
    Feb 10, 2012 7:24 am
  • Letters to the Editor: 02/10/2012

    Save, don't pave; Maybe not so confused; Not merely statistics; Know what's going on

    Continued ...
    Feb 10, 2012 7:24 am
  • Thursday, February 9, 2012
  • Other View: Not the time for 'right-to-work' fight

    Michigan's Legislature should follow the lead of Gov. Rick Snyder and avoid staging an ugly confrontation over right-to-work legislation.

    Continued ...
    Feb 9, 2012 7:24 am 1 Photo
  • Letters to the Editor: 02/08/2012

    Tax unearned income; Center calls a nuisance

    Continued ...
    Feb 9, 2012 7:24 am
  • Op-Ed: Komen decision set precedent

    When organizations like Susan G. Komen began pulling money from Planned Parenthood, they set a precedent. When other funding resources follow suit, the people affected are the very people Susan G. Komen set out to empower: vulnerable women.

    Continued ...
    Feb 9, 2012 7:24 am 1 Photo
  • Op-Ed: Reform falls on deaf ears

    Surprise! Would you believe that political systems are stacked in favor of those with money? That's probably been true since the days of the Pharaohs. But these days, two things make the normal much worse in our country.

    Continued ...
    Feb 9, 2012 7:24 am 1 Photo
  • Wednesday, February 8, 2012
  • Numbers show economic gains; more is yet to be done

    By the numbers, there is some reason to hope Michigan is slowly nosing its way out of the recession that has gripped the state for a decade now. But they also show that children and low-income families remain at risk.

    Continued ...
    Feb 8, 2012 7:19 am
  • Forum: HopeLine gives phones to needy

    If you received a new phone for the holidays, you can easily turn your old device into a lifeline by recycling it or putting it in the hands of someone who needs it.

    Continued ...
    Feb 8, 2012 7:19 am 1 Photo
  • Letters to the Editor: 02/08/2012

    Honor basic concepts; You don't have to yell

    Continued ...
    Feb 8, 2012 7:19 am
  • Tuesday, February 7, 2012
  • Bertha Vos switch will work if Montessori gets home

    The issue: Bertha Vos to house only International Baccalaureate program; Our view: District must still expand Montessori

    Continued ...
    Feb 7, 2012 7:18 am
  • Forum: Moving can't be only autism option

    Michigan is currently ranked in the top 10 worst places to live for children with autism. Today, the best option for families to get help is to move out of state, where autism is covered by insurance.

    Continued ...
    Feb 7, 2012 7:18 am
  • Letters to the Editor: 02/07/2012

    Calling us to account; A healthier alternative

    Continued ...
    Feb 7, 2012 7:18 am
  • Monday, February 6, 2012
  • Cheers: 02/06/2012

    To Elnora Milliken; the late Cliff Merrick; city commissioners; the Traverse City Planning Commission; photographer Mark Lindsay; the Herbert and Grace Dow Foundation; and Marty Dagneau Bates and her terrier Tully.

    Continued ...
    Feb 6, 2012 7:39 am
  • Letters to the Editor: 02/06/2012

    Continued ...
    Feb 6, 2012 7:39 am
  • Sunday, February 5, 2012
  • Our view: Battle of Acme may be over

    The Battle of Acme is apparently nearing an end, and after six years or so of wrangling over Meijer Inc.'s plans for a big-box store along M-72, both sides appear ready to move on with getting a store built, local residents hired and the doors open.

    Continued ...
    Feb 5, 2012 7:14 am
  • Jack Segal: Ending the war in Afghanistan

    In November 2010, the President and our allies agreed to continue fighting in Afghanistan through the end of 2014. In a surprise announcement Feb. 1, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters that the United States has now decided to end our combat role by "mid-to-late 2013." Thereafter, NATO troops will remain in a "training and advisory role" as Afghans take full responsibility for security.

    Continued ...
    Feb 5, 2012 7:14 am
  • Letters to the editor: 02/05/2012

    Don't want to pay more; Burgers still dominate

    Continued ...
    Feb 5, 2012 7:14 am
  • Jack Lessenberry: Overcoming the Morouns

    Americans are justifiably outraged whenever a lawmaker is caught taking bribes or misusing public funds. But what do you suppose the voters' reaction would be if it were discovered that one very rich family was trying to buy off the Legislature solely for their own financial gain? What if that family spent millions on what amounted to legalized bribes to successfully block a project that virtually every corporation in the state agreed was essential to Michigan's economic future? We are talking about the family of Manuel J. "Matty" Moroun, the 84-year-old billionaire who owns the aging Ambassador Bridge.

    Continued ...
    Feb 5, 2012 7:14 am
  • George Weeks: Granholm has new gig

    Over the last half-century, most Michigan governors upon leaving office have gone into or sought another form of public service. The last one, Democrat Jeniffer Granholm, is blazing into the public light with a sprightly talk show gig on California-based national cable TV.

    Continued ...
    Feb 5, 2012 7:14 am 1 Photo
  • Saturday, February 4, 2012
  • Another view: U.S. budget needs work

    The Congressional Budget Office recently released its 10-year budget projection and economic outlook for the U.S. and guess what: We still need to work on the whole spending versus revenue thing.

    Continued ...
    Feb 4, 2012 7:14 am
  • Another view: Words of a weasel

    In his Missourinet blog this week, Bob Priddy (news director for the Missourinet, a statewide radio network) took state legislators to task for rhetoric and tossing about phrases such as revenue enhancement. Priddy relates that it was Theodore Roosevelt, recalling a friend in 1879, who would have called phrases such as "revenue enhancement" weasel words.

    Continued ...
    Feb 4, 2012 7:14 am

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