You can tell your grandkids you lived in historic times. You witnessed key turning points for billions of people. One is the energy revolution. Maybe you hate fossil fuels. Maybe you love them. Whatever, you cannot escape reality. New drilling techniques have dramatically increased supplies of oil and gas. The techniques have vaulted America to […]
Get Instant Access to This Article
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
- Critical Central New York business news and analysis updated daily.
- Immediate access to all subscriber-only content on our website.
- Get a year's worth of the Print Edition of The Central New York Business Journal.
- Special Feature Publications such as the Book of Lists and Revitalize Greater Binghamton, Mohawk Valley, and Syracuse Magazines
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
You can tell your grandkids you lived in historic times. You witnessed key turning points for billions of people.
One is the energy revolution.
Maybe you hate fossil fuels. Maybe you love them. Whatever, you cannot escape reality. New drilling techniques have dramatically increased supplies of oil and gas. The techniques have vaulted America to dominance. They have shifted major pieces on the world’s chessboard. They may topple a few pieces.
The heavy flow from American wells has helped pushed down world prices for oil and gas (especially natural gas at home). Extra supply does that. It surely looks as if the U.S. will keep increasing the supply. And its technologies will eventually ramp up oil and gas flows around the world.
This is momentous for various reasons.
1. When you lower energy prices, you raise living standards. Period. Here and elsewhere. You lower the cost of everything for the poorest folks — electricity, water, transport, food, farming.
2. Lower oil prices undercut the power of Russian and Venezuelan dictators. Vladimir Putin is clearly up to not much good. But half of his economy depends on oil and gas revenues. Whatever damage he will do to Europe and the world will be lessened with lower oil prices.
3. Lower oil prices will also help cut the flow of money to Islamic extremists. Yes, the villains who fund terrorism are not going to run low on cash. But the money that comes from oil is shrinking. They will cut their contributions to terrorism.
4. Lower energy prices will help the U.S. economy everywhere.
5. Maybe you feel lower energy prices will harm the environment. If so, surely these are momentous times.
Another momentous turning point is President Barack Obama’s campaign to shred the U.S. Constitution. His executive orders on illegal immigrants stole headlines. But they are only part of his campaign. That campaign is to test how much a president can do when the Constitution says he cannot or doesn’t specify.
The House Speaker John Boehner is suing the president over his executive orders on Obamacare. Both sides should be delighted he is. If the courts accept the case and rule on it, they will define the turning point. Either they will grant the president these powers, or they will declare that he violates the law. If you feel the president is doing the right thing, you will be happy if the judges agree. And, if you feel he is a lawbreaker, you will be delighted the judges decree that so.
The vital issue here is not this president. Nor Obamacare. Nor other issues. It is the legal issue of what a president can do and cannot do. The ruling will determine tactics of our leaders for decades.
If the courts approve his behavior, they may open the doors to a future of dictator-type presidents. For if a president can ignore these parts of our Constitution, he ought to be able to ignore many other parts, too. Our Constitution defines and limits the powers of our president and Congress. That concept could be no more.
Another turning point is a separate clash over Obamacare. As you know, the Supreme Court can demolish it with a ruling soon. And the new Congress may dismember it. Or, the president will win out and limit future damage to the law.
Whatever happens, the course is being set for health care for millions of folks. Either health care will be run by immense government bureaucracies, or government’s role in it will be diminished.
A last turning point is public education. Charter schools are on the rise. That’s because in urban areas — where public schools stink — parents want more charters.
They want less of what prevails now.
The teachers’ unions love Democrats and fund them generously. They hate Republicans. Don’t be surprised to see the new Republican Congress support charter schools. And school vouchers, too.
The point is that we are seeing the teachers’ unions lose power. That, of course, will affect most of us.
You have heard the expression, “May you live in interesting times.” Congratulations. You do.
From Tom...as in Morgan.
Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home near Oneonta, in addition to his radio shows and TV show. For more information about him, visit his website at www.tomasinmorgan.com