America’s Landlord (It’s Not Who You Think)
July 19th, 2008 | by Tom Harper |According to one theory, oil is the international currency. Might as well be.
Now, putting aside all feelgood rhetoric and wishful thinking, let’s ask the unspeakable question — how much is America worth? According to this calculation, the United States of America is worth 400 billion barrels of oil.
And it just so happens that the combined oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Iran are approximately — 400 billion barrels of oil. SOLD!
“For Sale: One used country. Fixer upper. Needs a lot — a LOT — of repair work after years of abuse and neglect. No guarantees. As Is.”
And you were worried about China being our landlord??? You wish!
The author of this article, Scott Burns, says: “When we asked ‘How much is that in dollars,’ we usually liked the answer. But it may be time to ask another question: ‘How much is that in barrels of oil?’ Trust me, others are doing exactly that. That’s when the world starts to look very different. It also looks more than a little scary to the U.S.”
How do you say “Project For A New American Century” in Arabic?
5 Responses to “America’s Landlord (It’s Not Who You Think)”
By rube cretin on Jul 19, 2008 | Reply
tom,
very interesting post. Just what are you suggesting? Perhaps that since we are a free capitalistic society that we are for sale and those with the money can purchase us as we begin to go bankrupt? Or perhaps the things we have used all the oil wealth for in the past few decades are now be recognized as being non-sustainable and are losing value. Perhaps you are suggesting that if we don’t nationalize our remaining resources others will buy them for pennies on the dollar. Please explain.
By Tom Harper on Jul 19, 2008 | Reply
Rube:
I have no idea what it means. I thought the linked article was an interesting concept. But my financial knowledge is pretty limited, so I just wanted to call attention to the article.
By rube cretin on Jul 20, 2008 | Reply
tom,
take a look at this article from this mornings oil drum about the value of oil. very, very, interesting.
http://europe.theoildrum.com/node/4315#more
It calls attention to the ability of oil to do work and is a real eye opener.
By Tom Harper on Jul 20, 2008 | Reply
Cool article. Thanks for the link. It’s a real mindfuck when you get into all these abstractions and calculations.
By rube cretin on Jul 20, 2008 | Reply
yup,
a little data and facts seems to fuck most of us up. opinion seems go be the currency of the realm.