“I Don’t See a Downside”

We filled up the tank the other day and were again amazed at the numbers we saw while doing so. Consumer confidence in the U.S. is skyrocketing as we ‘Mericans are getting a nice little bonus every time we gas up the family car and, for those of modest means, saving $20 at the gas station can be a pretty big deal.

But there’s a downside…

As noted above, oil exporting countries around the world (most of whom we ‘Mericans dislike) are feeling a good deal of pain and that pain is likely to persist for some time.

But, what is not stated in the video is that there will be pain here in the U.S. too as the shale oil industry slowly comes to grips with the idea that $50 oil might not be so transitory. As noted in this report at The Atlantic, shale oil has been responsible for a good deal of the jobs growth in recent years and there are already reports of layoffs by shale oil producers, a trend that is likely to accelerate as long as oil prices are low.