Baraka_Guru

The issue is larger than even Washington. I think a lot of this has to do with the producing nations' questionable ability to fill demand over the next few years. It is the catalyst. It is what spurs speculators to make things worse.

Demand in China and India is a real thing. Car sales there isn't the best indicator because it would be an isolated one. The growth in demand is tied to expanding economies. As an economy expands--and modernizes--it uses more oil products in virtually every aspect of the economy: industrial, commercial, and residential.

But while these two nations are in the spotlight, they aren't the only expanding economies. Producing nations as a whole are having a tough time expanding their production capacity when it comes to sweet light crude...the good stuff...and some nations in particular are faltering in this respect and are seeing diminishing production. The data is out there.

Washington has a big role in this game, but they aren't the only players. America consumes much of the oil that is produced, but the demand is shifting to other economies. Also consider the impact of oil-producing countries when the prices spike: their own economies expand. This generates more demand even within their own borders, let alone where they happen to ship the oil. Look at the Calgary area. They've had trouble finding enough people to fill jobs, not just in the oil industry, but many others in general as a result of the booming growth. Now picture this happening in virtually every oil-producing nation in the world, who are benefiting from high oil prices.

This is a convoluted problem that no means of simple summary can describe. It is the problem of our time.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot