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I remember the first time the price of gasoline rose to more than $1.00 a gallon in the US. Most of us play a little game in our heads when we go to fill up. We know approximately how many gallons of gas we will pump, based on the level of the fuel gauge. My car had a twelve-gallon tank and I would normally fill up when it was about a quarter full. So 9 gallons times 90 cents meant I would pay about $8.10.
But when I went to the window to pay, I owed $10.80. I was shocked! The Earth had shifted on its axis. How could 9 gallons of gas cost that much? It made no sense. The rest of the day, I was in a state of shock as my tiny brain tried to make sense of the new reality. Something similar is happening in the world today. A decrease in the supply of oil, methane, and fertilizer from the OPEC cartel is driving up the price of everything. The whole world is suffering from sticker shock.
Economics Is Not Rocket Science
An economist would tell you that is inevitable. When supply goes down, prices go up, and vice versa. It’s not ideology or dogma. It’s reality. But how much supplies of those things will decrease as a direct result of some toady in the White House deciding it would be fun to show how powerful the US is by bombing a foreign country is a matter of some debate.
