$4 Gas Here We Come!

Far from subsiding the unrest in the Middle East is spreading. The riots have turned into full fledged civil war in Libya, and now news reaches us of protests in Kuwait.

This is of course big news for the subjects of Kuwait, but it's even bigger news for the rest of the world.

Protesters in Kuwait gathered around their parliament building, and handed out watermelons. In Kuwaiti slang, a watermelon is a simpleton, or someone completely disconnected from reality. They are calling for their Prime Minister to resign.

Allegedly, they want more "political freedom", but reports are very vague on exactly what they think this means. Like much of the Arab world, the protestors seem long on grievances and short on meaningful solutions.

Kuwait is the world's 4th largest exporter of oil. Any hint of disturbance there is bound to send oil prices higher. The world's oil markets are already jittery. Retail gas prices are already up to $3.50/gallon

It won't take much more to make the spiral climb higher. If things get genuinely ugly in Kuwait, like they have in Libya, expect to see prices go much higher than $4/gallon.

Even at $4/gallon, our economy along with the rest of the world, will suffer mightily. Our economy depends on cheap[ and abundant energy. When all of our spare dollars get spent on $100+ dollar/barrel oil, there isn't enough left over to sustain our country.

If prices stay as high as they are, or go higher still, we will see companies fail and unemployment rise. We saw the exact same pattern in 2008 when oil got near $150/barrel. There's no reason to think we can avoid the same fate this time.

There is a question that every source of media should be screaming every day. Where is the Obama administration? What are they doing to deal with this crisis?

Out golfing apparently. This crisis demands attention. If it goes badly, it will ruin the world's economy. Don't forget that Obama is counting on an "economic boom" before 2013 to keep our country's debt from getting out of control. How are we going to see that when our country is crippled by high gas prices? We simply will not, we will be lucky to tread water and stay where we are. In the meantime, our debt will continue it's out of control spiral. That doesn't sound sustainable to me.

On the other hand, if Obama guided and aided this urge for more freedom, the world could end up a much better place in a few years. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to spread the cause of liberty. The people in the Arab world seem to want it. How hard would it be to offer moral, and material, support to any group that was pushing for a constitutional republic which respects the rights of it's citizens?

If he took the chance, Obama could transform some of the world's worst tyrannies into real allies. He could vastly improve the lives of millions. He might, dare I say, earn the Nobel peace prize he won. Instead he is out fiddling, I mean golfing, while the world burns.