Friday, Jul 04, 2008
Asleep At The Wheel
The Oil Drum (Europe): The Fantasy World Of The UK Government
Contributing to one of the threads yesterday, I touched on the worrying trend in government these days to avoid ANY talk of bad news - lest it undermine confidence in the market. And true enough, there's Alistair Darling today - in the face of carnage on the High St and housing sector, declaring that the economy is sound.
But wait . . maybe he actually believes it. Especially if the government is supplied with stats like these from the DTI (BERR) - its 'high scenario' forecasting oil reaching a stratospheric $105 bbl by 2030.
Best comment is by 'bunyonhead':
'My only suggestion to BERR is that if they intend to publish the report for mass market consumption, they should do so in a joint venture with Andrex so that the report will at least have some utility'.
5 Comments
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1. whiteknight said...
Maybe he could implement solid plans ; strategies and concrete schemes to ensure that the effects of the global financial system meltdown are firmly addressed .........
whiteknight - shuttt up! there i go again..
just call up the PR agent and tell everybody the sun is shining.
2. d'oh said...
High scenario oil price of $105 in 2030...I can feel a Confused76 moment coming on.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Oh, please stop, you are killing me...
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
3. little professor said...
LOL, that's so funny!
It's interesting that even their 'central' prediction was for oil prices to be the same in 2030 as they were in 2007. And as for their 'high' scenario - all I can do is echo d'oh's sentiments.
4. drewster said...
@little professor,
The original PDF file from the BERR contains a fourth table, the "High High Scenario". It lists oil prices as follows:
2007: $73
2010: $107
2015-2030: $150
Note the disclaimer below: "All prices are in 2007 prices". High oil prices will cause inflation to go through the roof, so those figures could be true if adjusted for hyperinflation. For the rest of us living in the nominal (i.e. non-adjusted) world, it basically means far higher prices. Those fine folks at the oil drum have an article entitled "Countdown to $200 oil". Who do I trust more: expert geologists, oil traders, and industry insiders; or play-it-safe civil servants and don't-scare-the-voters politicians?
@lierbag,
I totally agree it's crazy how this government just refuses to tell it how it is. Maybe they really are thick enough to believe it all. Maybe the civil servants who compile these reports prefer to play it safe. But why aren't the opposition leaping on these issues? Are they afraid of being accused of "talking us into a recession"? Are they just too thick aswell?
5. lierbag said...
drewster, there is no opposition. They're all working for the same paymasters: corporations and big business, so they'll always give out the same line. Look at the party policies - where are the major differences? It's all just fine tuning.
The 21st century has seen the end of the nation state. Illusory tribal loyalties and cultural identities are artfully maintained via sport - but absolute homogeneity has been achieved by turning us all into a mass of producers/consumers, mobilised territorially to the corporations' best advantage. And just to keep us pacified, we have elections - where the media (run by big business interests and their advertisers) get to tell us who to vote for, to best run 'the policies' for the next five years.
There are no separate political parties as such, not even oppositions, just factions that once in a while get a chance at stewardship of 'the policies'.
And if they don't play ball with people like Murdoch, the CBI, and the Bildeberg crew - they won't get a look in.