2.89.....and Dropping?

I don't get out much. This inevitable fact faces a writer who currently sits in his room in the middle of the practically invisible little town of Houghton NY. This town is completely enveloped by the rolling, (and in some cases tumbling) hills of the Allegany mountains. In order to reach a location of any cultural or geographical significance at all, I would need to plan on traveling for at least 45 minutes by car. I believe the easiest way to illustrate my innate isolation is to admit that the nearest Wal-Mart is an entire hour away.

While I have come to treasure the immense land barrier that separates myself from civilization, I have found that it does, as with most circumstances, have its disadvantages. One small example of such a disadvantage is the lost ability to follow current gasoline prices as I used to. If I am fortunate enough to leave the fine village of Houghton at all during my week, I will find myself even more fortunate to happen upon a gas station in my travels. Because of this slight hindrance, I am most likely somewhat off in my current gasoline price estimates, but based upon last observation, I have found them to have reached the seemingly glorious level of only $2.89 per gallon. Undoubtedly, if this is close to the current price of gasoline here in Houghton, I can be assured that it has fallen even lower in many other states including my home state of New Jersey. This recent downward trend has come as a tremendous relief to countless Americans facing the busy Christmas season and and an impending cold long winter.

This $2.89 astonishment has caused me to question, what exactly are the causes of this drastic price change? I received at least some insight into this question upon reviewing a recent issue of The Week magazine. The article, curiously titled 'OPEC: Trying to Set a Floor Under Prices,' seemed to view these staggering price drops with a "too much, too fast" outlook. It would seem that experts are very worried about the roller coaster price changes that have occurred within the past year, fearing that they merely further attest to the increasingly declining international economy. The article notes the astounding fact that "oil prices have fallen 57 percent from their July high of $147 per barrel" and that "Americans in August drove 15 billion fewer miles than they did a year earlier. " This "5.6 percent drop is the largest recorded since 1942." These statistics truly reveal that the rapid price decline may in fact warrant more concern than celebration.

As a result of the unhealthy plummet of the of oil value, OPEC, that is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has recently taken the precautionary measure of ordering its member nations to cut oil production by 1.5 million barrels a day. The organization feels that a floor needs to be immediately placed beneath the falling prices before they drop to potentially unsalvageable levels.

In my opinion the recent changes we have witnessed at the gas pumps offer only another testimony to the extremely unstable condition of the current economy and its subsequent need for aid and repair. According to the article, OPEC's recent attempts to limit the prices have thus far proven largely unsuccessful. Indeed this economic predicament has swelled beyond the reach of even the largest regulatory institutions. If big business isn't "big enough" to remedy it, then who?

Oh that's right...our president elect has been making many impressive claims throughout his campaign to turn all of our economic hopes and dreams into reality. Well Mr. Obama, I'm not so sure about realizing hopes and dreams, but a little more stability would be nice...