Hey friends. The tentacles of inflationary pressures are many (wage growth, capacity, confidence, etc.). Yet, when oil prices rise significantly, we can count on inflation. And when they fall significantly, we note costs go down, not just at the gas pump.

The price per barrel has dropped notably from its peak in early March of this year of about $140/barrel to its present price of below $100. And we have gotten recent hints of inflation easing. We have certainly seen improvement at the gas pump.

The notion of spending more to decrease inflation has always seemed pretty much an oxymoron to me. Yet some seem to believe the two can go hand in hand. I get the concept of “going green” decreasing reliance on oil. But there is reality to deal with and we aren’t anywhere close to having the degree of reliance on oil at such a diminutive level that big price jumps in oil won’t cause inflation. Further, our economy has suffered years of body blows that are reflected in a massive national debt. Also, alternatives aren’t free and if we successfully shift the demand away from oil to green alternatives, won’t the costs of the alternative(s) keep rising with increasing demand? How certain is it that the alternative can be harnessed and managed as efficiently as oil? We’ve had years and years of learning how to bring oil to the masses efficiently. What happens to the economy along the way of going green? Does anyone believe our debt crisis gives us the luxury of time while we experiment?

I avoid being political here. When it comes to how money works, there are principles that apply and these principles don’t know about “politics.” The way money works is really about common sense. I’m attaching a link to a recent article about what is referred to as “The Inflation Reduction Act.” Go here to read the article. Speaking for myself, trying to run what I read in this article through the grid of my common sense results in a sort of syntax error. It seems to me the Act needs a name change.

See you next time.