Originally posted by: Aimster
Topic Title: What would the U.S economy be like..
Topic Summary: had we not invaded Iraq?
Just curious what you think.
I'd like to know how that is possible given that they fell before Iraq, unless you're referring to reconstruction.The towers would be standing once again proudly like two middle fingers in the sky.
Originally posted by: KB
Everyone would be holding hands in global unity. Hunger would be gone and all disease would be cured.
Now that the sarcasm is gone...
-oil would still be high because we weren't getting oil from Iraq before and we aren't getting any oil from Iraq now
-China and India would still be growing and increasing demand for food and oil, so food prices would still be high
-the housing "crises" would still have occurred, Iraq had nothing to do with people over stretching themselves on housing
-the biggest difference would be that the dollar would be a bit stronger, so gas wouldn't be quite so high and our debt wouldn't be quite so high
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Oil prices would have been dramatically lower; we've almost had a 4x increase since 2003 when we invaded.
Reduced oil prices alone would have been enough to keep our economy going strong. It's just a fact of living in a petroleum driven society.
Oil is high for three reasons: 1) Weak dollar, 2) Increased demand, 3) global instability. It doesn't matter that the US doesn't get tons from Iraq, it's the instability that is into the market price right now and it's substantial. Increased demand, weak dollar cannot account for a quadrupling of oil costs in the last several years.Originally posted by: KB
-oil would still be high because we weren't getting oil from Iraq before and we aren't getting any oil from Iraq now
Who to believe? LK, or a Nobel prize-winning economist/Ivy league professor?Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Oil prices would have been dramatically lower; we've almost had a 4x increase since 2003 when we invaded.
Reduced oil prices alone would have been enough to keep our economy going strong. It's just a fact of living in a petroleum driven society.
That's impossible to point directly to Iraq. Oil prices have gone up because the dollar has declined due to our economy being sideways right now and speculation, neither of which are directly related to Iraq.
In any case, the dollar has in part declined because of the gross debt of the US, which has been exacerbated by Iraq. There are just no positives to the war from an economic front.Originally posted by: jpeyton
Who to believe? LK, or a Nobel prize-winning economist/Ivy league professor?Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Oil prices would have been dramatically lower; we've almost had a 4x increase since 2003 when we invaded.
Reduced oil prices alone would have been enough to keep our economy going strong. It's just a fact of living in a petroleum driven society.
That's impossible to point directly to Iraq. Oil prices have gone up because the dollar has declined due to our economy being sideways right now and speculation, neither of which are directly related to Iraq.
Tough choice.
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Who to believe? LK, or a Nobel prize-winning economist/Ivy league professor?Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Oil prices would have been dramatically lower; we've almost had a 4x increase since 2003 when we invaded.
Reduced oil prices alone would have been enough to keep our economy going strong. It's just a fact of living in a petroleum driven society.
That's impossible to point directly to Iraq. Oil prices have gone up because the dollar has declined due to our economy being sideways right now and speculation, neither of which are directly related to Iraq.
Tough choice.
Originally posted by: Skoorb
In any case, the dollar has in part declined because of the gross debt of the US, which has been exacerbated by Iraq. There are just no positives to the war from an economic front.Originally posted by: jpeyton
Who to believe? LK, or a Nobel prize-winning economist/Ivy league professor?Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Oil prices would have been dramatically lower; we've almost had a 4x increase since 2003 when we invaded.
Reduced oil prices alone would have been enough to keep our economy going strong. It's just a fact of living in a petroleum driven society.
That's impossible to point directly to Iraq. Oil prices have gone up because the dollar has declined due to our economy being sideways right now and speculation, neither of which are directly related to Iraq.
Tough choice.
There is a lot of information out there, and we have to use critical reasoning to filter our sources.Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Who to believe? LK, or a Nobel prize-winning economist/Ivy league professor?Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Oil prices would have been dramatically lower; we've almost had a 4x increase since 2003 when we invaded.
Reduced oil prices alone would have been enough to keep our economy going strong. It's just a fact of living in a petroleum driven society.
That's impossible to point directly to Iraq. Oil prices have gone up because the dollar has declined due to our economy being sideways right now and speculation, neither of which are directly related to Iraq.
Tough choice.
LOL, typical bullshit response. Black/Scholes were also nobel winners, but they got it wrong with LTCM didn't they? Got any thoughts of your own to refute that? I bet you think everything you read in a book is true and they are always infallable, right?
How does the Iraq war translate into oil increases? The price of oil has only gone up marginally worldwide.
Originally posted by: jpeyton
There is a lot of information out there, and we have to use critical reasoning to filter our sources.Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Who to believe? LK, or a Nobel prize-winning economist/Ivy league professor?Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Oil prices would have been dramatically lower; we've almost had a 4x increase since 2003 when we invaded.
Reduced oil prices alone would have been enough to keep our economy going strong. It's just a fact of living in a petroleum driven society.
That's impossible to point directly to Iraq. Oil prices have gone up because the dollar has declined due to our economy being sideways right now and speculation, neither of which are directly related to Iraq.
Tough choice.
LOL, typical bullshit response. Black/Scholes were also nobel winners, but they got it wrong with LTCM didn't they? Got any thoughts of your own to refute that? I bet you think everything you read in a book is true and they are always infallable, right?
How does the Iraq war translate into oil increases? The price of oil has only gone up marginally worldwide.
Have you been published anywhere? Are you a leader in your field? How many hours have you researched the subject? Enough to write a published book about it? Have you won any international accolades? Are you employed by one of the top universities worldwide?
What are your accomplishments besides making an average of 2 anonymous forum posts per day, and why should I choose to listen to your opinion above the aforementioned one?
Thanks in advance.
Will: Of course that's your contention. You're a first-year grad student; you just got finished reading some Marxian historian, Pete Garrison probably. You're gonna be convinced of that 'till next month when you get to James Lemon. Then you're going to be talking about how the economies of Virginia and Pennsylvania were entrepreneurial and capitalist way back in 1740. That's gonna last until next year; you're gonna be in here regurgitating Gordon Wood, talkin' about, you know, the pre-revolutionary utopia and the capital-forming effects of military mobilization.
Clark: Well, as a matter of fact, I won't, because Wood drastically underestimates the impact of social -
Will: "Wood drastically underestimates the impact of social distinctions predicated upon wealth, especially inherited wealth"? You got that from Vickers' "Work in Essex County," page 98, right? Yeah, I read that too. Were you gonna plagiarize the whole thing for us? Do you have any thoughts of your own on this matter? Or do you, is that your thing, you come into a bar, read some obscure passage and then pretend - you pawn it off as your own, as your own idea just to impress some girls, embarrass my friend?
Clark: [looks down in shame]
Will: See, the sad thing about a guy like you is, in 50 years you're gonna start doin' some thinkin' on your own and you're going to come up with the fact that there are two certainties in life: one, don't do that, and two, you dropped 150 grand on a f***in' education you could have got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library!
Originally posted by: senseamp
Better infrastructure, hopefully more funding for scholarships and healthcare, and lower deficits.
But let's face it, we haven't paid the full price for Iraq yet, the worst is yet to come.