How I think it will play out

[eric_tse]

Contrary to many opinions that the sky is falling, I think the future will not be so bleak. The rising gas prices are actually strengthening my opinion, because they already force people to change their lifestyles despite the fact that gas is still pretty cheap here. So here it goes:

1. As the prices rise, the public transportation will start to

Comments

Reduced consumption will probably be first

[mrflash818]

I do not think government rationing will be necessary

Re: Reduced consumption will probably be first

[buckfush530]

If we really want to believe in capitalism, the price will rise to the point that we reduce consumption. I think this will be the first thing to happen.

But what do you mean by capitalism? Do you mean a honestly free market or simply a market with no government interference? Both are lacking in the US and most of the world (sure there's Somalia, but how much oil do they use?). We subsidize the corn industry, the oil industry, and a slew of other interest groups that are highly invested in not moving away from oil, or at the very least towards something very similar, like ethanol or coal. The mixture of internal control of the markets (which violates the first definition) and governmental subsidy of this control (which violates the second) inherently debunk the market solution.