<DrumBeat: July 11, 2008The Oil DrumA gas supply disruption case study - the Varanus Island explosion>

169 comments on What fraction of America's $4+ gallon gasoline is due to the war in Iraq?

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A Siegel on July 10, 2008 - 10:42pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Well, that was the point of question six and raising the 'true cost' of a gallon. There are many studies on this, ranging from $10 up.

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TerrytheTurtle on July 10, 2008 - 10:44pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

My defense budget experiment comes out at about $2 / gallon... I'd like to see the other $8 to $13 filled in by someone, though.

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A Siegel on July 10, 2008 - 11:27pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Couple things.

First off, total cost (fully burdened) would could pollution, infrastructure, health and other costs, not 'just' defense/security.

Some figures/sites:

Just on security http://www.evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=11520 ' all costs are amortized over the total volume of imports, that would be equivalent to adding $5.04 to the price of a gallon of gasoline. For Persian Gulf imports, the premium would be $8.35."

http://www.hybridcars.com/news/real-cost-gallon-gas-835.html the real cost of energy dependence amounts to more than $11.35 per gallon, according to Gal Luft, executive director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security.

This is an interesting discussion, that seeks to calculate all costs. Numbers are pretty astounding http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/oil-gas-crude/461

etc ...

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memmel on July 11, 2008 - 1:48am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Actually the cost of the Iraq war is thousands if not hundred of thousands of lives lots plus and additional cost of maybe a few ounces of gold to cover real electricity costs or say a ton of coal.

This is the cost of doing the electronic transfers of a fiat currency we don't even have printing costs.

As long as people keep accepting your fiat currency you can wage war forever for free.

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DownSouth on July 11, 2008 - 9:17am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

memmel, I wouldn't say "forever."

Imperial Spain also thought it could go on forever:

Spain at its height could do anything. She could exhaust her treasury and forget her poor, her bankrupts, her devalued currency, her incompentent economy, her overvalued currency, her recessions and depressions, her debts both internal and foreign, her deficit spending, her negative trade balance, as long as she could keep herself at the head of the mission against the infidel, the Islamic threat and the Protestant threat. But eventually reality caught up and imposed the limits that imperial folly had so easily hurdled over.

(Carlos Fuentes, The Buried Mirror)

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Dryki on July 11, 2008 - 9:40pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Government officials [Spain] have been shocked by the intensity of the downturn now engulfing the country. Car sales fell 31pc in June, industrial production has fallen 5.5pc over the past year and the collapsing property sector is shedding almost 100,000 jobs a month. Miguel Sebastian, the industry minister, said the economy had ground to a halt in the second quarter and was now in "virtual recession".

Virtual. Indeed.

Or how about doubling the US national debt overnight by bailing out Fannie and Freddie? And the reason they have to be bailed out to this degree? That the administration has been continually pushing them to increase leverage and exposure. This crash is intentional.

cfm in Gray, ME, Milliways

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