Most Americans have no idea how important oil prices are to the overall health of the U.S. economy. Whenever oil prices have pressed toward record levels in recent decades, it has always resulted in an economic downturn. A high oil price does not just mean that consumers will have to pay a little more at the pump. The truth is that oil is the very lifeblood of our economic system. We have built our entire country around the concept that we can transport lots of stuff very long distances for a very, very cheap price. When that paradigm beings to change, it fundamentally alters the dynamics of the U.S. economy. A high oil price will mean an even faster economic decline for America. The cost of oil factors into everything. A high oil price means that transportation of products and services costs more, travel costs more and energy costs more. It means that consumers will have less disposable income. When the price of oil goes up it benefits the big oil producers and a few others, but for everyone else it is very painful. But perhaps even more importantly, because the U.S. has to import such massive quantities of oil, whenever the price of oil goes up it means that we are becoming poorer as a nation because even more of our money flows out of the country and into the hands of the oil barons. (Read More...)