I understand what you are saying Yabby.
>services can grow, many using very little energy.

However they don't produce much. A few, very few, in these days of its
broke throw it a away and buy another, services repair anything.
Most services are paying them to do something you can do yourself.

Fuel will either be rationed by price or regulation.
The resources needed to transition to other energy sources,
electricity, natural gas (as a temporary measure), solar and wind may
be very expensive also. With a reduction in supply will come a
decrease in commercial activity and employment.
I think it will be gradual and could be like the boiled frog.
However some think it will be sudden.
I don't know which it will be, but this where the politicians should
be engaged, after all thats why we pay them.

Our cost of fuel will rise quite significantly and as a wheat farmer
you must already have a really high yearly bill.
As happened in the US, what if we poor city dwellers cannot afford bread ?

Our own supply of fuel is depleting around 4 or 5 percent a year.
So our import bill is rising and hopefully we won't get elbowed out
of the international market.
There are some real crocodiles out in that water !
That is what our pollies should be working on, just like the Chinese
have done. I now suspect Kevin Rudd knew that.

Not long ago Bazz oil was over twice its current price, we survived.
If it gos to twice that we will still use it.
Solar electricity is going back wards, but still exists.
Those who had the cash to take early government hand outs have done well.
I could spend 6 grand, maybe a bit more and be neutral, not pay bills but not get returns.
Wind generation can be much smaller single homes, something will come.
We could use liquid natural gas, should use it, Australian governments,any of them could make it happen.
IF capital took second place to our needs we could stop importing fuel.
No overnight black out no crash we may face hard times but we will not Be stalled by fuel for too long.

*A few, very few, in these days of its
broke throw it a away and buy another, services repair anything.*

Ah, there you go Bazz. Another potential growth industry!

*Fuel will either be rationed by price or regulation.*

Well its rationed by price now. If it was any cheaper, we
would waste more. We have plenty of opportunity to waste
less. The way that I understand it, the cost of actually
generating electricity is not the main cost in power bills.
Its maintaining all those power poles and wires over a huge
countryside.

* I don't know which it will be, but this where the politicians should
be engaged, after all thats why we pay them.*

Well that is the danger, Bazz. Politicians, running amok, spending
billions as they think that they can predict the future.
I think that is a very bad idea lol, for they hardly have a record
of being wise or accurate. More likely just billions wasted.

*As happened in the US, what if we poor city dwellers cannot afford bread ?*

That would have little to do with the price of wheat. More to do
with the many costs from farmgate to consumer. The actual wheat in
a loaf of bread, is worth around 20c or so. So even if it tripled
in price, the cost of the wheat, would not be the issue.

"""
It makes a good sound-bite, but it is not based in reality.
"""

I dunno, Pericles, it's not exactly false either. I mean reports like this seem to be all too frequent these days.

http://ampedstatus.com/the-wall-street-pentagon-papers-biggest-scam-in-world-history-exposed-are-the-federal-reserves-crimes-too-big-to-comprehend

"""
If you think that QE has adverse consequences for "the little guy", take a moment to reflect on how he would be affected by the alternative.
"""

See, I only look at it from my own perspective. Giving huge wads of cash to the big people in the hope that it will filter down to the little people doesn't really help me in any way, also not in way that I would want it to help me. And from what I've seen in the news, it doesn't seem to have helped most other little people either. And lets not forget the resentment of giving people money that should have gone broke. The little people don't have that luxury, so now we have people like Assange coming out and trying to expose any bit of dirt they can find to make the big people look as bad as they are. It may have helped in some ways but has caused problems in others. It remains to be seen if they chose the right way.

Do you think the little people will forget they have been stolen from?
Because that's how they feel and because of that, will always warm to stories about the big people peeing on them.

cont...

"""
Fiat currencies have been around forever. After all, carrying lumps of metal around wherever you went was at best hazardous. So the concept of a promise became the norm.
"""

I think most people know that, Pericles. It's the people in charge of creating the money that's got most peoples knickers knotted. They're certainly an arrogant bunch with little regard for little people.

"""
Hey, none of this is easy. A good percentage of the developed world over-borrowed for years, and is now facing up to the consequences.
"""

So true, Pericles and I keep telling little people to wait till they have the money to buy things, but those Jones's are a persuasive bunch. Perhaps more conspiracy stories about the evilness of that family should be propagated across the digital grape vine? Also the little people need to learn they have the power to change things if they want to. The trouble with little people is they can't even agree amongst themselves what to change it to.

"""
But it cannot completely hide the fact that we have all benefited slightly overmuch from the twenty-plus years of boom, and some re-balancing of both prosperity and expectation is not an entirely bad thing.
"""

Yes I agree with that. It's just the way it's being handled that's causing the problems, though I don't know how it could be done better.
I guess it depends on which run of the ladder you're standing on, as to how you think things should be handled, no one will ever agree on the correct solution I don't think.

Belly said;

Not long ago Bazz oil was over twice its current price, we survived.

No it wasn't ! It touched $90 this week but in 2008 it reached $147.
Whats more we did not survive, we had the biggest financial crash
two months later.

Belly also said;
IF capital took second place to our needs we could stop importing fuel.

Not sure what you mean there. If you mean that the oil could be used
even if it made no profit, well what that actually means that it takes
more energy to get the oil out and get it to market than there is
energy in the end product.
Thats what it ultimately boils down to in the end.
Anyway, no way we could double what we produce now.

Yabby said;
Well that is the danger, Bazz. Politicians, running amok, spending
billions as they think that they can predict the future.

So true, they don't have a good performance record do they ?

Yabby said;
That would have little to do with the price of wheat.

No, but every time it moves, or gets processed, energy costs get added on.
That is what happened in the US when oil reached $147. Food went up
because fertiliser, transport costs plus the cost of maize went up
because they used it to make ethanol.
I understand here we use wheat and sugar cane to make ethanol.