So the oil industry is driving down the market. My question:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Unless you are directly connected to the oil industry (and I know we're talking about more than just a handful of billionaire oil executives) how much of an impact is this going to have on us as a whole?

While I understand that the number of people who have some sort of connection to the oil industry is not insignificant, they are still vastly outweighed by the number of people who aren't connected to the oil industry. And wouldn't there be a lot of industries and people in general who stand to benefit from lower oil and gas prices? Many of us enjoy having that extra $10 per fill up that we weren't getting a couple of years ago.

So how much of an impact is this oil crisis going to have in every day life? And what's the solution to this "crisis"? To raise prices again on the backs of the consumer class?

As a non-renewable resource, the oil industry's a house of cards anyways. And if we do continue to move towards renewable and cleaner energy sources--which we absolutely need to do, why should our economic well-being be contingent on a slowly dying industry?

And also, why is the market in such a tizzy when it knows the negative effects of the crashing oil market are likely counteracted by the positive effects of lower oil prices and consumer spending?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. So basically you have other market segments....

.....who have used the skyrocketing in oil prices over the past decade to justify their own price increases, and now that oil's crashed, they don't want to go back down?

[Nye Bevan]

3. I'm old enough to remember when high oil prices were *bad* news.

Oil price "shocks" used to cause recessions and stuff. Now it's somehow bad that I can fill up my car for $30 instead of $60.

[LanternWaste]

6. I'm sure the allegation you've created to argue against is self-fulfilling by its very design.

"Now it's somehow bad that I can..."

I'm sure the allegation you've created to argue against is self-fulfilling by its very design.

[global1]

4. Right Now The Impact On My Every Day Life Lies In The Hands Of Wall Street....

I was contemplating retiring in the middle of 2016 - but since the first of the year I'm seeing my retirement money disappearing because of the erratic reaction of Wall Street. My broker has assured me that the U.S. economy is in a very strong position. Right now I'm beside myself in anxiety. I guess I should have read Thom Hartmann's - Crash of 2016 book.

[Snobblevitch]

5. The North Dakota economy is taking a huge hit.

There are families who have come to depend on their cut of the oil profits from the oil being removed from their farmland. There are a lot of roughnecks out of work and still stuck in North Dakota.

[B Calm]

7. Last week it was weak China markets, week before it was Greece. The

truth is the 1% is milking America and they won't tell you that for fear of panic and everybody getting out before they steal it all!

[moondust]

8. Lower oil prices

***SHOULD*** lower the cost of everyday goods, food, etc., since it will cost quite a bit less to transport raw materials and finished products to their destination. I haven't seen prices coming down yet and won't be holding my breath. Air travel should also get cheaper.

[IDemo]

11. Passengers Unlikely To Benefit From Decline In Airline Fuel Costs

From one year ago, and I doubt things have changed:

The steep drop in oil prices is helping to pad the bottom line of Seattle-based Alaska Airlines. But don't expect lower fares on the horizon.

Fuel is an airline's biggest single expense, so the plunging price of jet fuel is providing a nice "tailwind," as Alaska Airlines Chairman Brad Tilden put it Thursday. This region's dominant air carrier boasted of record profits for the fourth quarter and for calendar year 2014.

Will lower fuel expenses lead to lower airfares? The answer is "no," according to Alaska Air's senior vice president Andrew Harrison.

"When pricing tickets we look at the supply and demand in each of our markets, and adjust prices to balance the two,” he said.

http://nwnewsnetwork.org/post/passengers-unlikely-benefit-decline-airline-fuel-costs

[moondust]

15. No doubt

some companies that have little competition will simply pocket the savings on fuel. Those that do have significant competition may see their competitors lower prices trying to capture market share and be forced to follow suit.

[B Calm]

9. Now Iran will be flooding the oil market with cheap oil.

[karynnj]

12. Iran's extra 500,000 (what they are allowed now) is slightly more than half of 1% of the total oil

market. You need to assume a VERY elastic cost/price relationship for that small a change in supply to change the price much.

Note that if the Chinese economy is really contracting, they likely impact demand by more than Iran changes supply.

(PS I hope I used the words right - I got a double major in Math/economics in 1972 -- but worked using the math part of that degree. 1972 was a LONG time ago)

[B Calm]

13. Doesn't matter what they release, that will be the Wall Street Banksters excuse to continue milking

America.

[edhopper]

10. not the "oil industry"

The Saudis.

[GliderGuider]

14. Not just the oil industry.

Global economic growth is grinding down, reducing oil demand. The oil industry is simply trying to stay afloat by pumping supply into a market with dwindling demand. Ergo, oil prices crash. The thing that I notice is the slowing of world trade, as evidenced by the 85% decline in the Baltic Dry Index over the last two years.