I read with great interest the criticisms of the Obama administration around the Gulf oil spill.

It seems all of the American right wing media has found a million things Obama should have done or should be doing about all this.

Funny how the same media in 2008 had a very different view about the issue. It seems suddenly everyone forgot that it was, actually, a key issue of the American elections whether to allow offshore drilling or not. Obama was against the idea.

Let’s read a random article from 2008 (there are thousands of similar ones):

John McCain called for an end to the 27-year ban on offshore oil production.

“It’s safe enough these days that not even Hurricanes Katrina and Rita could cause significant spillage from the battered rigs off the coasts of New Orleans and Houston,” said Mr McCain. “Yet, for reasons that become less convincing with every rise in the price of foreign oil, the federal government discourages offshore production. I believe it is time to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use.”

Safe enough…

politics

What a coincidence that I read about this OECD study from the developing world:

The rapid growth of emerging economies has led to a shift in economic power: forecasts based on analysis by late economist Angus Maddison suggest that the aggregate economic weight of developing and emerging economies is about to surpass that of the countries that currently make up the advanced world.

This is big stuff. It’s the OECD announcing that in 20 years time, it will no longer represent a powerful group of countries. Or at least not the most powerful.

Sitting here and writing this I don’t see it as unlikely at all. Only one thing can stop it – and that is the economy of developing countries overheating and crashing. This would have profound effects if it were to happen.

economics