Cannibalism is nutritious

“War is good for the economy…like cannibalism is nutritious.”

In related news:

U.S. stocks rally as oil drops to two-week lows

Wednesday August 25, 1:35 pm ET

By Mark Cotton

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) — U.S. stocks gained ground in afternoon trading Wednesday, buoyed by fresh drop in oil prices to two-week lows.

Crude for October delivery fell as low as $44.08 per barrel intraday on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the latest industry data showed motor-fuel stocks either unchanged or higher on the previous week, confounding analyst estimates of a decline.

A two-week low is cause for investor enthusiasm? Cannibalism, indeed.

I wonder if gasoline will ever drop below $1/gallon again? And if it doesn’t, will anyone really notice? Will $1.49/gallon be cheap enough to continue to look the other way? Cheap enough to still justify SUVs clogging city streets while hybrids remain out of reach for the average American?

Cheap enough to die for?

Perhaps prospective SUV buyers should have to serve a minimum of two years in the military before completing their purchase? Commit to voluntering one hour/week at a VA Hospital every time they fill up the tank?

Americans have a stunning capacity for adaptation; or resiliency, a word we NYers had drilled into our heads post-9/11. We had to be or else, you know, the terrorists would win.

Is it resiliency, though, or just apathy?

2 thoughts on “Cannibalism is nutritious

  1. That is how corporations raise prices. They fluctuate the price around a target to see how high they can raise it without losing their consumer base. Then before they settle on a price, there’s one more giant spike, so the target price, which is higher than the original price, can be advertised as a huge markdown.

    Where do you think White House press tactics come from?

    Elyzabeth

  2. Apathy vs. Resiliency

    Good question. I think most people have an innate ability to “bounce back” from traumatic events. More specifically, those of us who live in and around NYC are probably more “jaded” about life in general than people who live in other parts of the country. That being said, apathy may well be part of a perceived resiliency, not to mention an involuntary psychological defense mechanism that keeps some from having a nervous break down. However, I have noticed that most people I know, including myself, are also more vigilant than before 9/11. Vigilance is certainly not akin to apathy. I suppose it depends on who you’re talking about.

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