US: Oil, Energy, Housing
The Economy has now achieved the mystic quality of the weather: Everyone talks about it. No one can do anything about it. We prepare for disaster. We plan for cleanup. We ride the storm—many lose everything.
The Economy is not the Weather.
“We are going to maximize the impact of our recue fund by leveraging our resources.” [A quote from a EuroCrat published in the WSJ.]
“Having lost sight of our objective we will redouble our efforts.” (My Finance Professor)
“A stitch in time saves nine.” Unknown
You cannot create a plan and sell a plan based on clichés, slogans, and platitudes.
My plan for housing:
The bank stops the foreclosure and rewrites the mortgage with affordable payments which include a balloon payment down the road; for example 2018.
The dead wood comes off the books. The revenue stream continues. The asset stops deteriorating. The bank has money to lend. The municipality maintains a revenue stream. The population decline is abated.
You think my mortgage plan won’t work, eh? Well, “BofA reaches deal to sell….” WSJ: 9/23 C3. Google it, it builds character.
Oil and Energy
The other day, referencing Solyndra, I stated, “Money will not replace management.”
Big Oil buys Solyndra—a metaphor. Big Oil invests in Green Energy, or Clean Energy. What happens? Big Oil avoids the disaster it suffered from its misalliance with Big Auto.
Big Oil and Big Auto were once very cozy. Times change. People began to demand smaller, fuel efficient cars. (Less oil) People began to demand electric cars. (Less oil) Big Auto said, “It’s us or them.” Well, General Strategy said, “Make smaller cars. Develop electric cars.” The rest is History.
Soon, Big Oil will find that General Energy will betray them as well. To Big Oil: You are no John D.
What to do?
Well, the big understanding is “demand.” Okay, here goes. Let’s look at demand.
Plastic Trash Bags (I heard they are bio-degradable now.) Food Containers: “Don’t get mad, get—“I promise not to lose this food container.”
Why the quote, the commercial. Because this is what America buys—Petroleum By-products. (True, soon gasoline will be the by-product, but I digress.)
The demand is there. The demand for energy is there also: residential energy, commercial energy. Thus, I propose a multi-pronged solution.
Big Oil buys Solyndra and runs it as a business and not as a symbolic gesture—an homage to the environment. In plain English: Stop Calling it the Solar Energy Market and start calling it The Energy Market. With an efficient, cost-effective means of production with a built in demand from manufacturing petroleum by-products, you will make it, sell it, and use it to make and products from your own raw material.
Big Oil Provides Green Energy to plants manufacturing Green(ish) products.
R&D expands into plastics. (Remember The Graduate? Then it was Social Commentary. Now it is Economic Strategy.)
Use your Lobby Muscle for tax incentives for
a. Producers and
b. Consumers.
Sincerest regards,
Slim
Copyright © 2011 Slim Fairview
