Thursday, November 29, 2007

Petrodollars

It provides enough money for Saudi Arabia to build a city three times the size of Manhattan from scratch. It gives Hugo Chavez the leverage he needs to defy the United States, and it makes life more difficult for a taxi driver in Beijing.
How the price of oil creates dramatic shifts in wealth and power around the world is remarkable. This article by Steven Mufson for the Washington Post is a good read, and discusses the impact from the pump and beyond.