We're about to see an implosion.

[NaturalHigh]

I'm not just talking about New Orleans, I'm talking about our entire economy. As gas prices go up, so will everything else. People are going to cut out anything that is not essential. No more trips to Disney world, no more movies, no more eating out. Jobs will be lost as companies lose revenues and face more expenses. Tax revenues will fall when there are fewer employees to pay into the system. Add to that the fact that we're throwing away billions on Iraq. There is no way we can sustain our economy without some drastic changes now, and we're not seeing any evidence that the government is up to the challenge.

[Autumn Colors]

1. Yes

And that means there won't even be jobs at McDonald's because no one will be eating out anymore.

Argentina North, anyone?

[Erika]

2. Yes, our standard of living under W has been reduced

except for the top wealthiest. This has been continuing since he passed his tax cuts for the wealthy.

[Autumn Colors]

3. Well

I've felt for a few years now that our country was going to see another Great Depression very soon ... and most of my family just laughed at me.

Interesting that on the news today, one reporter mentioned the scenes of people loading up cars to over-capacity that it looked like a modern-day version of the Dustbowl Days of the Great Depression.

[Robert Oak]

4. i think so too, this was the catalyst n/t

[Der Blaue Engel]

5. And yet the Republicans' top priority today

was to tell their supporters to urge senators to repeal the inheritance task on the wealthiest Americans.

[Der Blaue Engel]

6. dupe

[Der Blaue Engel]

7. sorry, another dupe n/t

[AgadorSparticus]

8. i hate to agree with you, but we've been thinking the same thing.

i think we are heading into grave economic crisis.

[farmboxer]

9. Why should gas prices be going up?

They use a disaster as an excuse for raising the price of gas, but why should the be allowed to go up? The oil companies are extremely greedy and need to be put into their place, but we will never see that on the coporate media! I see "no" excuse for gas prices going up as high as they are now.

[nonconformist]

12. You're kidding, right?

The United States gets 1/4 of it's oil from the Gulf Coast.

[1932]

10. I think consumer credit is a big difference between now and '73

If more people had credit cards in the 70s, consumers would have tolerated teh gas hikes (even though they still would have been a problem for corporate profits).

The real problem won't come from gas price hikes passed on to consumers. The real problem will come more slowly, down the road, when people go bankrupt. And if they don't go bankrupt, this whole thing could be a huge boon for lenders who reap imense profits from consumer credit interest.

[fighttheevilempire]

15. Too late for that.

Soon that won't be an option. The laws change effective what, 9/1? You won't be able to go bankrupt in the legal sense. Most people will simply become homeless in that scenario. The creditors will simply repossess cars and homes. Not that they can get any money for them, since nobody will have the cash to buy them at action.

[akarnitz]

11. Gas and agrcultural products will both skyrocket.

Did you know it costs as much to transport wheat/flour overland from Fargo to Minneapolis as it does to transport it on a barge from Minneapolis to New Orleans on the second leg of its trip? The third leg is on an ocean-going ship to either coast or for export.

Now imagine transporting overland to the coasts- with diesel prices rising right along with gasoline prices, your loaf of bread might cost twice as much as you were paying now. It's a helluva lot cheaper floating flour(and corns and beans) than trucking it or putting it on a train.

Is the national infrastucture set to deal w/this scenario? Are there enough trucks and trains(or space on the rails) to meet these demands?
If the Port of New Orleans isn't up and running very quickly, we could be facing this nightmare: enough food being produced but no way to move it! :think:

[murielm99]

13. I am wondering how farmers propose to get their crops

harvested this year, with the cost of diesel.

We have had a drought in my part of Illinois. Many of the farmers have lost their crops, and will be relying on crop insurance to get them through the year. On top of that, many farmers around here ship their grain on the Illinois River, which flows into the Mississippi. The river is too low for barges now, because of the drought. The crops that have survived will have to be transported another way.

How many farmers will lose their farms?

[Jose Diablo]

14. When will the wheat be harvested

and will there be enough silos to store the wheat due to a slowdown in transportation from storage to processing?

I wonder how many tons of wheat and beans move through NO port in a day?

Now what about fruit and vegetables from central and south america move into NO on a given day.

A somewhat anecdotal story, but my grandfather used to be an engineer on the train that ran from little rock to NO and back. This was back in the 30's-50's. He used to haul bananas from central america that were off-loaded at NO then transported via rail up through the middle of the country. Rail was used at that time because although bananas do keep and continue to ripen during transport, there is a limited amount of time before they become worthless.

The point is, like you say, the importance of NO as a ocean/river/rail transport hub is seldom mentioned. As far as I know, an ocean going vessel cannot transport into the river, the river is too shallow and also river barges wouldn't do well in the ocean. How else can river-ocean be accomplished without a port?

This only leaves transport by rail or trucks. Cost of transportation by trucks would be astronomical compared to water. Plus the time as I would imagine much smaller loads would result. Thus, whatever is harvested, stays closer to the fields for a much longer period, reduced flow if you will. Is there even enough storage capacity in Fargo for example?

If I sound like I am rambling, sorry, its late, I should sleep.