Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Economics

Jim Kunstler on the Bail Out and What’s Next

Jim Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency, has been predicting today's financial catastrophe for a few years now so it's no surprise that his blog is loading slowly this morning. The people want to know: What's going to happen next?

What themainstream is truly missing here en masse is that another tsunami isbuilding right behind the finance fiasco, and that it will render mootthe whole reeking cargo of schemes and wishes that comprises the GreatBail-out. I am speaking of the global oil problem. In fact, theproblems in banking and money currently roaring in the center ring ofthe world circus, can be described categorically as a product of theoil problem -- since oil is the primary resource of industrialeconomies and therefore the motive force behind our ability to generate"wealth." Without reliable and ever-growing supplies of oil, there isno industrial growth, and without industrial growth things like capitalinvestment instruments lose their legitimacy. That is why theFrankenstein family of Ponzi securities was invented in the first place-- to compensate for the demise of industrial growth by creating wealthout of... nothing!

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Friday Video: Meet the Subway’s Straphanger-Free Trains

We've all seen them. Now, thanks to YouTube's "Half as Interesting," we can tell you the purpose of each one.

October 3, 2025

The MTA Is Headed To The Lab To Design The Ridgewood Busway

A filthy private road underneath the elevated M tracks could become a gleaming bus-first corridor.

October 3, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Good News Edition

The Department of Transportation reports that traffic deaths are way down through the first three quarters of 2025. Plus other news.

October 3, 2025

‘Bean-Counting Street Safety’: Advocates Blast Gale Brewer’s Daylighting Flip-Flop

The Upper West Side pol's inconsistent safety record is getting a second look from activists who once supported her.

October 2, 2025

There’s Good Science Behind the Human Craving for Livable Streets

It's time to understand the science of pedestrian-friendly cities. Or, why streets should be designed like gardens.

October 2, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Mourning Becomes Enforcement Edition

Why were cops ticketing cyclists at the very intersection where a bike rider was killed by a driver on Saturday? Plus other news.

October 2, 2025
See all posts