[chuckee]

One of those rare positive articles about the prospects for US economic future. Two points of interest that the US domestic production is now supplying 72% of its internal oil demand up from 50% because of Bakken in North Dakota and other reserves and on its way to becoming self sufficient despite the Obama administration. The other point is that with wage inflation in China there are certain industries that are on the cusp of insourcing certain jobs back to the US for a mini manufacturing revival. The right to work states should be the primary beneficiary.

[caww]

They’ve moved the article...nothing there.

[bigbob]

Boston Consulting Group has been writing extensively about this: http://www.bcg.com/media/PressReleaseDetails.aspx?id=tcm:12-88775

Yep, some good news, especially if we get some leaders in DC that have the sense not to screw it up (again).

[lurk]

Job creators are saddled with regulation and taxation, and the government has a bit of a debt problem. Redistribution and political correctness are venom in the system too.

[Soothesayer9]

I’ll believe it when unemployment is at 3%.

Not holding breath.

[rbg81]

I’d really like to believe this. However, its difficult to believe that factories will relocate here with creeping Socialism in general + the EPA and Obamacare to contend with.

[AlexW]

Is this out of Fantasy Land, or what?

[the invisib1e hand]

where can we get some of this crack they’re smoking?

[Chode]

self-sufficiency in fuel and energy??? only after the RATS are out of office...

[RayChuang88]

Here's the advantages that the USA has over everyone else:

1) Our ground transportation structure--even if much of it needs repair and upgrading--is still second to none in the world, despite the fact we lack high-speed passenger rail except for Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. No other country can move goods back and forth inside its borders like the USA's massive system of railroads and highways.

2) We have the means to effective become totally self-sufficient in energy production within 15 years. If we aggressively pursue more oil, gas and coal production, properly develop wind power in the upper Midwest and solar power in the Southwest and finally put use to our 440,000 tons of thorium-232 reserve in the new liquid fluoride thorium reactor, we could end up not only being self-sufficient in energy production, but become an exporter of oil again.

[Praxeologue]

Evans-Prichard's article is wildly incorrect in virtually every statement on U.S. current and future petroleum production. I think the problem is that he doesn't understand the industry, but just shoots from the hip to meet his deadline. He confuses shale gas and shale oil. He massively overstates future production and flags 350,000 bbl/day as significant. Does he mean bbl of oil equivalent in gas? Gas production may replace some coal consumption over a decade or so, but nothing like E-P states. The U.S. is not dependent on Middle East oil, rather Venezualan and Canadian crude. The list goes on. So half of the article is incorrect. It fits with his thesis, though, so that may be the reason.

I'm disappointed with E-P. I have found his work valuable over the years, often exposing what the U.S. MSM would not.

The BCG material that he lifted is largely correct, but I smell a Democrat-induced theme that stimulus spending, money-printing and a weak dollar is good for America because it strengthens domestic manufacturing. You see GM prominently mentioned in the two BCG articles. This will be an Obama re-election theme.

I'm from Missouri on the entire article.

[Washi]

World power swings back to America

Not if Obama and the rest of the America-hating left have anything to say about it.

To them, any one/thing with power is inherently evil...any one/thing without power is inherently good.

I've heard it described as "Underdogma".

[BenKenobi]

Called it. Apparently the one child policy isn’t a recipe for future prosperity. :)

[ponder life]

The problem with articles like this, whether they are positive or negative, is the comparison to China. Manufacturing is going to ebb and flow in and out of countries, depending on many factors. For example, throughout the 90's, many labor intensive factories left the US. However, many foreign auto manufacturings opened up factories which continues til this day. More foreign auto manufacturers are on the way. And it may someday include a Chinese auto factory.

The reality is, China is a rising power with four times the US population. However, if you compare the US to all the other world powers, other than China, the US have been and will continue to tower over the others. America hasn't lost anything when compared to Japan, Germany, France, etc. The relative lost has been with China. And regardless of what manufacturing returns to the US, China will continue to rise. Simply because she is still a developing country who is .... still developing. And with four times the population of the US, the potential to become the largest economy is very real.

50 years from now, America will still be the largest economy in the world, outside of China.

[petercooper]

bttt