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Long-term Economic Impact


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Gas prices spiralling out of control, a possible recession looming, a major Mississippi and Gulf port all but vanquished - what will the impact be on the Gulf Coast economy and the nation at large? Will this increase Houston's prominence as a major Gulf port? What effect will this have on the energy industry? Could we finally have the justification to speed up development of alternative fuel sources or will it be business as usual? This event impacts the economy and our lives on so many levels; it's hard to determine what the overall impact will be. Just wanted to get your thoughts.

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I heard a market analyst on NPR yesterday say that the best thing to do would be to let the market do its' work. Don't keep gas prices artificially low, don't ration at the pumps, let the price go up naturally and people will then start to curtail their activities in response to the higher prices. Then after a while, possibly not until November or December, the prices will start to fall and then even out.

As far as Galveston goes, this crisis definitely puts the spotlight on the ports in and around the Galveston area, as they will have to take up the slack because the NOLA ports are out of commission. Could be a very good thing for the Houston/Galveston area, could also be a job creator long-term that might be able to use the skillsets of some of the displaced people from Katrina.

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Washington Post had an article about our port.

We are in the process of taking extra capactiy, but eventually the port will reach capacity.

Overall, the USA needs to learn how to suck it up and move on.

We have been through worse.

Interesting that you said that. There is an article in The New Republic (I know, but hear me out) talking about how lazy the country got after the end of the Cold War and through the 90s. The belief was that after 9/11, the country would rally around itself and shed it collective narcissism. That lasted for 2 or 3 months. Now, we are back to the same way we were in the 90s.

I'm clearly leaving out a lot. I'll see if I can find it (or loot it) and put up a link.

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Yes, that was exactly what I wanted to write up. Too busy to write it today.

But yes, we are a bunch of lazy no goods. Being stoned and boned through the 90s killed us.

I started thinking about this watching classic cartoons on Boomerang. Seeing Bugs sell War Bonds, Daffy ride a scooter without rubber tires, etc.

Why?

To sacrifice for the greater good of the country during times of need.

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I agree that 9/11 was a wake up call that slapped America in face to snap it out of a decadent self-indulgent phase.

In fact, I can pinpoint the exact day America reached its low-point: August 3, 1986. That was the day "The Macarena" hit number one on the charts and stayed there for 14 weeks. Truly a dark time in American history.

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I agree that 9/11 was a wake up call that slapped America in face to snap it out of a decadent self-indulgent phase.

In fact, I can pinpoint the exact day America reached its low-point: August 3, 1986.  That was the day "The Macarena" hit number one on the charts and stayed there for 14 weeks.  Truly a dark time in American history.

We've come so far since then ;)

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I agree that 9/11 was a wake up call that slapped America in face to snap it out of a decadent self-indulgent phase.

In fact, I can pinpoint the exact day America reached its low-point: August 3, 1986.  That was the day "The Macarena" hit number one on the charts and stayed there for 14 weeks.  Truly a dark time in American history.

Need I remind you that William Hung is a post 9/11 phenomenon? :o

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Yes, that was exactly what I wanted to write up.  Too busy to write it today.

But yes, we are a bunch of lazy no goods.  Being stoned and boned through the 90s killed us.

I started thinking about this watching classic cartoons on Boomerang.  Seeing Bugs sell War Bonds, Daffy ride a scooter without rubber tires, etc.

Why?

To sacrifice for the greater good of the country during times of need.

Here's the link to the article. You will probably need to register, but the article is free.

http://tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050912&s=kaplan091205&c=1

Very interesting article. I think all sides of the political spectrum will find truths in it. In fact, there are quotes from all sides in it.

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I agree that 9/11 was a wake up call that slapped America in face to snap it out of a decadent self-indulgent phase.

In fact, I can pinpoint the exact day America reached its low-point: August 3, 1986.  That was the day "The Macarena" hit number one on the charts and stayed there for 14 weeks.  Truly a dark time in American history.

I know you meant to say 1996, but I thought I'd correct it for the others who were stoned at the time. :P

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Right now this is not good for Houston's economy, MANY events at the Reliant center complex and the GRB have been cancled because of these people.

Other States, not just Texas and surley not just Houston should be helping.

Note: this is just an early estimate. But this is unbelievable...

http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/

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But how will this affect Houston? Will all of the new developments that we have all been waiting for be cancled? Or do you think this will boost Houston's economy while badly hurting New Orleans?

We have no choice but to keep our new developments going, if not build much more. We have ABSOLUTELY NO choice but to keep boosting Houston's economy. We are able to help the evacuees because the City of Houston as a whole is in pretty good shape. What good will it do us OR those that came down here if we downgrade our production, and lower our way of living. Does New Orleans have to redevelop into a city where over 1/4th of the city was poor, or does the City of Houston actually have a chance to help make their income higher than before.

I not sure how boosting in our economy would hurt New Orleans. New Orleans will not be livable for months. What other choice does Houston or the other surrounding cities have until the Gulf Coast gets back up?

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Was the cost of living in New Orleans higher then in Houston?

http://www.bestplaces.net/col/Default.aspx

Actually, yes. New Orleans had higher housing, food and groceries and WAY higher utilitiy costs. They even had a lower unemployment rate than us according to this.

Our average costs were higher than New Orleans when it came to transportation and health coverage.

$39,491 in Houston = $40,000 in New Orleans. Overall, it's 1.3% cheaper in Houston than New Orleans

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Has anyone seen the documentary "Oil Storm" that was shown on FX during the summer. It predicted a lot of what is happening now, it's sort of freaky.

It showed how a hurricane hit New Orleans and ruined one of the major oil ports and how gas shot up in price. It also showed how we got oil from Saudi Arabia and then terrorists attacked and gas went up to about 8 dollars a gallon(thankfully it isnt there yet.) Also it showed how all the oil was moved through Houston since NOLA was no longer.

Sorry, I can't explain it much better since it's been a while since I have seen it, but it is all quite possible what it shows.

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