Global economy to get 'shock of its life' when oil hits triple digits

Energy expert and former CIBC economist Jeff Rubin says he’s doesn’t give a hoot if politicians read his book. When oil prices soar, ‘the folk’ will force the political players to do the right thing.

Jeff Rubin says global economy will get the “shock of its life” within 12 months of the end of the recession when oil prices hit triple digits and the age of globalization starts to come to an end.

The former maverick chief economist for CIBC’s World Markets for about 20 years and author of the new book Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization, says demand for oil will outstrip supply, food prices will soar, and countries will be shocked into growing their own food, manufacturing their own products, and paying a lot money more for everything.

There will be winners and losers.

The triple digit oil prices will do more for the environment “than 100 Kyotos,” he says, but if the world doesn’t get off oil, “the values of tolerance and equality may turn out to be artifacts of the era of cheap oil, and the world may face political and cultural upheaval in the stagnant economy of decades ahead.”

Mr. Rubin has a lot to say. Skyrocketing oil prices, and not subprime lending caused the global recession. Fuel efficiency leads to increased consumption. Ethanol and other alternative fuels are “a joke.” And the green farm-gate? It’s one of the most energy-intensive industries in the world and “a head-fake.”

The Hill Times