Despite the recent historic agreement between OPEC, Russian, American and other global oil producers to slash supply by the 1st of May with the hopes of bolstering prices, the United States will still suffer an “unprecedented” economic blow according to the International Energy Agency. With high production costs and deeply in debt, many U.S. producers, especially those extracting from shale fields, are bleeding cash as they try desperately to cut costs. Output is expected to shrink by more than two million barrels per day. Analysts predict waves of bankruptcies, along with thousands of job losses and steep drops in tax revenues for oil-dependent states as the fallout from a monster oil bust ripples throughout America’s already staggering economy. L. Michael Buchsbaum reviews the worsening situation. Fracking Fever Dream Since the oil shocks of the 1970s, successive American presidents have championed the dream of energy independence, which was supposed to liberate the country from the world’s oil-rich trouble spots while propping up U.S. economic hegemony. Even as American soldiers bewilderingly invaded Iraq, the dream seemed unattainable … Continue reading Pump Punishment: As Oil Prices Fall, so Does the American Economy