Damn glad I got my home paid off free and clear last March.Yes I have some debt but I can wipe it out and still have cash in the bank with a "click" on the mouse whilst doing web banking.
Lots of fearmongers on this thread I will say.The price of oil crashed harder in 2009 when people with REAL money were speculating on it....and when I say REAL money I am talking in the millions of dollars on oil futures...that is what also drove the price of oil higher.The Saudie's dont like the USA shale oil developments nor do they like the oilsands as they are competition.When it comes down to it ALL of the oil pumped out of the ground in Saudi Arabia is sour dark crude which takes a lot of refining to make it into gasoline and deisel....not to mention the cost of the tankers.
Had Keystone and also the Northern Gateway pipelines got planned and built 15 years ago the blip of the price of oil would be nothing to Alberta due to the producing capacity.Sadly those 2 pipelines are mired down both south of the USA border and even here in Canada due to the BS propaganda of "climate change".Had they been planned 15 years ago and built 12 years ago and had oil pumping through them for 12 years all of the hoopla and propaganda of "climate change" would not even be brought up in arguement by the lefty tree hugging save the earth crowd(who are hypocrites as they use all of the benefits of oil but decry it's development)
Yes the price of oil has dropped but it will go back up eventually as supply and demand dictates.If the price of Natural Gas took off like a MOFO and prices hit $9 a GIG Alberta would be laughing as we ship a hell of a lot more gas than compared to oil....that of course would lead to people complaining about the cost to heat their homes
To counter some of the doomsayers I will say this....the price of oil has dropped BUT this is not like the NEP of the 1980's under Trudeau....back then ALL of the oil companies shut off ALL expansion and had no exploration budgets.As of now under the falling price of oil the vast majority of oil companies are making cuts and there are layoffs BUT there are still wells being drilled and solid companies that have a good balance sheet are still paying stock dividends.
When I moved back to Alberta back in 1997 the average oil exectutive was happier than a pig in his own pen at $20 oil......so they are not likely to be scared of $50 oil now.
FTH