I have come to this conclusion about the province’s media. They are just obsessed with doom and gloom all the time.
Nothing good is ever happening, according to them. Whether it is senior citizens getting lousy food at residences at Christmas, or icy roads causing havoc, or the crime that goes on, the media never has a good thing to say about life in Saskatchewan.
Look at their coverage of oil prices. Seriously, you would think this is a total crisis for all people.
These folks look at the prices going down and they wail about how this is going to mean lower revenues for the province’s treasury, and how this is terrible and on and on.
Then you look at the international news and see the Russian ruble going down the tubes, and you get the impression the world is on the brink of collapse.
It really is a downer to see these headlines in the newspapers every time I stand in line to pay for fuel at the gas station.
But my mood changes the moment I find out my bill. Forty bucks? Really, that’s it? Last summer I would pay 60 or 70 bucks for gas!
I still cannot get used to these gas prices. It has gotten to the point where I will hear about how gas prices have gone down again, and I would kick myself because my car was already filled up with fuel, so I couldn’t take advantage of these deals.
Now, here’s my alternative counterpoint to the media party line about how the oil prices are supposed to be terrible news.
Actually, it’s good news, especially for me! Instead of sinking my whole paycheck into gas like I used to, now I can spend it on other things, such as groceries, for one.
Instead of Kraft Dinner, I can finally afford decent food, and can even go to a restaurant occasionally now.
I can also save money to pay off credit cards, or save for clothing, electronics and other items. Also, I might finally be able to afford that road trip to Edmonton that I have been putting off for months on end due to the gas prices.
Here’s an idea. Maybe you can finally go on that winter getaway vacation that you had been putting off for years because of the money you were always wasting on gas.
If you haven’t noticed, prices for winter getaway vacations are looking pretty good right now. Why are prices lower? Because the airlines no longer have to waste money on fuel, that’s why! They can finally offer some decent vacation package prices, which should help the struggling economies of Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Cuba and elsewhere.
It also means an improvement for your own quality of life, because you might finally be able to escape the sub-30 January weather that is typical of life in Saskatchewan.
This is all good news for the economy. Notice I said “good” news, because as I see it, high fuel prices are always a good way to prompt a recession.
It was a big factor when the economic crisis hit in 2008. Yes, there was the housing crisis and the mess on Wall Street, but gas prices were absolutely through the roof that same summer and making it difficult for anyone to spend their hard-earned money on other things. When he spoke in the Battlefords in 2009, I noticed Brett Wilson even referred to it as a factor impacting ordinary consumers.
The gas prices were so high that people simply could not afford other items. People were overextended to the hilt, and it fueled the economic crisis that happened later in 2008.
Now, with the prices lower, ordinary families have a fighting chance to claw their way back a bit. That’s good, because it will help the other aspects of the economy that sorely need it.
There is one more good thing about the plunge in oil prices. This might finally wake up the Saskatchewan government to the notion that you cannot rely solely on resources to keep our economy afloat.
You have to diversify and ensure other sectors of the economy are healthy as well, such as, yes, the film industry. I keep on harping about it, but it still irks me that our film and TV industry was driven out by the gutting of the film and TV tax credit.
At the same time our province was embracing the oil and gas sector to the hilt. That’s fine, but my point is you need to embrace every part of the economy, not just the resource sector. Because you never know what might happen if resource prices go south, like what is happening with oil.
It’s a lesson Russia is finding out the hard way. That whole economy is driven by oil and energy.
For a long time, things were going well, so well that President Vladimir Putin and his gang were throwing their weight around in the Ukraine and elsewhere.
Now, oil prices are in the sink, and so is the ruble, and the economy is in ruins. Maybe this will finally force the Russian government to realize they need to abandon the disastrous sorts of policies that have isolated Russia from the rest of the world.
Getting into stupid fights with other countries, and then getting sanctions that restrict your ability to trade and sell your products, is totally self-inflicting. If Russia acts with more sense from now on, maybe that will be another good thing to come of these low oil prices.
Now, it probably isn’t a good thing for us around here if this oil crash goes on with no end in sight. The last thing we need is people losing their jobs.
It will be more than welcome for the industry for the price of oil to improve. Until then, I’m going to ignore the grim headlines and enjoy the cheap gas while it lasts. Bring it on.
