As America once again becomes a major producer of oil, identifying
the economic consequences of a drop in commodity prices are getting to be increasingly
complicated. A recent article from Washington Post noted:
“While falling
gasoline prices have helped American consumers save more money and dine out
more often, they have been punishing for a set of workers who have been
especially reliant on the oil industry for jobs.
The industry, after
all, had offered the rare prospect of good-paying jobs to American men with no
education beyond high school — men who spent two decades seeing economic
opportunities battered by the twin forces of globalization and factory
automation. Now, for many of these men, that prospect is fading.”
Related: