You know, I tend to believe that economic prosperity works in cycles of boom and bust. You have these periods where we elect governments that believe in the Keynesian theories that the only way to stabilize an economy is through government intervention and regulation. Those folks run the show awhile, then when things aren't going so well they get replaced by free market believers that think the only way to fix things is hard work, Capitalism, and Laissez Faire government...hands off...let the market and supply/demand establish wages and prices. Then, when that road gets bumpy, here come the big government Keynesian folks to "clean up the corruption of unchecked capitalism." It's a circle.

Which is best? Hell, I don't know. I tend to believe in Capitalism, with some regulation, but a small government...let the market set the tone. The problem is that someone always mucks it up.

Why are gas prices so low? You think it's Obama? No. It's fracking and the shale oil boom in the US, which has driven up domestic supply and employed a crapload of Americans in the process. What happens when supply is up? Prices go down. OPEC has all but declared a price war, which is driving the price of oil to record lows. Eventually, the American companies won't be able to cover their production costs at such low prices and you'll see the shale boom temper, a lot of those folks who have high wage jobs in the Bakken or other shale areas will see their jobs shrink a bit. When it's not profitable for them to drill baby drill, they won't. Supply drops. Oil prices creep back up. It's cyclic.

Ride the wave. Some days are diamonds, some days are stones.