For someone of my age, this does have some amusement value. From 1970 to 1973, the price of oil went up four times, from $3 to $12 a barrel. OPEC countries embargoed deliveries to countries that supported Israel, we had rationing coupons issued and many of us simply couldn't get to work as there was no fuel at all. We survived.
The same thing happened in 1979, when oil went to $80 a barrel, and then dropped back to about $40 a barrel within a few years. We survived.
Now the price has doubled, and all of a sudden we are complaining about the tax we pay on the fuel. If we had been in America, we would be paying almost five times what we did three years ago, and not less than double. We'll survive.
The era of cheap money borrowed on the back of ever-rising asset (house) prices is coming to an end. If you have been prudent and kept things in check, you'll be fine. If you've been stupid, borrowed to the hilt, and have no assets to back that up, you'll be screwed. However, it is here, so there's no use complaining.
What amuses me is the attitude of the press and some posters on forums that seems to think this is the worst thing that has ever happened (not) and we are all doomed! Think of it this way - the price of a barrel of oil in 2007 money has only just gone above what is was in the 1860s, and they survived, too!
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