On food and fuel and diamonds

I read with concern this story in the Daily News about charities suffering under the burden of increased food and fuel prices.

And then I look back to the story about the $.5 mil the city wants to spend on Brown Square. I know, those funds are 'earmarked' for city projects.

But the reality is that the 'working poor' is a growing segment of our society. I know because in reality, I will soon fit into that category. If I can get work. I might be just plain poor.

Today I got my card for my new health insurance, obtained through CommonwealthCare, the state's health connector. Dental and vision coverage are included in the plan, making it, I think, the best health insurance I've had since leaving Michigan.

I commented to my neighbor, as we walked back from the mailboxes, that I would soon be able to see clearly, and chew with perfect teeth, the sand I may soon be forced to eat.

I'm exaggerating - it won't ever get to that (I hope); but it makes me angry because I suspect that the oil prices are being artifically inflated so people can maximize their revenues before a certain person leaves office.

But I'm a pessimist and conspiracy theorist. Perhaps a more reasoned perspective can be found here:

OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri said Thursday that there was no shortage of crude oil, brushing aside US calls for higher output to dampen runaway prices...

"In recent months, oil prices have become increasingly volatile, mainly driven by financial market developments and the increased flow of speculative funds into oil futures," El-Badri said in a statement...

"There is clearly no shortage of oil in the market," he said. (source: AFP).

Well that certainly makes me feel better.

This all reminds me of how the price of diamonds - which I hear are nearly as common as dirt - is artifically inflated due to the fact that DeBeers controls almost all the diamond trade.

The diamond supply chain is controlled by a limited number of powerful businesses and is also highly concentrated in a small number of locations around the world (source: Wikipedia).

This is what I get for watching PBS (piece about the diamond industry) and listening to NPR. I need a good dose of Fox News to assure me nothing is amiss.