Maybe Natural Gas will get the Economy Moving Forward

I have written in the past about how recent discoveries of natural gas discoveries using fracking methods have had unintended consequences which have proved devastating to the solar, coal and nuclear industries. But not all unintended consequences are negative. The lower cost of natural gas used to generate electricity is translating into substantial and heretofore totally unexpected reductions in the price of electricity. In my state, one which has been notorious for high energy costs, electricity prices are coming down by one third or more.

The positive unintended consequence of this development is that consumers will have more money and in some cases substantially more money to spend on financing their mortgage or possibly even making a new purchase such as a car. The intricate web woven by decisions never fails to amaze me. In this case, oil men, seeking personal profit, explored and found sizable quantities of natural gas which many experts now think will help the US actually achieve energy self-sufficiency in the near future. The transmission of the effect of the natural gas finds to electric utilities and now on to their customers has the potential to stimulate consumption in the national economy, which would generate new jobs, which would all multiply into higher levels of GDP and personal income. No one could possibly have anticipated this unintended consequence. But in this case we should all relish it and hope for a light at the end of the economic crisis tunnel.

Readers interested in learning more about unintended consequence may wish to read my new book, Unintended Consequences: How to Improve our Government, our Businesses, and our Lives. Also, there is more on similar topics at my blog at  harlanplatt.com.