National markets fell overall for the third straight quarter, deeming the country's economy in recession. Leading economists believe that the major contributor to the recession has been rising oil prices, which have been increasing steadily for the past year. The increase in price is partially due to increasing demand and partially due to decreasing supply. Economists point to foreign economies also being affected by the increase in prices. China, Japan, India, and Europe have been showing decreased economic activity. This trend worries many leaders and economists.

The global effects of an oil shortage have only been speculations in the past, but in the past five years, we have seen how powerful the price of oil is. Officially the economy is in a recession now. The white house said today that they are going to push through more oil regulation legislation, reinforcing one of the incumbent presidents campaign points. They plan to increase efficiency standards on all cars, again, as well as provide

benefits for those who are fuel efficient. They did say they would only be able to create incentives by giving tax breaks, rather than spending extra money.

The president recently said that he would do everything in his power to slow the recession. A recession which is hurting Americans more harshly than any in the last hundred years. Investors have been wary recently leading to the largest single day loss of the year. Today unemployment is at an all time high, and seems only to be getting worse.

Washington claims that they are doing everything they can, but with an already bloated budget, and a record deficit, it's hard to imagine them helping. The tremendous debt that we are paying off right now has caused a rise in interest rates and a weakening of the dollar. Congress and the president have few options, most of which are bad. Classical economics tells us that the logical thing to do is increase spending, but increasing spending is a very risky venture, since we can barely finance what we already owe, even with the higher taxes we have today.

The world today is unsure about the future, and is ready for a way out. Many european nations and Canada have joined together, funding the single largest research effort in history, trying to develop alternate sources of energy. As the horizon nears many are skeptical, but recent attempts to make changes have been successful in swaying public opinion.

Unfortunately millions of Americans are suffering without jobs or benefit programs.