Energy use by consumers

Oil efficiency not keeping pace.

Thanks to Scott Grannis for the chart. But the point I see is that energy efficiency is not keeping pace with energy supply adjustments. This chart tells me that since the Great Republican Debt machine in 2001, we have been borrowing to fund current oil purchases. This is bad news and it continues under Obama. He we continued with trend, energy would be 4% of PCE, not 6%. Had the stimulus stimulated the right things, that percentage would be decreasing, not increasing.

Until we return to continually increasing energy efficiency, our current bout with expected inflation will be short lived. The effect of nominal growth will be greater on oil prices than other consumables, sending back to a deflation.