What now?

I refer to the news item, “EU lifts Iran oil sanctions” (1 
August), and its potential economic consequences. Will there be a flood of cheap oil on global markets and another plunge in prices?

Already, large and small North Sea oil companies, seeking “efficiency savings”, have announced more job losses.

The crucial question facing oil experts and politicians, local, national and global, is what is to be done? Can it be gainsaid that as governments pursue austerity economics the global problem is greatly exacerbated?

Also importantly, the powerful idea of “global aggregate demand” isn’t flavour of the month among experts.

Keynesian pragmatism should be seriously considered with a new institution to stimulate global demand and growth. No national government acting alone can solve the problem of a deficiency in global aggregate demand.

Arguably, cutting jobs and the Nationalist government’s response setting up a task force is a pinprick on the global derriere.

Ellis Thorpe

Inverurie