Every American should read this story. Our money is pouring out of the U.S. and into Saudi Arabia. But it's not Saudi Arabia's fault. You can't blame them for...

HUCK FINN COMMENTS: Here's what we all know deep in our hearts and brains but refuse to do anything about it. Every time an American consumer goes to the pump, we're building the economy in the Middle East. New York Times (Jan. 20, 2008) ran an excellent story about the construction boom and high real estate prices in Saudi Arabia.

modernizing and building their country. It's not their fault they have oil and we don't, or that oil skyrocketed to $100 a barrel. It's partially ours because of attacking Iraq as well as the increased demand of oil from USA, China and India.

I stared at the beautiful renderings of the lavish, planned cities in Saudi Arabia. I thought, "Not a bad place to live." Saudi Arabia has oil, sunny days, lots of beach front property and a sh*# load of money. Their economy, real estate and everything else is booming while we're putting up foreclose signs all across America.

The Saudi's plan for growth is sound. They're investing the money they're making from high oil prices into mega projects, and expanding into new businesses so they're not completely relying on oil revenues. They're taking the same playbook from Dubai and making it much, much BIGGER.

Saudi Arabia's goal is to become a super industrial powerhouse by 2020.

It's refreshing to see a leader of a country with a clear vision of the future for their country. Something Democrats and Republicans have failed to do over the last thirty years.

(Picture from The New York Times article, "The Construction site called Saudi Arabia," January 20, 2008, by Jay Mouawad)

The drawings of these beautiful cities look like a cross between Blade runner and traditional Arabic design. (It's good to know they support Hollywood by watching American films.)

(Picture from The New York Times article, "The Construction site called Saudi Arabia," January 20, 2008, by Jay Mouawad)

When Saudi Arabia took their oil sword out and struck America in 1974, causing major lines at our gas pump, Jimmy Carter promised to make America energy-independent. Every president after him promised the same thing. Guess what? Nothing happened! The moment high oil prices went down, we conveniently forgot about our energy independence. NOT one president has gotten us any closer to independence.

Every time you pump gas, think about your money going straight to Saudi Arabia. It's a great picker upper lifter. To add insult to injury, let me give you some very cool facts about Saudi Arabia:

Cool Fact #1: The Saudi G.D.P. (Gross Domestic Product) has doubled in the last five years - thanks to the high price of oil.

Cool Fact #2: If you exclude oil, economic growth has been 4 to 6% a year since 2002 - thanks to the high price of oil.

Cool Fact #3: Oil hasn't been the only engine of growth. Saudi Arabia's private sector now accounts for 45 percent of the economy - up from 20 percent about 20 years ago - thanks to the high price of oil.

Cool Fact #4: In 1999, the Saudi government’s debt was 120% of G.D.P. It's dropped to below 20% - thanks to the high price of oil.

Cool Fact #5: In 2007, Saudi Arabia had a budget surplus of $48 billion, five times the surplus of 2003 - thanks to the high price of oil. They expect an even bigger surplus at the end of 2008 - thanks to the high price of oil.

Cool Fact #6: The Saudi Arabian government expects these new industrial cities to add $150 billion to the country’s G.D.P. by 2020, create one million new jobs, and house five million people - thanks to the high price of oil.

Cool Fact #7: Bloomberg News estimates that overseas investments by Persian Gulf countries (a good percentage of the investments is from Saudi Arabia) reached a record $75 billion in 2007 - thanks to the high price of oil.

If you need more cool facts, please go to the New York Times article.

Americans consume 25% of the global energy. Therefore, my logic follows accordingly:

Americans driving "Bubba Cars" like SUV's, Trucks and Hummers

+ increased energy demand from China and India

+ Non-existent energy policies by Congress to reduce our consumption and dependence on oil

+ green ignorance = Saudi Arabia growth - thanks to the high prices of oil.

I tip my hat to Saudi Arabia for having the drive, vision and focus to transform their country from an oil-based economy to an industrial economy. The good news for them is that low oil prices are over. The price of oil won't come down to $20 until we find an alternative source of energy. If ever.

Interesting that the Saudi's goal is to have those new cities finished to 2020. Why can't we do the same? Why can't we set the date to transform our economy to a green economy by 2020?

We are building the Saudi Arabia economy with our own hard-earned money. Think about that when you next fill up your gas tank.

OUR POLITICIANS MAKE ENERGY PLANNING INTO ROCKET SCIENCE

It's not. We need to consume less while we use the multiple sources of energy available to us. We need to improve our energy efficiency while we look for alternative sources of energy. Brazil did it in twenty years. Why can't the U.S.?

I've come up with a business idea! I'll start a company that outsources American workers unemployed due to global outsourcing, and outsource them to Saudi Arabia to build all those "mega city" projects.

Gotta go... time to write the business plan, raise capital, make money, retire and fulfill the American Dream.

Huck Finn, Chairman, The Amerikan Party

"Smart-Ass Politics for Smart People.” TM