Norway seems to have taken the edge off by taxing fossil fuel use every bit as hard as the rest of Western Europe does and investing a large portion of the prof

Norway seems to have taken the edge off by taxing fossil fuel use every bit as hard as the rest of Western Europe does and investing a large portion of the profits into a permanent fund for their residents in anticipation of an end to the bonanza, only taking a small percent out per year. “Never get high on your own supply,” as that song about dealing another harmful, addictive substance goes. Unfortunately, West Texas doesn’t have a permanent fund for its residents' current and future oil-industry-driven needs and to even out the boom-bust cycle. Midland and Odessa are cities that only became cities once oil was discovered out there in the 20s. Before, they were little towns. So there wasn’t a ton of economic activity out there before oil - just a railroad interchange, mostly for shipping cattle, I think. I remember seeing a half-built skyscraper in Midland while visiting relatives there in the late 90s, a leftover of the 80s bust that drove the S&L crisis.