Simon-Erlich wager is the mother of all cherry-picks. It tracks the decline in oil prices in the 1980-1990 decade from over $110 to $30. Driven by cheap energy,

Simon-Erlich wager is the mother of all cherry-picks. It tracks the decline in oil prices in the 1980-1990 decade from over $110 to $30. Driven by cheap energy, commodity prices declined as well. http://inflationdata.com/inflation/inflation_rate/historical_oil_prices_chart.asp http://inflationdata.com/inflation/inflation_rate/historical... There are reasons to believe the era of cheap oil / energy is over, due to a combination of peak oil and the globally connected population growing from 1 billion to 3-4 billions and then some more. Think China + India joining the global economy. Indeed, the oil prices are now close to the Dec 1979 maximum. Commodity prices follow: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vsQ_G2OOspQ/S6-J-F32xaI/AAAAAAAABp0/2aJYb5UqOc4/s1600/HG-1700-Copper-Long-Term-Chart-1970-2010.png http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vsQ_G2OOspQ/S6-J-F32xaI/AAAAAAAABp... http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=copper+prices+1970+2010 http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=copper+prices+1970+2010