>>>Newt's latest dispatch is from Norway where he compares their success and the US's failure at management of the "everywhere vs. nowhere" trap regarding oil and gas exploration.
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>>>http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26931
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>>Very interesting article. I learned several new things about both Norway and the US.
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>>Even if Norway is a big oil producer the gas price is over $10/gal. Norway is using a lot of the oil profit on energy research and also a lot of the money is put into a "savings account" for when the oil is gone.
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>I guess this is why Norway is NOT a superpower. I can just see our government "saving" money. It has never happened, and probably never will. Even so, cheap energy is one reason we have done so well here.

"That would never work here."

From what I have read, the savings account seems like a source of Norway's prosperity. Maybe you're right that Americans don't have similar discipline to save for a rainy day. A look at the savings rate, not to mention the trade deficit, compared to other countries would seem to confirm that. But it's working for Norway. They may not be a superpower by your definition (lots of tanks and bombs?) but they are consistently at the top of the list of the most prosperous and most livable countries.