The United States Has Its Own 'Oil Curse'

The term â??oil curseâ? â?? coined to describe petro-rich developing countries where the â??black goldâ? came with the heavy price of economic and political instability â?? is now being adapted for use in the U.S., where â??petrostatesâ? and cities are seeing shrinking tax revenues, budget deficits, negative credit ratings, rising unemployment and even outright recession as oil prices have fallen.