Where are we headed?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Economy crashing, American manufacturing getting decimated by the Chinese, U.S. dollar plummeting against the Euro and other currencies, an endless invasion of illegals with no end in sight, no accountability for anything anymore on the part of the average Joe out there, oil over $100 a barrel, gas over $4 a gallon (and climbing), banks failing, taxes going up, the prospect of a highly socialist government in the upcoming presidential election, an endless quagmire of a war costing us billions a day, crumbling infrastructure, failing educational system, etc., etc. etc. . .

So where do you think this is all going? Discuss?

Recession? Depression? Complete economic collapse? Inevitable failure of the U.S. government? Nothing at all? Imminent recovery?

What say you all?

[Vipergrün]

Everything will be fine, Obama will save us with change...

[Jim Richards]

Let's talk about American Idol instead.

[trekkor]

You don't like my answer.


KT

[hardflex]

I think the US of A will go bankrupt and default on all obligations, and we will go the way of the Soviets, a breakup, and every state will fend for itself, becoming it's own country, and after a transitional period will be better off.

[scottmandue]

We declare war on ourself... bomb our infrastructure... then rebuild.

[legion]

"Mother" will protect us.

Momma's gonna make all of your nightmares come true
Momma's gonna put all of her fears into you
Momma's gonna keep you right here under her wing
She won't let you fly, but she might let you sing
Momma's will keep Baby cozy and warm
...
Momma's gonna check out all your girlfriends for you
Momma won't let anyone dirty get through
Momma's gonna wait up until you get in
Momma will always find out where you've been
Momma's gonna keep Baby healthy and clean

(And of course, I refer to the coming nanny state of Hillary or Obama.)

[livi]

I will come visit and bring with me good European beer once you have become a third world Swedish colony.

[RoninLB]

BATHTUB RING. Water levels in Lake Mead have dropped significantly in recent years, as chronicled by the white mineral deposits on rocks that were formerly submerged






http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080223/fob2.asp

Week of Feb. 23, 2008; Vol. 173, No. 8 , p. 115

Going Down: Climate change, water use threaten Lake Mead
by Sid Perkins





Thanks in part to the worst drought in the Southwest in the past 500 years (SN: 6/26/04, p. 406), Lake Mead is now at about 50 percent capacity. If current allocations of water persist, there's a 50 percent chance that by 2023 Lake Mead won't provide water without pumping, and a 10 percent chance that it won't by 2013. Moreover, there's a 50 percent chance that Hoover Dam won't be able to generate power by 2017, the researchers estimate.
"We were stunned at the magnitude of the problem and how fast it was coming at us," says Barnett.

Results of the new study are "fairly provocative, an eye-opener," says Connie Woodhouse, a climatologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Using estimates of river flow based on an average of the past century may be optimistic, she adds, because tree ring–based reconstructions of the region's climate suggest that the 20th century was one of the wettest in the past 500 years. "The more we learn about the Colorado River and its hydrology, the more worried we need to be," says Peter H. Gleick, a hydrologist at the Pacific Institute in Oakland, Calif.

[the]

It's a good question. I certainly don't know the sure answer. On the upside, we are a gigantic economy with a huge GDP, which can take a lot of hits, and keep chugging along for a long time. We also will always attract the best and the brightest in large numbers.

On the downside is all of the things you've mentioned. What is most frightening is that a lot of our problems are hard, or seemingly impossible, to solve. For example, entitlement spending. It is bursting at the seams, it is something like 70% of our budget. The growth of entitlement spending does not seem possible to stop, the most one could hope for is to slow down expansion and growth of it.

But not giving a direct answer is no fun, so here's mine:

I think over time, entitlement spending will grow to be +80% of our budget. The military, even pared down, will always be 10 or 15%. So there is little left, for things like infrastructure, or deficit reduction.

As spending continues to increase, the Govt will need more money. It will try to get it by raising taxes, first on the "rich," then on everyone they can squeeze it from. The highest tax brackets will become confiscatory, i.e., 90%. Corporations will be viewed as free game for confiscatory taxation.

The government will continue to also get money (to give away) by simply printing it. It will eventually take $5 to buy 1 Euro.

But like a struggling corporation, USA, Inc. won't die, but will become an attractive takeover target. Not taken over by guns, but by money. With our weak economy, weak corporations and weak currency, we will be ripe. Foreign interests and governments will take over by taking control first of the largest, most powerful and essential U.S. corporations. It has already begun. How much of Citibank has the Saudis recently bought? And Citi is on its knees, begging for more so that its stock doesn't plummet even more. You read in the WSJ now quotes from the Saudis about the state of Citi, and what should be done. Hey, if we are good boys and listen to Daddy, maybe the Saudis will throw another $20 billion into Citi.

We'll allow foreigners to take control of our critical industries (like the financial industry) because we are nice and don't like to think bad about foreigners. They are good, they are just trying to help us out, right?

Once you have control over our major and critical industries, you of course have control of the cash flow, and therefore of the political system.

The good news is that this is a slow process (although bad things do seem to be happening at an increasingly alarming rate). We will be in a recession this year, and probably part of 09, but we will then pull out. The problem is, while we have ups and downs, the trend line over time is going to be down.

We'll be ok. Our kids, however, will probably live through some major changes in our political and economic system.

[kach22i]

Bin Laden's plan is working...........Bush played right into his announced plans like a raging elephant.

It's been an economic war all along, not a war on terror.

[The Gaijin]

Feed recent retirees soylent green. Those retired for 10 years get to make it. Those retired more than 20 years.....well, you get the picture.

[hardflex]

The, I think our "Unfunded Liabilities" is upward of 40 Trillion dollars now, and our Fed, State and Local taxes come to around 45% right now, not much room to move it up without a significant dropoff in incentive, and a tax flight to lower rates. We've just burned the foreigners by selling them "enhanced funds" that will keep them from financing our credit binge any longer. It will be a very fast fall once it starts. That's why I think Bankrupt is in the forecast for the county.

But, on the cheery side, it will be fresh start for the 50 country/states.

[WI wide body]

First of all (since I've been retired for over 11 years) no more goofy ideas about our nation's valued former workers.

Seriously, I think that when the ***** really hits the fan per our economy will be when all those clever little guys in China and Japan decide that they want the USA to pay off on all those USA bonds that they are buying with our trade imbalance money right now.

That will most likely trigger a change in our standard of living that few of us can even imagine.

Our kids will look back and wonder why we were worried about a few nut case terrorists when their lives were ruined without a shot being fired.

[Mule]

Originally Posted by WI wide body

First of all (since I've been retired for over 11 years) no more goofy ideas about our nation's valued former workers.

Seriously, I think that when the ***** really hits the fan per our economy will be when all those clever little guys in China and Japan decide that they want the USA to pay off on all those USA bonds that they are buying with our trade imbalance money right now.

That will most likely trigger a change in our standard of living that few of us can even imagine.

Our kids will look back and wonder why we were worried about a few nut case terrorists when their lives were ruined without a shot being fired.

Yeah, a few thousand New Yorkers here or there, who gives a f! Brilliance, sheer brilliance!

[Seric]

Republic of Cascadia

[craigster59]

[WI wide body]

Originally Posted by Mule

Yeah, a few thousand New Yorkers here or there, who gives a f! Brilliance, sheer brilliance!

Yes Mule , I realize that comprehension is among your deficiencies...but do you possibly recall the topic of this thread that P-O-P started? Go slow, it might come to you. I think he mentioned the words "Recession? Depression? Complete economic collapse? Inevitable failure of the U.S. government? Nothing at all? Imminent recovery?" in his query.


Now, what does "a few thousand New Yorkers here or there" have anything even remote to do with his post?

You seem to have obtained a copy of "The Bush Guide for Dummies on How to Mention TERRORISM or 9/11 to any Question."

[pwd72s]

Why are we in this handbasket? Where are we going?

[grudk]

Every generation faces challenges, and you can find 'gloom and doom' predictions going back centuries. That said, I think we are in for a very bad recession lasting at least a couple of years. It's clear that the gov't/FED will do what they can to socialize the losses, and this will 'soften' the recession in some ways, but also prolong it. Longer term, I see the US going left politically (just a matter of demographics), and as such look for higher taxes and more entitlements. I think we'll look a lot more like Europe in a decade or two. I still like stocks longer term, and real estate once the price has adjusted (several years away). Suspect we'll have a few more 'bubbles' before things really go socialist. A 'black swan' event could really mix it up, short term, though (another terrorist attack, eco-disaster like another Katrina or big earthquake, war expansion)