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Obama better hope they get better or he will not be re-elected and we will have a new president to deal with . I hope they get better soon too cause I have seen alot of people loose their homes and have to move back with mom and dad or whoever so that they are not out on the streets . I feel sorry for the people who are having to live in tents because they have no job and cannot afford to pay a rent or food or anything .
I think, in the long run, down the tubes. I do see, perhaps, a bit of resurgence for a time as Obama Inc, or whoever is next, keeps applying band-aids. The thing is, you can only put off the math for so long. The smoke and mirrors cannot change the numbers.
Unless there are major changes in the way we live very soon, the American economy will only keep rotting with the rest of the country over the long haul. Once the oil runs out it will collapse for real. When that happens you will need to get your Mad Max gear on and get over your natural aversion to canabilism if you want to stay alive.
That is still several years away though, me thinks. Here's an analogy for what I see happening:
The ship has holes in it and the crew is bailing frantically, but they are not making any effort to seal the holes. Many of the holes are probably unrepairable without a drydock anyway. Eventually the crew will become exausted and overcome by the water and the ship will sink. But the passengers believe the crew can handle it, so they keep dancing and drinking the night away. The captain doesn't want a panic so he won't tell anyone the true seriousness of the situation, but he is a little bit drunk himself and still believes the crew can perpetually continue bailing.
Oh yea...and there are no lifeboats. It seems the company that owns the ship sold them to a Chinaman to pay for some extra crates of champagne before the ship left port....
Unless there are major changes in the way we live very soon, the American economy will only keep rotting with the rest of the country over the long haul. Once the oil runs out it will collapse for real. When that happens you will need to get your Mad Max gear on and get over your natural aversion to canabilism if you want to stay alive.
That is still several years away though, me thinks. Here's an analogy for what I see happening:
The ship has holes in it and the crew is bailing frantically, but they are not making any effort to seal the holes. Many of the holes are probably unrepairable without a drydock anyway. Eventually the crew will become exausted and overcome by the water and the ship will sink. But the passengers believe the crew can handle it, so they keep dancing and drinking the night away. The captain doesn't want a panic so he won't tell anyone the true seriousness of the situation, but he is a little bit drunk himself and still believes the crew can perpetually continue bailing.
Oh yea...and there are no lifeboats. It seems the company that owns the ship sold them to a Chinaman to pay for some extra crates of champagne before the ship left port....
Nice visuals there. I like it... well, I mean... I don't like it like that. I mean I like your analogy, not its implication.
I've been reading a really great blog, The Automatic Earth, it's written in such a way that the reader can follow the events of the day and actually make sense of things going on. I agree with the majority of the posters who aren't too positive regarding the economic state of affairs in the US and some foreign nations.
I know the mainstream media is very upbeat about the future of our economy, but, if you care to read more in-depth articles on the subject you'll find the obvious truth, that is, the unsustainable situation we had going prior to this recession can never be revived.
I think that we as a country of consumers have to find a more do-able way to survive. The happy motoring public in the US has to come to grips with the reality of diminishing resources, and that would include credit, it is the biggest player in all of this.
We have sold our collective soul for those new cars and homes that we really can't afford. We have sold out our childrens future over what we percieved as a never ending circus of consumption.
The "bubble" was being talked about as early as 1998-1999 by some astute observers on the Street, those reports stemmed from the failure of the thin veneer of rating BS that was challenged by those who were really doing the math. The American model of monopoly capitalism has failed, period.
We now sit down in shock, just beginning to see the horrific complexity of these debt based investment products, it's like those old pyramid schemes of the 70's and 80's wherein everybody was hoping to pull some cash out of thin air. The criminal mind can be equally complex in it's ability to bambozzle the general public, making you think your house was worth astronomical figures was a way of co-opting the public into their collective silence, after all, who was complaining back then?
The damage is done, we will not just roll out more digitalized wealth to even the score, I for one hope we don't allow the criminals in this grand scheme get away, as the screws tighten, and they surely will, we'll see the future, one day at a time.......
The basics are good but it wil be a long flat econmy for at least two years as I see it. It will take even longer for unemployment to improve and in some areas where the industrial base has been wiped out decades probably. Then personal situations will differ depending on now they are employed and their debt in a tightening credit market.Alot of things are going to change for many.It happens with evry recession that is deep but I do worry this one maybe worse with teh extreme in governamnt spendingthat would be recovered like the stimulus and auto bailouts that are not likely to be repaid anytime soon.
I think that we as a country of consumers have to find a more do-able way to survive. The happy motoring public in the US has to come to grips with the reality of diminishing resources, and that would include credit, it is the biggest player in all of this.
.......
You've been reading Howard Kunstler, haven't you
He's right about a lot of things but he's also a king wingnut and he swears too much. Kinda like me, I guess.
Anyways, you are absolutely right. Here's some reps....
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