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I see further erosion of personal freedom, further subjugation, and further transformation of citizens into tax/wage slaves who think they are getting a good deal. Luckily, average life expectancy puts me at about 30 more years; chances are I'll be gone before it gets really bad.
As for my personal hopes/plans for those thirty years: I want to minimize expenses, living space, and income. I want to exist only on what I need in order to have a comfortable, yet very frugal and minimalist existence. It's going to be very hard, though, because the government doesn't want to see that happening. It's very evident with recent legislative action. A frugal subject is not a revenue-producing subject. If someone, by design, chooses to exist on, say, $15,000 a year, that doesn't leave much for Uncle Sam's coffers. And what good are we if we aren't producing enough tax revenue?
This in a nutshell. I see further decline, further conflict, more division, dwindling resources, more war. I see religious extremism at it's worse, an imploding population that cannot sustain itself. What I foresee is very similiar to what happened in the Balkans in the '90's.
This in a nutshell. I see further decline, further conflict, more division, dwindling resources, more war. I see religious extremism at it's worse, an imploding population that cannot sustain itself. What I foresee is very similiar to what happened in the Balkans in the '90's.
But I hope I'm wrong...
I think our minds are quite alike on these sorts of topics...
Provided the poor excuses we euphemistically refer to as “both parties” don’t drive us further into social, economic, and political pragmatism in the very near future (I'm not holding my breath), we might be better off in these areas. The love of nationalist tendencies by both sides lead me to think otherwise.
Large ‘green’ economies, domestically and internationally, are inevitable. The strides in scientific understanding and technological advancements just over the last two decades have made this an economic and an environmental imperative.
The likelihood of a major ‘world wide web’ “crash,” “meltdown,” “attack,” “faulty program,” or some such horror, even in a small region, is no longer the stuff of fiction. Keep paper records.
China (they loaned us a HUGE chunk of our 'stimulus' money and interest debt, remember?) will be a permanent major player along with the U.S., Europe, and Russia, in shaping and driving international dynamics far more than they have in the past.
Two decades of the endless "war on terror" will have totally screwed this western generation into accepting the further rape and gleeful bludgeoning of what's left of our common sense, potential political decency, and the Constitution.
Nonetheless, I hope to still be living, laughing, loving, maybe wondering whatever happened to that passing thread of predictions as I step through the body scanner on my way into the subway.
Last edited by Tony Of New York; 01-13-2010 at 11:49 AM..
I don't see much changing, other than the economy picking up. We will be onto the next big thing that will give our economy a boost. And when that eventually fails, the "home prices never decline" crowd, will have forgotten about today's problems and artificially inflate our economy for another 10 years. rinse and repeat.
As for some of the other comments, I doubt anything will change enough to notice. Ten year is not much time.
Conflict? The first gulf war was nearly 20 years ago. Can you believe it? Except now we are occupying. How long have we been there? We have always had conflicts. Will there be more? Sure. Pull out of iraq one of these day's and onto the next conflict.
Declining economy? See my response above. From my standpoint it is not much worse than it was around 2000, although the worse alot of us have been through. It will correct itself.
I am not that old, but these discussions have not changed much over the years and we are still here and kicking
If you had psychic abilities or have an advanced degree in economics, or just think about this topic a lot, what do you see ahead for the U.S. ten years down the road?
1) Full recovery?
2) No recovery, things worse?
3) A much contracted economy?
4) A booming green economy?
5) Life forever changed?
6) U.S. now a third world economy?
7) Anarchy?
8) Things better than ever?
9))We're living small, driving small and growing more of our own food?
1) NO
2) I think so. A slow downward beatdown is more like it.
3) Good chance of this. A permanent growing underclass with long term
unemployment.
4) The green economy will grow, but
replacing a highly efficient energy(oil, coal) with a low efficient energy
(wind,solar) is a usually a net lose. The green economy will be a
economic negative.
5) Probably. More depressed people with little hope for the future. A very
un-american way of looking at things, but the new reality.
6) No. We will be a world economic and military power, but not at todays
level. We will still be a superpower, but with a declined standard of
living for the masses.
7) I doubt it.
8) No. Things will have been much better for average Americans in the
past. We will still have one of the highest standards of living in the
World, but nothing like the past. The new global economy makes this
very difficult to uphold. Also, government debt and obligations will be
a major burden.
9) Live small and drive small? Yes, due to economic realities. Grow more
our own food? Hard to say
I'm finding these postings very interesting...seems most posters have a feeling that our country has changed, and our future will be a contracted economy..I wonder if that's necessarily a bad thing...? Is it worse than huge houses with huge mortgages or upside down mortgages? Carrying big credit card debt?
Maybe living within our means due to a lower standard of living from lower wages is a return to the 50's in a way? Is that return to a simpler time a bad way to live?
I expect China will economically, but not militarily (they see what that is doing to us), control most of the world except Africa where the control will be split with the Indians. There may actually be increased Islamic terrorism addressed against both of these groups as they increase the influence of Mammon throughout the world. I also expect the Chaves Revolution to spread throughout South America as the population revolts against the feudal rule imposed by the current aristocracies. We will no longer have the financial or industrial capacity to interfere with this transition to a more democratic polity in South America.
Uh yeah. Hopefully in ten years there will be fewer people on the planet using silly Biblical/evangelical terms like "mammon"
If you had psychic abilities or have an advanced degree in economics, or just think about this topic a lot, what do you see ahead for the U.S. ten years down the road?
Full recovery?
No recovery, things worse?
A much contracted economy?
A booming green economy?
Life forever changed?
U.S. now a third world economy?
Anarchy?
Things better than ever?
We're living small, driving small and growing more of our own food?
1. We will have "recovered" from the housing bust, with a much lower level of wealth and reduced growth propsects.
2. The green economy logic will be assigned to the great dustbin in the sky as among the most arrogant and naive pieces of public policy tripe ever to reach discussions withing the Oval Office. Pure idiocy.
3. US will be one of many countries and can no longer presume leadership.
4. Actually for many life will change for the better. FOr the rest, deep looks in the mirror asking why they wasted 13-18 years of taxpayer money to be fat drunk and stupid and with few prospects for job or marriage.
5. Those of us in small communities will have learned to keep our lips buttoned so as to remain insulated from those who only have designs to profit off of us and leave us in a dire straits.
S.
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