Is the economy going to collapse? (solution, military, parties, top 10)

[kaimuki]

With so much fear about our debt and the failure to pass a bill, what are your thoughts on where we are heading?

[alleged return of serfdom]

no. you can't let the donor body die until all the robber barons are done feeding off it.

[Rggr]

Hasn't it already?

[kaimuki]

Originally Posted by Rggr

Hasn't it already?

I guess I should have included that in the poll.

[gysmo]

Originally Posted by kaimuki

With so much fear about our debt and the failure to pass a bill, what are your thoughts on where we are heading?

If no deal causes the economy go belly up that would mean the government was to big.

[kingdomcome1]

No

[Boompa]

With the top 10% now controlling 56% of the wealth we are effectively a Third World Economy.
The Tea Party has won, they have destroyed America

[BigJon3475]

Originally Posted by Boompa

With the top 10% now controlling 56% of the wealth we are effectively a Third World Economy.
The Tea Party has won, they have destroyed America

Or, letter Q, the same people that helped you make it through the last century are doing nothing different.

What's changing is the fact that your worker bees are refusing to work for less money even as they compete with people making $.75/hr.

Of course, when they finally get their paychecks, they run to the first big box store they can find because "times are hard.'

Keynes forgot to mention that circular effect in a global economy to you.

So sorry.

[Smoke_Jaguar4]

Very few Americans grasp the true meaning of an 'economic collapse'. A true collapse is one where the value of the currency goes to zero. Think of post-war Germany or Latin American in the 70's or Zimbabwe today with +1000% inflation. We are nowhere near that. The closest this country has come to economic collapse was during the Great Depression.
Where we are headed is towards a major decision point where our government will decide what country this will become. There are essentially two options on the table:

1. A large government providing a lot of services, with sufficient revenues (high taxes) to pay for it. This is essentially the developed European model.
2. A small government providing minimal services and low tax rates. This would essentially return the United States prior to the New Deal. It would also eliminate a lot of things Americans have come to expect and depend on: Social Security, Medicare, cheap student loans, etc...

The problem is right now we have a mismatch; a relatively large government but with insufficient revenues to pay for its services, therefore incurring debt. This debt, however, is not creating new wealth but maintaining the status quo. A rational solution would call for reducing spending and increasing taxes until the debt is payed down to a more reasonable level, then find a middle point where spending and revenues are balanced. Unfortunately, politics is not dominated by the rational, but by who can scream the loudest.

[Swingblade]

When USD is no longer the reserve currency we will collapse. I think it is a few years away, at least I hope. Le Roi posted a good article a few days back where the writer thought the U S will become poorer but will still have a big strong military. If you look at both parties this could be where we are heading, which will lead to a big war.