2011-20: Decade of U.S. economic hell

[marmar]

By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch


SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — Next decade? Toxic politics promises to make economic matters much worse than even today.

“The U.S. economy appears to be coming apart at the seams,” warned Columbia Prof. Robert Lieberman earlier this year in Foreign Affairs.

.....(snip).....

Warning, in short, that we’re headed into a perfect storm rivaling the disastrous political insanity of the 1930s that prolonged the depression, driving the economy into far reaching global problems that added fuel to an irrational zeitgeist and world war.

Over the past decade we predicted the 2000 crash, the 2008 meltdown and the short-lived 2009 rally, and now it seems quite clear that future historians will indeed look back on the 2011-20 decade as the “Worst Decade in American History.” Worse than the “Great Depression” of the 1930s. Totally predictable, totally denied. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/2011-2020-ten-years-of-us-economic-hell-2011-08-08

[Jackpine Radical]

1. 2000-3000

Millenium of Hell on Earth.

Even if we turned everything around right now, it would take that long to recover from the effects of global warming. Not to mention the fact that there will soon be no oil, even if we were so suicidally minded as to keep pouring its byproducts into the atmosphere. And how long before ther is no potable water anywhere?

There WILL be negative population growth. The only question is whether it will result from conscious decisions or from disease, famine and other disasters that will inevitably follow from our present course of dodging the hard decisions.

The economy is in some ways the least of our problems.

[cliffordu]

2. Yep. The shit is hitting the fan and taking us along for the ride.

[marmar]

3. Very true.

nt

[TheWraith]

4. Clearly, the solution is mass suicide.

Pessimists first, please.

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Republicans first.

Edited to add--

This is not simple pessimism. This is a call to action. My Favorite Wingnut is buying guns & ammo, stocking up on food & thinking that these steps will somehow make him safe. He only believes that society is going to collapse (because of the deficit); he doesn't believe in climate change.

Some of my friends, my wife & I are beginning to start permaculture operations on our land. We know we can't predict things in detail, but want to give ourselves the best chance possible to stay flexible in our responses to the coming changes. We expect extremes of weather that will include droughts alternating with downpours, for example, and are planning a pond to store water for food growing, rainwater cisterns for our own use, etc.

I repeat--this isn't pessimism. It's merely making our best guesses on what is coming, and acting accordingly.

[Gregorian]

5. Word.

I actually don't know how to say this. Words our of my own mouth. I have almost never read a reply that was word for word what I myself would have said. I don't know how it took me so many years on this forum to recognize it, but several times lately your replies have echoed my own sentiments in such a parallel manner, I'm compelled to mention it.

Unfortunately, it's about a very sad subject.

Cheers, we can enjoy watching the decline in diversity of our ecosystem, as well as our economy.