>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Rich wrote:I don't think so. I am in my 60's and I have seen various groups at various times predict something like this many times over the years. Short of a near total economic collapse I dont expect anything major to happen. By and large I think most people are too apathetic and too lazy to be bothered.
I hope you're right; and you may be. But it seems to me the situation is different and the USA is more vulnerable than ever before:
-Only 47% (if you ignore all the manipulative statistical tricks) are employed in this country
-Vastly more people are more dependent upon the dole than ever before
- The dollar is less sound, and has more viable competing currencies than has been the case for a very long time.
- Our manufacturing base is pretty much a shambles
- Our population, even though it has always been said to be a "melting pot", is considerably less homogenous and united than before. There are just more factions that are more likely to not respect the "peace and dignity" of our society if they get hungrier or needier.
- Said population is even more concentrated in urban and suburban areas and even less capable of "living off the land" or "getting by" for a while if the store shelves go empty and/or the cards (EBT and otherwise) stop swiping.
- Our whole damned economy is operating on a just-in-time inventory basis with razor-thin inventories designed to cut carrying costs, so that a disruption of a day or two in any major logistics chain and the resulting cascading out-of-stocks for vital supplies could have the impact of a hurricane Katrina even for a relatively short-term hiccup. The fact that so much of what our supply chain delivers originates overseas, and the deal gets worse.
- Finally, IMO our financial system is currently being dangerously manipulated by both the federal government and Wall Street; which in my view makes it much more susceptible to the kind of collapse that could bring about chaos.
I'm sure I've overlooked other substantial points of difference with earlier times, but there is ample reason to be concerned that our future stability and security will not be as secure as our past.
