'America will collapse'

@holyshlite
Easily amused? This is good. Better run after your headpiece......they roll fast.
Good evening

what I think is sad is every injustice on every level would have kept right on keeping on with all the silence we posess,If it were not for job loss and housing loss.Now thanks to all that evil money loss(the very money you could only want in evil greed) We find our vioces and the sky is falling .As soon as this financial down turn passes and it will most of these conversations will be history . Then we can go back to looking for all the bad things in the world at our leisure.

@lenhart - If you wrote "A" papers "at University" then you would understand the American economy better than what you are letting on. Since no American ever used the term "at University" you must have been playing make believe at some anti-American econ class and told the prof what he wanted to hear.

How can you accuse anyone of not having their facts when you boldly declare that the US hasn't been a major producer of oil in 30 years? OMG! That is so funny. Any American knows that we are easily in the top 3 in the world( we flip back and forth with Russia for 2nd). We produce more oil than twice as much as Iran, four times as much as Iraq and three times the production of Venezuela. Oh my God, you are ignorant.

If you truly had a record of interviewing great economists, you would certainly have visited my office. I don't remember granting any interviews to morons.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0922041.html

@ Vierotchka----you go for it!! I like very much when you clarify with such deliberacy,, one isn't sure if it's a lecture or a chat at the corner bodego.

You get, from moi, a tie with Mr. Moore
QCBucki

@beachite 1st) WHICH administration did you ask? then how long ago did you send it? If it was this new,hardworking, "job's cut out for them" administration,who has taken on more serious USA's life saving issues since Lincoln, and still under TWO MONTHS into it's infancy, I would have to point out, BO has assertively, intelligently and bravely taken it ALL on. I seem to recall thousands of voters, journalists, and oh yes!, the "pundints" (overpaid) who doomed him prior already to Nov 4th that he's too young, inexperienced, blah blah. Now look how he is fighting for this country's very life. Why can't they just give it a year or so, then have a real look around!!
Sorry, not an industrialist, yet I'm thinking many people around the US have a similar "easy" solution. Obama's up to his eyeballs in work and suggestions, so ask the nation, first. It may be a while. He's saving the world, (yeah a bit overdramatic...but get the point?)

"The US economy BOOMED because of OIL...

If the US were rich in oil, then WHY did Bush insist upon attacking the oil rich Iraq.

Fact is the US has not been a major producer of oil for at least thirty years."

Heeheeeheheeehoooohoooooo. Can't stop laughing! In 2003 Iraq's total oil revenue at peak production was about $200B, nearly the entire GDP of the country. Walmart's sales were greater than that that year! Oil, puhleez. The war was never about oil. We never even bought much Iraqi oil and don't use it now.

BTW, the US is the SECOND largest producer of oil in the world behind the Saudi's. Ahead of Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Mexico...... Heeeheeehoo God it HURTS! My headdress just fell off! So funny.

Lenhart, please continue to to do your stand up routine! I'm in tears!

http://www.marktaw.com/culture_and_media/politics/G...

Good evening,
Good interview. Brisk. Pointed. Intelligent.
I must say, though, hasn't the world been foreseeing such Armageddon since they all got together a zillion years ago to make that word itself up???????
Waiting for the 3 zillionth convention in Vegas to decide what happened, and should we run a sequel to the first??

wow that can't be happening!!!

My faith in my fellow man is too low to believe the US will break-up. Man seems to always do the wrong thing or let the wrong things happen, so I'm certain the US will not Fail.

I love the creature comforts of today's US. I love the advances we've made in medicine. And I love air conditioning. But I don't think we (as a people or society) are better off with all these "advantages."

It will never happen, but it would be nice if we were forced from our homes and onto our porches because there was no A/C.

It might be a nicer community if we couldn't travel miles away to work or purchase goods/services.

It might not be that bad to have a moneyless economy, where people had to barter for everything.

Crime would absolutely go down. Try breaking into a house when everyone in the neighborhood sleeps with their windows open and no A/C. You can hear dogs barking from blocks away.

Families would live much closer and would be forced to put-up with each other out of necessity and lack of choices.

Nursing homes would empty and churches would fill up. Even if most churches were not faith-based.

I say BRING IT ON. LET IT BURN DOWN SO WE CAN START OVER!

But I know it will never happen. It's just a dream.

People around the world want us to fall so they can fill smug. We as American can not fall into this crap. We have survived civil war, depression, 2 world wars, Vietnam war, many recessions, the worst terror attack in history. Most countries would have fallen long ago and these asshole foreigners can't understand why we haven't fallen. Only the strong survive so let stand up together and kick these people in the teeth.

From looking at the rankings of countries on how much percentage of GDP is spent on education, United States ranks number 57. There are countries like Lesotho, Uzbekistan, and Cuba that spend more of the GDP than the United States.

If the United States spent the same percentage of GDP on education as say Cuba does at 9.4%, the United States would basically be providing a free college education to everyone at that level of spending.

I agree that we do need to have a completely new economy, one that equalizes the drive for profits with the drive to provide all citizens with their basic needs; housing, food, medical care, and education. This is what would stimulate the economy well into the future because it creates a less distressed and suffering society. People have a chance to feel happy again and to prosper and create small businesses.

Part II: As I have stated before on this site, I am largely satisfied with the structure of our government EXCEPT for the role of federal agencies. Those buggers just seem to grow and grow and grow, and as an attorney who works with them a great deal, I am not in love with the idea of being "governed" by people who are so far removed from the Democratic process, having never been elected by a vote of the people, for example. I also find their procedural protections to often be fictitious at best.

Let me give you just one example. Until recently, the telephone company monopolies were regulated at the state level for intrastate communications by a state's public utility commission and at the interstate level by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for communications that traveled between states or originated from or terminated to a foreign country. At a typical STATE commission a dispute between two telecom companies was/is handled in much the same way such a dispute would be handled in court - both sides are allowed to ask questions of the other side and cross-examine any witness testimony. This is important because justice in this country requires a certain level of what is known as "due process" meaning essentially that if the dirty rotten scoundrel company that opposes you decides to fight dirty and tell lies in their testimony, you can at least force that company to pony up copies of documents that might reveal the existence of the lies or cross-examine their witness and catch them in testimony that is inconsistent with the lies.

At the FCC, the process is COMPLETELY different. Virtually ALL of the proceedings in which I have participated at the FCC are decided in their entirety on the basis of comments submitted by interested parties. There is no opportunity for discovery (asking questions of your opponent) and there is no opportunity to cross examine the person who wrote the comments for that company. The rather absurd result is that the winner in contests fought before the FCC is often the party that can tell the biggest lies most convincingly. My PERSONAL opinion is that an organization with the massive resources that the FCC has should offer MORE due process protections to the parties that come before it, not LESS protections. And believe me, this is just the tip of a very large iceberg of problems at these federal agencies.

the U.S. will not collapse ! We stand on the backs of a multitude of people who died so that those who want the U.S to fall have the right to say it .We keep going and we've proven it time and agian.When this country meets it's end it will do it united.Nothing unites this country better than adversity

The US will collapse because we're being run by the same bankers that created Communism. Our propaganda is just better than the old Soviet Union's propaganda, that's why Americans can't tell how far in the shit their in (up to their necks btw)

the problem is i dont think we even felt a mist of what is to be felt. many are unemployeed now, so we will rape the rich for the taxes to pay for those who are suffering, but what shall happen when the rich dont have it anymore neither? it is the lower class that pays for everything the rich does, pays for the doctors, the dentists, the chemists, buys the meds, buys the gadgets. healthcare can be reformed because it must. 300+million ppl in this world, if we were to all get sick oh trust the line outside the whitehouse might get a litte catastrophic, they have no choice. either we lead to riot and human destruction in america and set the example of failure for the rest or we hush it as much as we can.

bush fucked it up alot and the funny thing is all his oil that he fought for is now in a process of gettin abolished with renewable energy. they say it will take a long time, it will cost alot. Nikola Tesla invented wireless long before these nifty gadgets came out, problem is they dont want to do it.

i could care less of america falls. ppl should not be in denial however and understand "even the greatest nation has it coming back to them" - nas. if you are one with God, you should well know that greed and the sin that this country has rounded up for decades must be punished, prime examples of that are at sight. however im giving it the hope it needs. they said 2010 should start looking slightly better, lets see. if nothing seems to change then prepare urselves people for it will get ugly.

some say the 2012 conspiracy is a lie, how? look at where we are...globally. we have one shot at survival of economic downturn, economy is what runs the world. we are 4 yrs in the making of 2012. i hate to beleive these stupid conspiracies but when u look at whats present and what could happen due to everything u really start to wonder like "holy shit did those guys really predict that shit". its a scary world ppl, i am choosing a major in school right now that revolves around music and piano, for it is a passion. i feel sorry for those that waste their times majoring in those fancy jobs, if obama gets reelected you'll be payin for me buddy and ill say thanks.

pray people, find God, live virtuous, remove the evils out of your life. i started writing a book titled "Let Go". maybe one person will actually remember that name and if it is ever published maybe that one person taht read my reply actually goes and buys it, its how the world works. God Bless all of You.

If anyone deserves this, the USA does. We wanted socialism, we got socialism. It is said that every great civilization, goes through a "rise and fall". The Aztecs, the Mayans, the Romans, the Turks, etc. Now it is our turn.....the seeds have been planted and are being watered...we are in the process of transitioning from a democracy to socialism....By the time the people will realize they were had, (with accompanying wailing and gnashing of teeth) it will be too late....who will take after the fall of the American Empire? God only knows....

I think that the revolution we so desperately need in America will only come when the economy collapses....

I say YAYY!!!!

Rush Limbaugh has said that he hopes Obama 'fails'. Limbaugh is described as the most important voice in the GOP.

Why does the GOP wish for BAD TIIMES?

The GOP will work assiduously to SUBVERT Obama because an Obama success may very well spell the END of the GOP. Good riddance!

Bush left Obama a deficit of some 1.2 TRILLION dollars and a NEGATIVE CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE OF

$ -568,800,000,000

This has happened before. the GOPPER HOOVER left FDR a collapsed economy. By rights, the GOP should never have been entrusted with political again.

The current collapse began with Reagan's tax cut of 1982 which caused the Reagan Recession/Depression of some two years ---the longest and the worst since the Great Depression of the 1920s.

A trend, in which only the top one percent got richer, was reversed breifly in Clinton's second term but resumed with Bush. Check the BEA, the Bureau of Labors Stats, the Census Bureau for OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION of my assertion. Those are the facts.

Now --the point is this: the GOP cannot afford to allow another Democrat to repeat yet another incredible success while EVERY GOP Pres at least since the Great Depression have presided over recessions, job declines, rising disparities in incomes and every other characteristic of a third world economy.

The GOP will subvert Obama because an Obama success could mean the end of the GOP.

And good f_ckin riddance!

Following is a link to the CIA's World Fact Book - Nations Ranked by Current Account Balance.

Keep in mind when reading this list that the lower the nation is ranked on the list the BIGGER the BALANCE OF TRADE DEFICIT.

The fact of the matter is: THE US IS ALREADY BANKRUPT. It's on the CIAs list with, by far, the WORLD'S BIGGEST BALANCE OF TRADE DEFICIT or, in other words, NEGATIVE CURRENT ACCOUNT.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2187rank.h...

As I said, the US is ALREADY BANKRUPT ---kept afloat by CHINA for whom the US is a cow to be milked, a 'farm' of eager consumers who are hooked on buy cheaply made Chinese crap.

The US would have collapsed even sooner but for the fact that China must keep the US afloat in order to MILK IT.

People, wake up and get wise! This is NOT a matter of opinion. It is a fact!

Wow. Exceptionally boring propaganda.

"the only skills they have are violent skills..."

Scarey!!!!!

This country is not falling apart. I have thought for a long time - that it might be great if the huge stupid, greedy facade of Wall Street and the supply-side republican rich, phony social order, house-of-cards McDonald's fast food-style financial services industry would fall.
Let the big banks fall if they can't stand and let people's feet find the ground once again.
What a great thing it would be to see that beautiful shining light in everyone's eyes once again.
We've had a fake society for years.

Maybe a huge EMP that shorts out all the electronics. All stupid - gone.
No more going to work. No more flippin' the bird on the highway. No more grinding teeth. Just go home and make love to your spouse. Plant a garden.
Smile awhile.

I HAVE ASKED THIS ADMINISTRATION A QUESTION WHICH I DON'T EXPECT TO GET AN ANSWER AND I WILL NOW ASK IT PUBLICLY ---WHY CAN'T WE REOPEN OUR STEEL MILLS AND PUT PEOPLE BACK TO WORK ? I KNOW THAT IT WOULD TAKE TIME AND EFFORT TO REOPEN THEM BUT ISN"T IT A GOOD START ?

I agree with Janforgore. Until this Country stops prostituting its self nothing is ever going to change. We have sold our industry, our national resources, our technology and our pride to the highest bidder. Until we again take our nation back to the industrial age that made us great, we very well may be headed in exactly the same direction as the Soviet Union. Our Nation is based on a false economy. We are a service based economy. What that means is, we simply pass the same money from hand to hand within our own country. We buy twice what we sell making us the largest consumer based economy in the world.

Thanks to our Government, we sold our steel industry so we could buy it back at an inflated rate. We sold out our Oil industry because we needed allies in the Middle East. We sold our pulp wood and oil to Asia because they pay better than we Americans do. We sold our land and the buildings on it, simply because we needed to recuperate our depleting cash reserves. We have sold or given away our technology and buy it back at a premium.

We very well could be looking at the collapse of an Empire. We need to create a new economy, not keep throwing money we don't have to save one that no longer works.

PS This really isn't news. News to me should be more based on the facts available. CSPAN can be tedious but if you really want to know what's up you have to take a look.

he is right it will collapse think it through to much
spending lower tax revenue its a recipe for
disaster . the biggest problem is the rest of the world
will go with it and we will have a total mess.
pull your head out of the sand it is comming
and unfortunately we cant stop it!

There are always optimistic and pessimistic people around; so just hope and do what you can to provide from collapsing.
But worse: there are always some people between which hope to malke money out of the bad situation.

Markets are too complicated for anyone to really understand. You can say that you can't print borrow and tax your way into prosperity, I can get behind that. But no one can predict a market. My two pennies - the government needs to butt out.

America learned a bitter lesson in our "Civil War". We are a Nation bonded by blood shed by fathers and brothers on opposing sides of this conflict. We were united in the horrible conflicts originated by Europeans in WW1 and WW2. America will not turn on itself! We may turn on others, but not on our friends and family. We are a nation of immigrants, wanderers, not afraid to relocate our families to any part of America. For this reason alone, we will not separate from the overall federal system. Non Americans seem unable to grasp this basic difference between us and most of the World. The more conflict we face, the more unified we become. Bin Laden proved this point.

I am hard-pressed to think of two countries MORE unlike each other than the United States of today and the Soviet Union at the time of its breakup. I think the comparisons made by Mr. Orlov are at best mildly interesting but in the end occupy the margins of a serious discussion on this point. Just one example (albeit a MASSIVE one) is that there are countries, companies, institutions, enormous international pension funds, etc that have a vested interest in seeing that the U.S. not default on its debt. Even if our economy tanked twice as badly as it already has, these investors would gladly take a write-down of 10%, 20% or even 30% of their original investment in U.S. debt rather than tell enormous pools of their workers, for example, that all of their retirement pensions have gone up in smoke. Further, we simply have too many assets that have too much intrinsic value when compared to the former Soviet Union. Even if, let's say, an Apple Computer were to shut down and be sold for 20 cents on the dollar, there is still plenty of wealth in the world that would snap that opportunity up in a heartbeat and start pumping out iPods again (this is not going to happen, but when you think of how many Apple Computer-type companies there are all across the U.S., the possibility of total collapse becomes more and more absurd). At the point of its demise, there were U.S. CITIES that had larger (and certainly more vibrant) economies than the entire Soviet Union. Things are ugly and going to get uglier here, but this is just someone trying to cash in on a ghost story. And he might just pull it off...this IS America, after all...

Yes well, to see WALMART collapse would be great! That is what we should be doing. Working on getting those small businesses up and running and holding these criminal corporations accountable.To see those mom and pop stores thriving. To see MADE IN THE USA instead of MADE IN CHINA on everything we touch. To have healthy food. If WALMART collapsed today so what? It would only mean that China lost its cash cow. We did without it before and we can do without it again. And those who work at WALMART for paultry wages and to be abused could then look to other places for work and perhaps even get healthcare coverage. Why not? But this BS that "America will collapse" is just designed to put down the entire country and that is something I'm actually gettting sick of seeing.

The people of America can do so much good when we are truly brought together for a common good cause. So yes, ridding this country of the cancer of corporate greed may well in the end actually make America stronger and healthier, not make it collapse.This country has survived a Revolution, a civil war, two world wars, a great depression, and social changes that would have brought other countries down. So I will not believe that we can't do it again, and I will then continue to dismiss these negativist attitudes. It is the same with the climate crisis. Not many seem to give a sh^t so they say it is too far gone to do anything and that is just plain wrong.

I don't post about acidic oceans or melting glaciers or water shortages because I think we are doomed and can't do anything about it. I post them to hopefully tell people how it is and to motivate them to get up and do something about it because we can. And even scientists are saying that if we do it now we can bring CO2 levels at least to within 350PPM which will sustain us longer.

NOTHING collapses unless you want it to. Today is a new day so I say, get up and do something to keep that from happening instead of trying to make us all believe that to get up in the morning is a waste of time.

I WANT MOM AND POP SHOPS TO EMERGE - I WANT AN ACTUAL BUTCHER SHOP- OR CHEESE STORE- OR BAKERY. IM SICK OF "SUPER STORES" THAT'S WHY EVERYONE IS SUPER SIZED. IM TIRED OF GENERIC CORPORATIONS RUNNING OUR COUNTRY AND FEEDING US CRAP. THAT'S WHY I LOVE EUROPE. YOU WONT FIND A TARGET IN DAM SQUARE. OH AND YOU WALK EVERYWHERE- CAUSE THAT'S HOW THE CITIES ARE DESIGNED - HERE THEY ARE SPREAD OUT FOR FUEL CONSUMPTION AND NEED. OK - I JUMPED OFF MY SOAP BOX, AND I FEEL BETTER :) I CAN GO ON.

Sad so many are actually hoping for the collapse of this country. I would hope crap like this would only inspire people to get up and prove them wrong. I may not be happy with the government, but I sure do love this country with all of my heart and will do all I can to keep her together. Too bad others can't say that and instead actually wish for its demise. In reality, we may well face an economic breakdown but I don't believe we will fall apart as a country. At least, I am hoping not. We need a new entrepreneureal spirit to bring us into the new century and bring manufactutring and green jobs back to this country. Instead of trying to depress people with others' dire predictions who don't
even live here, how about tryitng to inspire people to get up and make that happen?

No, I do not beliefe this the US will collapse; even not Germany or Great Britain or France, but some countries will.

I do not beliefe any country exept some of the third world will collapse.
And these countries have a moralic right that others help them - except Simbabwe.

i agree and disagree, i agree that as a country we don't have a sense of community .let's be serious or country has became a gangland where demorcrats and repulicans have became the new crips and bloods, and don't get started on the pink elephants of race, religion and sexuality.yes we have a black president,but personally i think the south didn't get the message,they still think it's a joke .as for religon im a christain and i was taught to love all but were so brute on another religon that we shoot first and ask later instead of learning , at least be aware and as for sexuality ,do your thing , love who you wanna love, just use protection .but i disagree i love my country and put alot of faith in my generation but we need to open our eyes stop trying to get a million friends on myspace, chris brown and rihanna, the hills,and gossip girl and be more productive, it's fun to party ,but also show that we can be more aware of issues.

I'll believe it when you get Paul Krugman to say it, and you know what, he won't.

I hope it collapses. The Balkanization of the USA is imminent. It might take 100 years, it might take 10. Several distinct regions of the US are so culturally and politically removed that it's already apparent.
Most likely, the first to secede will be either the California Republic or the Texas Republic (Chuck Norris wants to be president of Texas, I shit thee not), followed by other regions such as the deep south, which will form into the Confederated States of America and ally closely with Texas, and Washington and Oregon, which will ally closely with California.

Not pleasant to think about, but he sure has a point. Out of work military and released prisoners by the thousands? Are we heading for a Road Warrior type future?

Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

Graviora manent.

Pareo Nullus

the brits would be a much better model

it's pretty silly to think we'll collapse entirely, we have too many resources.

pure silliness

What utterly silly nonsense!

You didn't watch the video, did you, metaloki? Dmitry is a man, not a woman. :)

I can certainly respect Dmitri's opinion however close it may be to her own wishful thinking but......
I believe her prophecy will come true..............
When osama bin laden turns himself in after shaving his stinky beard off cause Paris Hilton found him and demanded that he "do the right thing".

Don't worry folks! besides; it's China's job to ruin us!

america won't collapse people here are to busy going on ignoring every thing to notice any thing real important and well if a tree falls in the woods and noones there to hear it does it make sound

I'm gonna say this is horseshit propaganda to make the 2nd world feel better about itself. With all due respect of course, V.