Wednesday, January 12, 2011

What is America's Future?

I just read an interesting article by Jim Angle at Fox News.com called "Baby Boomers Could Force Economic Catastrophe", and it got me to thinking. It seems that no matter what, analyists of all stripes are predicting that America is in for a major financial meltdown. It could be from an overload of our public safety net by illegal immigrants; loss of jobs through downsizing, technology, or exportation; trade deficit and devaluing of the dollar; the national debt load and over expansion of government; the financial incompentency of Wallstreet and the banking industry; a drain on resources through war and natural disasters brought on by global warming (and for all practical purposes, it does really matter if global warming is the result of Manmade pollution or part of a natural cycle or some combination. The results are the same---disaster). So, here is yet another crack in financial dyke, the Babyboomer's pending retirement (http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/01/11/baby-boomers-could-force-economic-catastrophe#).

So, what is the end result? A dictatorship of the Left (or indirect rule by China, which is the largest holder of our national debt)? A dictatorship of the Right? A Military Junta? The establishment of the corporate oligarchy (some say we're already well on our way to this)? A theocracy? Anarchy? A broken America into two or more nations much like the Roman Empire or even the Holy Roman Empire experienced (perhaps triggered by a Civil War or revolution).

Do we remain the world's single greatest superpower? Do we become a second rate or even third world economic power? Some predict, as alluded to above, that there will be a small but extremely wealthy corporate oligarchy at the top, which will be propped up by a nationalized police force. The bulk of America will be a second tier economic class with large pockets that are no better than any third world nation, controlled by large well armed drug lords; essentially to two tier class structure within a police state.

A bleak picture to be sure. Still, I wonder if that has to be the outcome? Perhaps I'm wrong, but I have a great deal of faith in my fellow Americans for the capacity in overcoming just about anything, including corporate greed, thugs, and an inept government.

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