Is America going to collapse?

[CATB320]

Eventually. I mean, the barbarians eventually entered Rome, rite?

 

[Nieroshai]

If America collapses, it is taking the whole world with it, and I do not think that anyone wants that. So, yes, I think we are going to survive, at least for a while longer.

Actually, everyone will just turn to the EU and China. No one country is so important that it takes the entire world with it when it commits suicide.

Well america could take the world with it.... but i mean we would really have to try to f**k up the world before we go under and i do mean really try

Did I not just get done telling you a LOT of "evidence" on Global Warming was falsified for political gain? And no, we've had a LOT higher carbon than this, and orbital charts prove nothing because they show now without showing the then. The famous "hockey stick" graph that shows the exponential rise in carbon? Falsified by the University of East Anglia. I could go on, but I don't reallly NEED to argue longer than two replies with someone on the internet. But seriously, we spend way too much money hunting down things people in charge say exist and when we don't find it they say we weren't looking hard enough. I don't know about Europe, but the US just had a REALLY cold winter, the coldest in a lonng time. Also, do you know what we've been warming up FROM, and from WHEN? Look up the little ice age. Literally the entire population of Loondon could EASILY have stood on the ice of the Thames river, and even threw festivals on it. We have been warming up from a VERY recent FREEZE-OVER, THAT is why it's hotter than it used to be. Also, bye internet person.

ok to be fair didnt read all the pages

also was not talking about global warming was kinda talking in general because global warming is a myth and its stupid to think other wise

no i was refering to all the other things that america could do like start a war between two countries by puppetting one and then just leaving or something like that and that is just for starters folks and its not just america its any country that could do it but like i said we could do it but we gots to try really really hard to just be total dicks to everyone and there mum

(also to whoever was talking about the global warming thing that i just had the quote on sorry for the mix up wasnt trying to get the rage going just wasnt specific enough XD but dude calm down my friend)

and on that i think we could create global warming if we wanted to lol im sure someone has a giant lazer that they are just wanting to use to put a hole in the ozone doomsday style and all ha ha ha but i dont think that it would be global warming i think they would call

oh s**t -people get sucked through the hole in the sky-

As I remember someone did throw up my stupidity for not believing in "scientific fact", but I digress. If you really want to destroy the environment, nuclear war's the best way to do it.
As for the wars, who really knows what's next? I don't remember if there was a point to Desert Storm and I'm still too drowsy to wiki it. Vietnam and Korea were part of the Cold War where we were trying to help allies beat Russia-backed enemies, so that kinda had context. The war in Iraq was supposed to be over a while ago, and Afghanistan is just slowly turning into a bigger time bomb. We're not going to find Bin Laden at this rate if he's even alive, and the only way to beat the insurgents is kinda unethical; we'd have to scare them to hell with a massively devastating show of force like in Japan. Then we'd "win," but the world community would be after our asses for genocide so that ain't happening.

 

[Nieroshai]

America might collapse in the far future. As we all know no country lasts forever.

However the economy is just getting back on its feet there is no way America would collapse now.

See I see no improvement, the lower working class (My family) that was already poor, is falling straight into the need aid just to survive category.

The recession is technically "over", but things aren't fixing themselves overnight. It's like a forest fire. It may have burned itself out, but it's going to take time for the surviving seeds to sprout from the ashes. You can bet it will, though. Personally, I think it's the fault of the stores doing the "no payment necessary with no interest for three years!" and the insurance help things saying "borrowed money, but feel like screwing the loaners just because you're cheap, and didn't use the money wisely? That's fine! You don't have to pay them back!"

The "official end" of the recession according to the administration, to use your analogy, was when the fire engines showed up. The fire is still on, albeit to a lesser extent. Unemployment is still increasing. The stock market went up, but that's Wall Street's riches, not Main Street's. Hell, if it wasn't for my stock dividends I'd be on the street right now, because I still can't find a job, and even that isn't enough, I barely pay the rent.

 

[Blaster395]

You, an American, is complaining about gas prices. HAHAHAHA
Clearly you don't know how high the prices are in the UK.

Its measured in liters here, and £1.25 is a decent price for a liter.
It is 3.785 liters to a gallon, so 1 Gallon of gas in the UK costs £4.73

So 1 gallon of gas here costs $7.62
And you think you have it hard.

Our prices have not risen too massively, back in 2000, it was about 0.90 a liter. iirc, back then it was about $1.30 for a gallon. We were paying the same for 1 liter as you were paying for 1 gallon.

 

[Atmos Duality]

It's hard to see things as improving given how I haven't been able to find steady employment outside of family opportunities for over 4 years now. (You know things are getting worse when several of your local McDonald's start cutting staff and hours.)

Rural America (and the manufacturing sector) will collapse within the next 10 years, of that I'm almost certain. Why? Because our physical infrastructure is incapable of surviving another fuel shortage. Our lines of commerce are unfortunately built almost entirely on the back of private shipping lines (read: Freight Trucks). Our personal transportation needs average about 1.5 people per vehicle.

Unless you live in a major city with a good bus/metro line, you will be working for your fuel unless you make more than 25/hour (and those jobs are disappearing fast). The only tangential benefit is that you will be working just to live in poverty; and working just to pay taxes.
Of course, paying taxes means your government gets help, but that's small consolation when you consider how utterly inept and corrupt it has become (at all levels).

In a more general sense: the global market has asserted itself at last. The standard of living America has enjoyed since the end of WW2 is finally going to fall out. Of course, others won't be celebrating America's demise for long, because America forms a HUGE CHUNK of the collaborative world economy. The ripples of our recession were enough to make bad situations worse even in the European Union.

Folks, it's called a GLOBAL ECONOMY for a reason.

However, in the long run (two generations), America can catch up or even overtake China by necessity of new tech; especially new fuel sources. Whoever can solve the equation for the world's energy needs will become the wealthiest individual in known history.
Why won't it be China? Because even today, China has proven incapable of producing ANYTHING ORIGINAL. They want the benefits without the work; their entire financial empire is based on this principle and it cannot last forever.

Eventually. I mean, the barbarians eventually entered Rome, rite?

That's actually a myth. Barbarians did NOT cause the collapse of Rome. Nothing did. Rome expanded to the point where its central government could not control it, and it slowly ceded authority to those who actually lived in those far-flung reaches.
It "eroded" to death.

 

[DarthFennec]

It's been much worse in the past, of course it won't collapse. It'll get better, it always does, it'll just take some time. Then after a while, it'll get worse again, and you'll make another thread asking the same question :/

 

[VashtaNerada]

Canada has to pay 7$+ for gas, and everything up there costs more, while their dollar is on par with ours, and they seem to be doin just fine.

 

[Schmittler]

I really don't understand why the government hasn't put more focus on an alternative fuel.

Here's an idea, instead of throwing money at the few American Car companies that are barely holding their weight, have them put more research into electric cars or the like. Make it so that by 2020 or 2025 all cars being sold have to be electric or another cheaper fuel. At least we could say we are making progress. Right?

Unfortunately that would step on the toes of big oil businesses, which everyone seems afraid to do.

That is a damn good point.

But actually the reason is that the oil companies really are damn corrupt assholes that control a good majority of the government.

Thanks!

Yup. That's the exact problem. It's quite the vicious cycle. Big corporations pay large sums of money to advertise the politicians they like, politicians favor big corporations in return. I could rant on this for days. Maybe we will see some good direction in the future. One can dream.

 

[Suijen]

^ The US is a democracy, and that means that our politicians have to listen to interest and societal groups, some of them being corporations that would prefer that the US not jump into the alternative energy bandwagon too quickly.

However, in the long run (two generations), America can catch up or even overtake China by necessity of new tech; especially new fuel sources. Whoever can solve the equation for the world's energy needs will become the wealthiest individual in known history.
Why won't it be China? Because even today, China has proven incapable of producing ANYTHING ORIGINAL. They want the benefits without the work; their entire financial empire is based on this principle and it cannot last forever.

Isn't that kind of a bad sign considering that China is now a leading market and producer of wind, thermal and solar energy? That's still not going to offset China's love of coal, but it's moving away from it.

20 years ago China was focused on mainly light industries. Now they've been moving past heavy industries and into high-tech ones.

 

[iLikeHippos]

Just wantet to share a link.
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

Its the debt clock of usa.

About your job situasion i hope it works out and you find somthing, same for your familie.
Cant say we have the same problems in norway, even tho the job market is abit tight here to according to people applying for work.

I've got two things to comment.

1) Haha, that clock made me laugh. 14 TRILLION dollars! HOLY FUCKING SHIZNOT!

2)Hooold on a minute... I live in Sweden and so does my brother. My brother graduated nearly 2 years ago from now, and he was planning to get a job in Norway because "there were more jobs there" with a bunch of friends of his.

Come clean... Is my brother and his friends screwed? o.o

OT; Yepp, according to that clock of yours, USA will have to sell zombie viruses to the black market or auction out their aliens from Area 52 to perhaps clean up for 0,3% of that mess.
... And probably starve themselves from workers, which doesn't really make sense but hey, there you go.

 

[Suijen]

What if the US just said "Screw it, we're not paying back any of you guys. We'll call it even for World War 2"?

 

[Sutter Cane]

Yes.. all empire eventually collapse... but probably not due to the current financial crisis, but because China bailed america out to the tune of 1.4 Trillion dollars it might be worth your while to learn Mandarin one day everyone in america may be required to speak it by the most high worthy double happiness empire overloads.. ie:the Chinese government .. lol... does anyone else find it funny that for 40 years america fought Communism on every front just to loan trillions of dollars from the communists to keep the county afloat

The US and China are deeply economically entangled. It's not just a one way thing. China won't be taking over the US any time soon

 

[Wintermoot]

in the worst case you would have to learn Chinese (can be both dialects) but you don,t need to worry, you can always move closer to your work and take the bike to work

 

[Atmos Duality]

Isn't that kind of a bad sign considering that China is now a leading market and producer of wind, thermal and solar energy? That's still not going to offset China's love of coal, but it's moving away from it.

20 years ago China was focused on mainly light industries. Now they've been moving past heavy industries and into high-tech ones.

Production vs Development. As soon as other countries start taking stabs at China's robber-market, it won't last.

The problem is getting the governments of said countries to back such endeavors.
America at least could be mostly self-sufficient, as can the EU (who mostly are already anyway).

Case in point, current tariffs on common Chinese import goods to America is around 2%.
Chinese Tariffs on imported American are around 25% (assuming the good is even legal to import in the first place).
This is the sort of bullshit that kills domestic manufacturing jobs. One part of many, but I use it here as an example.
The sole reason the American government hasn't gone Tit-for-tat with China is because they're getting kickbacks. Why else would you let such one-sided trading practices stand for so long?

 

[T8B95]

If America collapses, it is taking the whole world with it, and I do not think that anyone wants that. So, yes, I think we are going to survive, at least for a while longer.

Actually, everyone will just turn to the EU and China. No one country is so important that it takes the entire world with it when it commits suicide.

This.

Probably why I'm moving to Scotland in a few years. Are there any Scottish Escapists who can tell me if you guys need good lawyers?

What if the US just said "Screw it, we're not paying back any of you guys. We'll call it even for World War 2"?

Why would anyone agree to call it even? If anyone, we should be paying Russia back, seeing as Russia almost singlehandedly pushed the Germans back to Berlin in the East.

 

[Zaik]

Eventually. I mean, the barbarians eventually entered Rome, rite?

Logically, yes. But our neighbor to the north is Canada, so I don't really see it.

 

[arith21]

I wouldn't worry about America, they have a thing for coming out of economic downturns fairly well. I have to agree with Atmos about China. It's only a matter of time untill something really bad happens either enviormentally, economically or socially. Oh and fun fact the whole debate about the U.S. dependance on oil probably won't be relevant in the next decade since they found the whole oil supply in the Dakotas thats bigger then Saudi Arabias oil suppy, Also they discovered an ambundance of oil that has eight times as much oil than Saudi Arabia. My best guess to why we haven't heard more about this thing is because Washington is trying to keep it pretty quiet so when they suck the middle east dry they can sit on their bums and become the next Saudi Arabia(in oil producing terms) sneaky pricks in Washington I tell you.