Is America going to collapse?

Toriver

Lvl 20 Hedgehog Wizard
Jan 25, 2010
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Sonic Doctor said:
Ossian said:
I feel you. I'm in the same boat, except that I'm at the already out of college point with no place that will hire me.

I would ask you, how many jobs have you held?

The reason I ask is that with the way the employers are these days, you are only going to get a job for two reasons:

1.) You have already been in the work force for a good bit, 5 years minimum, 3 years if you are lucky. They value people that have experience, doesn't matter if the person they are hiring is dumber than a box of rocks and hasn't been to college, they will hire that person because they have a work history.

2.) You could be fresh out of high school with no work history, but still get hired if you have connections within a company. (I've seen that shit way too many times.)

Now I've only had one job at a grocery store for two different summers. The reason I can't get hired is because of that.

I did graduate from college with a B.S., but it doesn't matter because employers look at education last. If you don't have the experience in the front, you aren't going to get hired. Even if the experience they are looking for is experience that you got in college, it won't matter. I guarantee that what you will encounter is that 9 out of 10 employers are going spit on your college record and tell you it is worth crap. The other one in that list will push your college aside and say, "Well to us, your 4 years of college counts as 2 years of experience, but we are looking for 3 years of experience, so sorry we can't hire you.

The problem I'm running into is that I'm even having trouble getting in simple retail or other not education required jobs because I do have an education. They get intimidated that I can actually think an point out problems in there systems. They want somebody that is brain-dead stupid that won't ask questions.

One pointer I will give you, if you get called in for some retail job interview, let's say stocking shelves at Wal-Mart. Don't come dressed in your best, go in with whatever dirty mess you might have on the floor. True story, I came into Wal-Mart interview dressed nice. I have some experience stocking shelves. Next to me was some teenager with jeans that had holes in it, a hole in his shirt and stains all over. I asked the kid if he had ever had a job, he said no. Not long after the interview, I found out they hired the kid over me. I had the experience and looked proper. But that was the problem, at places like Wal-Mart, they want people that are uneducated, people that they can quickly initiate and keep under their fingers.

Just keep looking, I always say, "I'm bound to find someone that actually has a brain and will hire me." Seriously, the hiring system that employers have these days isn't a real hiring system. Just remember college will mean nothing if you don't have years of experience. Knowledge and experience from college =/= Experience in the real messed up world. If you see an internship in something you are wanting to do, do your best get it. But with how hard it is to get internships these days, you are most likely going to have to bribe, cheat, and kill to get it, and practically know the internship exists before the people that are selecting for it know that it exists.
Absolutely all of this is true for me as well, except for two things:
1) I have a B.A. instead of a B.S., which means I am probably even worse off.
2) I would say employers do value education, but nowadays, a Bachelor's is just not enough anymore. If you have a Bachelor's degree, you are going to be the worst off of anyone in today's job market. NOTHING out there today is asking for someone with a bachelor's degree. It's either the jobs that don't require higher education (your manual labor/retail jobs) or they want at least a Master's degree. And as you said, if you apply for either of those with a Bachelor's, you aren't going to get jack without experience. I am in the exact same position right now, but I just don't have the money to be able to go back home and go into grad school.

So I am in the same whirlpool as the OP:

Ossian said:
Can't get a job without school > can't go to school without a job > can't get a job without a car > can't get a car without a job.

And due to having to pay off my student loans from my first degree, a part time job won't be enough to support me. I am so screwed...
 

Arizona Kyle

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Aug 25, 2010
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Nieroshai said:
Arizona Kyle said:
lacktheknack said:
BreakfastMan said:
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- :D
 

Nova Helix

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Mar 17, 2010
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Unemployment is only at about 8% and gas prices are WAY lower than the rest of the world. It's not actually that bad, Retail/fast food/Grocery store jobs just don't require any training so anyone can get them. If it's easy to do then it will be harder to get when there is a surplus of workers.

Look at figures from the great depression and get some perspective. Things are on the up turn and never got to the real 'Oh Shit' levels if you start getting ration tickets for gas or tent cities start popping up then worry.


Toriver said:
2) I would say employers do value education, but nowadays, a Bachelor's is just not enough anymore. If you have a Bachelor's degree, you are going to be the worst off of anyone in today's job market. NOTHING out there today is asking for someone with a bachelor's degree. It's either the jobs that don't require higher education (your manual labor/retail jobs) or they want at least a Master's degree. And as you said, if you apply for either of those with a Bachelor's, you aren't going to get jack without experience. I am in the exact same position right now, but I just don't have the money to be able to go back home and go into grad school.
What are you talking about? 97% of people graduating from my school have a job lined up at graduation (at least in my department, others are lower). From talking to professors and grad-students the hire rate actually goes down with a masters degree too.
 

Khada

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Jan 8, 2009
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Short answer, yes. It's built into the system. It's the nature of a federal bank / fractional reserve system.

Watch this to learn more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EewGMBOB4Gg

Ps. Anyone who tells you that it's ok because GDP is going up likely has no idea what it really represents because it certainly isn't the well being of the people.
 

Rienimportant

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Jan 12, 2010
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I wouldn't worry too much about America collapsing. Sure we probably won't be like what we were right after WWII, top of the world and all that, but I doubt we have to worry about serious, "oh b---er all"
If nothing else, you just really can't find a job, get an entrepreneurial business degree (since you said you wanted to get a degree), get lots of internships, experience, and higher level ones pay, start a company, hire all your friends and use friends and family as a support base for customers. And don't start a lame/bad company though. Cause that would just end up putting you in a worse position.
(Note- the above statement doesn't mean I think starting a business is easy. I'm not That stupid haha)
 

FoAmY99

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Dec 8, 2009
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e2density said:
silver wolf009 said:
but it is very possible and likely right now that we are going to be surpassed as the worlds number one superpower by China or India
Despite India having a very very large population, they also have a very very large AIDS epidemic and a HIGH HIGH poverty rate...I'd just say China on this one.
The real problem with emerging markets like India and China include the issues you've just mentioned, but also the fact that (and this is mostly China) there isn't much usable land left in those areas. Most of western China is part of the Gobi Desert, which from what i've heard is encroaching on the livable land. Eventually the Chinese are going to have to come to terms that there will be more people than available land eventually, one child policy be damned. India will be forced to raze much of the jungles and forests there in order to create living space for their people, and they have much less total land than China so that would be a temporary solution anyway.

What I think will happen over the next few decades is there will be food wars in those nations which will likely kill millions. Whats worse is that these wars will eventually expand into resource wars. For an example, think of the Drell from Mass Effect 2. Thane says that the Drell had exhausted most of their homeworld's natural resources and had yet to develop even nuclear fusion. They eventually began slaughtering each other in order to get what little resources remained on the planet. Now that happening here is unlikely to happen soon, but I think considering our nature as human beings its entirely possible
 

Seneschal

Blessed are the righteous
Jun 27, 2009
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BioHazardMan said:
I live in the US, and I'd say within 2 years something big will happen, I highly doubt collapse, probably just some rioting until things get back into control.
Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but Americans have always struck me as somewhat more... umm, unanimous, maybe? Especially for such a large country. I mean, yeah, racial disorders, Stonewall riots, but was there ever any big animosity towards the government? Besides just people not trusting it (that's common everywhere). Trying to bring down a corrupt government just doesn't seem like a very American thing to me; the whole "people's revolution" has those socialist overtones that Americans are a bit allergic to.

Again, I'm speaking from an ignorant outsider's perspective. The whole Jasmine Revolution is slowly spilling into Europe right about now, and there have already been protests in every major city in my country, and it seems like it's about to get rough in the neighbouring countries too. A sense of social unrest and civil responsibility springs up rather easily around here, and for the most part it's a good thing, a big equalizing force in politics. I never got the same vibe about the American public, it seems much more stable (or complacent, if you prefer) even in the midst of a financial crisis.
 

Smagmuck_

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Aug 25, 2009
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God I hate it when people make generalized assumptions based on obvious bias media.

OT: I don't think we should expect a Homefront esque scenario but we should expect, besides we're starting on another upturn in the economy... And if some starts with the "ZOMG UNEMPLOYMENT" garbage... Remember this, during the Great Depression it was a 25% unemployment rate... 9% ain't got nothing on the 25%...
 

LikeDustInTheWind

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Mar 29, 2010
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Recession? Yes. Depression? Possibly. Total collapse? Not yet. Everything will collapse eventually, but the U.S isn't going to implode for a while. Times are hard, but they'll get better. Just wait.
 

emeraldrafael

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Jul 17, 2010
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Khada said:
Short answer, yes. It's build into the system. It's the nature of a federal bank / fractional reserve system.

Watch this to learn more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EewGMBOB4Gg

Ps. Anyone who tells you that it's ok because GDP is going up likely has no idea what it really represents because it certainly isn't the well being of the people.
No, but its the measure of a country. What do you measure a country's wealth on, if I can ask? You think China's people are happy? Cause China is supposed to be doing rather well.
 

Suijen

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Apr 15, 2009
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I'm American but I've stayed in China for the past 2 years. China's much more dynamic than the US, and there's definitely a lot more optimism here. What I've noticed is that most Americans now are really pessimistic now; it's either the US is going to collapse, China's going to buy up the US, etc etc. Have a little faith in your own country. It's bad, sure, but things will get better. In the meantime, try to look for jobs in things that don't have overcapacity. There are a lot of foreigners from English speaking countries in Beijing, and many of them teach English, which nets a pretty nice 150 RMB an hour ($23 USD), without taxes. The students who learn English then flock to the US for study, providing universities with much needed cash. I'm going to assume that the educational sector will probably be hiring then.
 

Khada

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Jan 8, 2009
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emeraldrafael said:
Khada said:
Short answer, yes. It's build into the system. It's the nature of a federal bank / fractional reserve system.

Watch this to learn more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EewGMBOB4Gg

Ps. Anyone who tells you that it's ok because GDP is going up likely has no idea what it really represents because it certainly isn't the well being of the people.
No, but its the measure of a country. What do you measure a country's wealth on, if I can ask? You think China's people are happy? Cause China is supposed to be doing rather well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b7mgxaxN1U
 

Jake0fTrades

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Jun 5, 2008
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It would be naive of me to say that the United States isn't having a rough patch, but our country is nowhere near collapse. Look at us. We may no longer be the head-honcho in the world, but we have a strong military, a stable government, and we enjoy rights some people in the world can't even think about.

Our country isn't under attack, we're not under the rule of a dictator and violent riots are essentially unheard of.

I'm feeling pretty optimistic.
 

Thaa'ir

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Feb 10, 2011
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Collapse in the near future? I doubt it. Not be the #1 superpower? Likely. Perhaps the world will shift into a balance of multiple superpowers. What does it matter? Even assuming the worst, Europe decimated itself in two world wars, yet it is an important and influential force in the world today.

Learn Mandarin? Not a bad idea, but I seriously doubt it will be as widely studied or necessary as English is in much of the rest of the world for a long time.

One day America (the United States of America if you are hung up over names) will cease to exist...as will France, Russia, England, China (yes, even China will eventually come to its end) their languages, the Christian and Islamic religions, and many species of animals.
 

Lyx

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Sep 19, 2010
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Drago-Morph said:
Lyx said:
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.
Maybe - just a little problem: Europe is gonna go down too - it just takes a *slightly* more disciplined approach at it. It may not suffer as hard as the USA, but it will have to kill the EMU, sooner or later.

So, that pretty much leaves only china. Problem is just: Who's gonna buy all their stuff during the crisis, considering that they rely so heavily on export?
Exactly. China relies so heavily on America buying things from it that when America collapses, so will China. In fact, that's pretty much going to happen to most major powers. America probably will take everyone down when it goes because of all the money it pumps out buying things from everyone else. Not the most sound move on our end, no, but when we stop fueling the economies of other countries, they'll go down too.
Well, yes and no. It's more like a "coincidental" perfect storm. The problems of europe are self-made. The majority of the countries of europe, except of germany and france, are basically broke. And germany and france cannot bail them all out. This european timebomb is actually independent of the usa, though with europe being as financially fragile as it is now, a financial disaster in the USA could accelerate the timebomb, so that indeed it would all go boom together.

In theory, the european issue could be solved by amputation - the EMU could be killed on purpose, so that the weak countries can restructure, while germany and france come out mostly undamaged - but just as in the USA, the doctrine appears to be the opposite: Try to prevent until the last drop.

You are however correct that at least china indeed is in a strong economic relationship with the USA. That after all is the whole reason why china has not given the USA the finger it financially deserves. China depends on the USA, so until now they have played along. Though, china is showing subtle signs that it has enough of USA's monetary policies - i.e., since 2008 it has slowed down on buying bonds (which is just a different way of saying that it is slowing down on financing USA's debt. Which considering the circumstances leaves pretty much just one interpretation: They're losing trust in monetary policies of the USA, and are trying to limit damage, without setting off a panic on bonds (which would at this point instantly crash the USA)).
 

Dragonclaw

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In all honesty we've lost a lot of jobs that quite frankly aren't coming back, ever. The retail sector especially is still hemmoraging jobs. This is still partially due to WalMart and Target with their predatory pricing killing small businesses, but we're also conviniencing ourselves out of jobs...One small company can decimate entire chains of stores with 10 times as many employees or more that end up entering a much smaller job market. Look at the Ipod...anybody remember music stores? I used to love those, my first job in high school was at my local music store...now all 3 in town are long gone...We all love Netflix, but how many video stores are shuttered? Tower is GONE, most mom & pop shops are empty storefronts, and Blockbuster isn't coming out of bankruptcy...a possible purchase will be closing hundreds more stores next month...Amazon and e-readers have killed local bookstores, and now Borders has toppled (they are closing all 11 stores in my area!) while Barnes and Noble hangs on by a thread.

Say the economy is improving, but I have people offering me resumes...to try and get a job at a comic book store! And unfortuinately I'm not hiring either...with so many people out of work or hurting themselves comics and toys are a non necesity so I'm certainly feeling the pinch myself.
 

emeraldrafael

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Jul 17, 2010
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Khada said:
Oka, that guy is clearly living in fantasy. He's a liberal talking about a liberal world. If what he talks about is true, then the best economy is no economy. The point is countries are measured by the growth they make. No matter what it is, its growth, and it makes the country better, cause there's more employment. Crime, sickness, death, all of that will still exist. To say that because GDP is made up of whats used to make combat them is bad doesnt mean anything.

Cause if thats true, then those countries in Africa where the birth mortality rate should be among the richest in the world. What with AIDS and such running pretty much rampant.

there's a completely seperate measure called HUman Development Index, which measure GDP, Birth rates, edecuation levels (efficency of it basically), and mortality rates to measure the people's happiness. Here's the complete list of that:
1. Norway
2. Australia
3. New Zealand
4. United States
5. Ireland
6. Liechtenstein
7. Netherlands
8. Canada
9. Sweden
10. Germany
11. Japan
12. Korea (Republic of)
13. Switzerland
14. France
15. Israel
16. Finland
17. Iceland
18. Belgium
19. Denmark
20. Spain
21. Hong Kong, China (SAR)
22. Greece
23. Italy
24. Luxembourg
25. Austria
26. United Kingdom
27. Singapore
28. Czech Republic
29. Slovenia
30. Andorra
31. Slovakia
32. United Arab Emirates
33. Malta
34. Estonia
35. Cyprus
36. Hungary
37. Brunei Darussalam
38. Qatar
39. Bahrain
40. Portugal
41. Poland
42. Barbados


High Human Development

43. Bahamas
44. Lithuania
45. Chile
46. Argentina
47. Kuwait
48. Latvia
49. Montenegro
50. Romania
51. Croatia
52. Uruguay
53. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
54. Panama
55. Saudi Arabia
56. Mexico
57. Malaysia
58. Bulgaria
59. Trinidad and Tobago
60. Serbia
61. Belarus
62. Costa Rica
63. Peru
64. Albania
65. Russian Federation
66. Kazakhstan
67. Azerbaijan
68. Bosnia and Herzegovina
69. Ukraine
70. Iran (Islamic Republic of)
71. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
72. Mauritius
73. Brazil
74. Georgia
75. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
76. Armenia
77. Ecuador
78. Belize
79. Colombia
80. Jamaica
81. Tunisia
82. Jordan
83. Turkey
84. Algeria
85. Tonga


Medium Human Development

86. Fiji
87. Turkmenistan
88. Dominican Republic
89. China
90. El Salvador
91. Sri Lanka
92. Thailand
93. Gabon
94. Suriname
95. Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
96. Paraguay
97. Philippines
98. Botswana
99. Moldova (Republic of)
100. Mongolia
101. Egypt
102. Uzbekistan
103. Micronesia (Federated States of)
104. Guyana
105. Namibia
106. Honduras
107. Maldives
108. Indonesia
109. Kyrgyzstan
110. South Africa
111. Syrian Arab Republic
112. Tajikistan
113. Viet Nam
114. Morocco
115. Nicaragua
116. Guatemala
117. Equatorial Guinea
118. Cape Verde
119. India
120. Timor-Leste
121. Swaziland
122. Lao People's Democratic Republic
123. Solomon Islands
124. Cambodia
125. Pakistan
126. Congo
127. São Tomé and Príncipe


Low Human Development

128. Kenya
129. Bangladesh
130. Ghana
131. Cameroon
132. Myanmar
133. Yemen
134. Benin
135. Madagascar
136. Mauritania
137. Papua New Guinea
138. Nepal
139. Togo
140. Comoros
141. Lesotho
142. Nigeria
143. Uganda
144. Senegal
145. Haiti
146. Angola
147. Djibouti
148. Tanzania (United Republic of)
149. Côte d'Ivoire
150. Zambia
151. Gambia
152. Rwanda
153. Malawi
154. Sudan
155. Afghanistan
156. Guinea
157. Ethiopia
158. Sierra Leone
159. Central African Republic
160. Mali
161. Burkina Faso
162. Liberia
163. Chad
164. Guinea-Bissau
165. Mozambique
166. Burundi
167. Niger
168. Congo (Democratic Republic of the)
169. Zimbabwe
Source: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/

Notice how the US is number 4 in that department?