Is America going to collapse?

[Flav.F]

The reason for the U.S.' post depression boom was because it profited from ww2.
Britain and France kept getting their factories bombed to shit and beyond so they couldn't produce equipment. The U.S. on the other hand was far,far away from Europe so it's factories were sage and sound. It sold equipment to the the former superpower, the British empire, basically the world superpower titled switched from Britain to U.S.A. in ww2.
However, there isn't any war large enough to bring the U.S.A. out of the credit crunch.
It doesn't need one though, it's making steady progresss.

 

[Cheery Lunatic]

Uh, no.

We've been in waaay worse economic slumps before, and we've gotten back fine eventually (we became the "greatest" world power shortly after the Great Depression - that's irony for ya).
Granted, at our current position, we're China's *****, but things will start looking up in a bit.

 

[brodie21]

no, i think that the american economy is so linked in with the world's that it cant afford to go into a full depression. and, as for the job market, i know of a guy who got a 100k+ a year job, so if you have the needed skills you will find a job. network, call in favors.

last year when i couldnt find a job i made an account at snagajob.com and i found my current job there, granted, i work in a papa johns, but thats not bad for a college student. i also have a rafting job in the summer that pays pretty good, and its fun too.

 

[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.

 

[YarnBarf]

Frankly, I'm more worried about global water shortages, rising sea levels, and crazy weather doing us all in. Also, why don't I have any pudding?

 

[Ossian]

SNIP

Thanks for that post, especially the last part. I am getting panicked about getting older and what I should be doing, even if I should be going to school sometimes. I always have to remind myself that 21 isn't that old, sure I'm about 3 years behind other kids, but I'm going and that is all that matters, other never get the chance at all. Just keeping that in mind is the biggest hurdle.

 

[Tdc2182]

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.

You know, I may sound like a total ass hat for saying this but that honestly is very unsettling to me.

Edit: Not that I am afraid of China or India, just that I never really thought that we were as strong as we were.

 

[Tdc2182]

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.

 

[Quiet Stranger]

Yeah, I know i'm having trouble finding a job, I've been fired since October, it's tough out there

 

[ColdBlooded]

I don't think america will collapse. I live in Canada though, and wonder if america collapses, will it drag canada down too.

 

[Kumomaru]

Free markets tend to be naturally self-correcting. America will eventually bounce back. We ain't gonna collapse.

Unless we stop spending like idiots with an unlimited spending platinum card, though, we will definitely not get back to our former superpower status. Hell, probably won't anyway.

 

[Ridley the Violator]

Absolutely it will collapse, just like man and everything he has ever created.

It's downer thread day.

 

[FllippinIDIOT]

america is fine. the country will keep going, the worse that can happen at it this moment is if the tea party gets out of control, but don't worry you'll survive. and my dad is also a prophet of doom, he is scared to death by a chinese invasion

 

[dan-bri]

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.

I find it kind of naive to assume that the global economy won't collapse simply because "No one want's it too" If it crashes it crashes.
However I do agree with you that if the USA goes it will take everyone else with it eventually. I don't want to sound pessimistic or defeatist but I feel that everything can still get worse (and for a very long time) before it gets better.

 

[ryanxm]

shhhh just take the blue pill

 

[dan-bri]

Lol, if only it were possible

 

[TheXRatedDodo]

Eh, western society as we know it currently will eventually collapse, I am sure of this. Then, we shall go back to the primitive and steadily build our way back up to the level we're at now and the cycle shall repeat.

Our education is based on regurgitation rather than originality, our economy is anything but economical and our politicians are corrupt, making dumbfuck decisions or both.
Give it time, and our society shall collapse. Give it some more time and it shall rebuild. The cycle shall continue until we either press the big red button and blow ourselves up, or until the sun goes supernova.

 

[BioHazardMan]

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.

You are basically correct, we have fewer radicals here and it does seem we think relatively on the same level. We don't have the whole Anarchists thing and the Socialists thing, it's mostly Capitalism and Democracy over here thank goodness.

That's why I don't think the country can fall into complete chaos, we are just to stable.

 

[Raregolddragon]

The powers that be are moving to China and there chasing out on the old USA. Truth, honor and freedom are just words to them now. They no longer care about the quality of life for others just how much power have and lets face it they can mowdown any and all decanters in that part of the world.

No unions, the government is the back pocket of the corporation more then they are in the USA. No EPA no one real protests, no human rights, no real legal system to stop them or even hinder them. They have nothing to lose going over there and everything to gain in Asia.

You might think this is a 16 karat run of bad luck, but truth is kid the game was ringed from the start.

 

[The Long Road]

The United States is today's equivalent of the Roman Empire. The real power in the world rests in Washington, D.C. Nobody can compete, economically, agriculturally, or militarily. The rest of the world, even pseudo-nations like the EU, simply don't have the resources or coordination to out-do the US. Nobody outside the country likes to admit it, but the world marches the the beat of American drums.

However, just like the Roman Empire, if the US 'collapses', it will lead to another Dark Age. The power vacuum left by the absence of the American President will lead to massive wars to control the planet's resources, probably culminating in a nuclear exchange. Some up-and-coming military power (China, India, N. Korea) will see a chance to flex their muscles, and what started as a war of greed turns into an all-out planetary battle of attrition. Regional warlords will come out of the woodworks without the fear of US reprisal to keep them bottled up.

It's in the world's best interest to keep the United States alive, even if it looks like it might fail. The global economy has a buyer for its goods, symmetrical warfare hasn't broken out since the Korean War (by which I mean the UN peacekeeping operation in the early 50's), and the scientific community is second to none. Everybody with civilized aims can benefit from the existence of the US, and the US business strategy capitalizes on that. If anything, the US will emerge as the power center for a more united world, eventually leading to one united planet. With technology at the level it is now, and increasing at the pace it is, the age of nations 'falling' catastrophically might be gone.