Should Americans worry about an economic collapse, or is that too dramatic?

[Philosoraptor]

Is it like shouting 'fire' in a theater to suggest that we should be preparing ourselves for a major economic collapse, or is the suggestion itself simply hysterics and histrionics?

Do you feel hard times? Are you worried? Should we even be worried?

On the one hand, economic collapse seems like a cheap cinema scenario, but with all the bad economic news, and the chatter that I personally hear all the time out here, is it a real possibility?

Maybe instead of a dramatic and sudden collapse, it will manifest itself in slo-mo, over a period of several years, a decade or more maybe, until we get used to less, and we finally stop being so wasteful and self absorbed with luxury and gadgets and gross materialism, but, I digress.

My particular personal economy collapsed many years ago, but if the rest of the nation caught up with me, we'd be truly screwed.

[Virginia Dare]

1. My question is, what is the plan when we start having a tsunami of bank failures..

that is the next thing coming. There are a large number of banks, large and small, all over the country, who are teetering dangerously. How do we get out of this without going into a Depression?

[Philosoraptor]

5. The Goodfellas are covering their asses before it hits the fan.

It looks to me like our wealthiest and cleverest overlords are grabbing all the gusto they can and covering their own asses because they know what's coming.

[cali]

2. I don't think it's overly dramatic to suggest that things could get very bad

and that it could happen either quite swiftly or in relative slo-mo. I honestly don't know how many of my neighbors will afford to heat and eat this coming winter.

[TheWatcher]

23. We are in for some very turbulent times.

Right now I live in an area of the country that has been remarkably resilient so far, but I have no idea how much longer that will be the case.

That's not good news about your neighbors, cali, but I hope they will be fine, as well as you. Yes, I know you probably need a new monitor after hearing that from me, but despite all of our differences, I do not wish the coming times on anyone.

I suspect that by September we will know just how much of the shit is going to hit the fan, and how fast.

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. IMHO, it's not an "if", it's a "when".

My answer: within the next couple of months, if not sooner. We may be in the middle of it right now.

[Ian David]

4. It won't happen until after the election.

Right now, Bush is already using "Heroic Measures" to run-out the clock.

[Pale Blue Dot]

I've used the "downward spiral" analogy.

I've been following the news closely the past couple of days and we are spinning out of control very quickly all of the sudden. The news about firings, layoffs, and huge losses is coming by the hour now. I think the Bush administration has lost control of this thing and the collapse will come before the election.

Like I said above, we may be in that collapse now.

[Virginia Dare]

9. I believe you are correct unfortunately...n/t

[Ian David]

16. We're a main-sequence economy. n/t

[JackRiddler]

Someone better tell the world bourses about the Republican preference in this.

[Philosoraptor]

7. The obedient t.v. press is furiously juggling words & figures to stall it.

This election worries me like no other ever has.

[Virginia Dare]

8. I think it's pretty much out of their control right now..

and they'll lay it all on Congress anyway.

[JackRiddler]

6. No, they should spend their humonguous stimulus checks and STFU.

[Philosoraptor]

10. I didn't get one dammit!

I'm so sub-human, I didn't even get stimulated, I don't even feel like a real Amurkan anymore.

Whatever the opposite of stimulated is, that's what I'm.

[JackRiddler]

11. Sensory deprivation. How sad.

I went to the government and they gave me a back-scratcher and a dildo.

[NightWatcher]

12. I didnt claim enough income to qualify for a stimulus check

they didnt tell us that when they promised the checks several months ago

[Virginia Dare]

15. I guess you are a bourgeois like me...

we got stifled, or maybe just stiffed?...:think:

[Phillycat]

13. Yes they should.

I am very glad we're leaving in September. I am curious and scared to see what happens here.

[dysfunctional press]

14. why worry about something that you have no power over...?

if/when it happens- we'll all be in the same leaky boat.

[Philosoraptor]

17. Does the same apply for being afraid of an asteroid all the time?

How I stopped worrying and learned to love the asteroid.

[Virginia Dare]

21. It's probably better than being totally ignorant..

what's the point in living in denial? I'd rather be prepared for something than to be totally blindsided. I'm not laying awake nights tossing and turning over it, but I do admit I'm rather anxious about the direction our country is going in economically.

[Annces]

18. I am not worried about a crash

I am a bare-bones consumer. A crash can only help at this point. We are outrageous consumers and population growth keeps going up.

I heard United is laying off 20% of its pilots. What job will they do next? Who will fly the planes.

[keep_it_real]

19. If the dollar loses its reserve currency status

The government will not be able to finance its budget and trade deficits.

[stillcool]

20. I thought we've been slo-moing

it for years already. An orchestrated 'soft' landing. But then I am totally ignorant regarding the Federal Reserves' ability to dump hundreds of millions into the Stock Market.

[Philosoraptor]

22. .................

[old mark]

24. I have had thoughts about this for a long time.

I believe is hasn't really been bad yet, this is just the very early beginning.

mark