Reply #11: Sounds like deja vu all over again [View All]

* The end of cheap oil (e.g. Peak Oil)

That's what people were saying back in 1974 through about 1978. But it didn't happen then and it's not going to happen now. The market will take care of the problem eventually, by encouraging alternative energy sources. It's amazing how quickly people change their behavior when they start getting hit in the pocketbook, e.g. California electric power crisis of '02. Senator Feinstein said to let the market fix itself. She was right. Gray Davis ignored her and lost his governorship.

* The outsourcing of middle class jobs

Back in the late 1960s people were afraid their middle class jobs would be outsourced to machines. It didn't happen. People learned to operate the machines or moved up into the information economy, where they make machines do the work. Now the outsourcing Bogeymen are third-world countries. Let the jobs get outsourced to where they can be done more cheaply. We'll end up with lower priced stuff in the long run. People in places like India and Ireland need the jobs. It's natural economic evolution that the jobs move there.

No general purpose machine tools are being made in the USA any more. They're made in China and Taiwan, and you can get them for good prices.

* The collapse of the over inflated Stock Market

I don't know how many times I've heard that one in my life. This is not 1929, people. Some segments go up, others go down. The market will take care of itself in the long run.

* Having to pay off the Social Security “Trust Fund” when baby boomers retire.

Another Doomesday scenario that gets repeated every few years, with the date pushed commensurately into the future.

Now, if you were a member of the Ruling Class, wouldn’t you be a little concerned about the rise of “populist demagogues” when these hit?

There have always been crises, populist demagogues to take advantage of them, and fools to follow the demagogues. There is nothing new here.

If you were, say, a millionaire Senator of either party, whose side would you be on?

Mine, and my family's.

Democracy is not being suspended. There were some problems with the way the election of 2004 was conducted in some states and localities. They need to be fixed and those responsible held accountable.