Immigration isn’t going to save us either. A bunch of illegals from Mexico aren’t going to turn the US around. They will just make the US more like Mexico.

China and India will consume but I’ll bet it will be in goods that make them more efficient. Washers, dryers, dishwashers and motorized vehicles will probably be the biggest items because those things will allow the Chinese household to become more efficient, save time and thus be able to work more hours and spend more time with the family. I see them being in the same place America was in the early ’40′s and ’50′s. Modernizing those economies will make them much more efficient and wealthy which will lift us all out of this slump together.

It is not just China and India either. There will be many areas on the earth that begin to modernize their societies. That is one reason why cell phones have taken off. Communication fuels commerce not just socialization. These things all synergize towards higher standards of living. I think America’s biggest problem is that it is so wealthy that it forgot how to compete and globalization is starting to kick its tail. It will be a painful and hopefully quick adjustment but an adjustment just the same

There is also a demographic shift that is throwing a wrench into the equation. These things will be difficult, but not impossible, to overcome

The IEA (International Energy Agency) verified fact that the 800 largest conventional oil producing fields in the world are currently declining at a rate of 6% annually, and that rate will be steadily increasing says that the global economy will be SHRINKING – at least for the foreseeable future.

By the way that 6%/800 largest fields figure came from a very deep very thorough study by the IEA upon being so directed by the Western Industrialized Countries, who set up and fund it, following the cattle prod to the political anus spike of oil prices into the stratosphere.

Check this Feb. 4 article on the Arabian Business dot com website headed “Oil output could fall by 30m bpd by 2015 – Merrill (Lynch)”

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/545723-oil-output-could-fall-by-30m-bpd-by-2015—merrill

Explain how the world economy is not going to shrink as the world oil supply plummets.

Not sure what your point is. If you and your buddy Schiff (who really blew it with his decoupling call by the way) are saying that ultimately “the Asians would be better off without us”, I don’t really disagree. But in the here and now, the fact remains that when things went bad here, they went bad there. And at present, whatever their reason, it seems that they are still just as desparate to maintain the status quo as we are.

I suspect the retail jobs will not come back and some malls are going to close and some Towns will regain their hearts. Some subdivisions will fail, some business PhD’s will likely have to go back to school. Lets hope they study something useful this time. But NYC is going down.

- I love consumerism and a service economy, within reason. I don’t think I’m going to live a richer, better life by sitting on the porch with my neighbors and talking about how awful it was to be employed in that lousy consumerist economy yet wondering how we’re going to get our next meal. If you think there’s overcapacity in everything, well there’s also overcapacity in labor. If we don’t want to engage in a lot of “meaningless” commerce, then I’m not sure where half the human population is going to get its next meal.
- Most Americans (or citizens of any country) aren’t going to become cloning scientists or smart grid engineers. It’s not going to happen.
- As a matter of fact, I *do* want 4000 shows on cable every week, because while I hate 3999 of them eventually a show like the Colbert Report comes along and seems to hit my funny bone just right.
- I love Walmart, and cheap plastic products and leather goods made in China. I love economies of scale. I love globalization. These things have helped many people live more comfortable lives. $4 prescription Zocor sounds good to me. And without my LCD TV and treadmill from Walmart, I’d be FTE (fatter than ever).

Are there problems with all these things? Yes. But, we could’ve done other things to ameliorate them. We neglected to adjust elsewhere or to maintain reasonable regulations and a social safety net.
- We should’ve imposed import tariffs in proportion to the level of foreign compliance with our enviro standards. Without that, globalization has become a formula for: “take our jobs and pollute your side of the planet” (as though it won’t affect us eventually).
- We should’ve imposed tariffs on China for pegging its currency, tariffs proportional to the difference between the producer price index in both countries. That would’ve slowed down the rate of globalization in a way it would’ve remained manageable.
- Since the days of lifetime employment are long gone, employer-provided healthcare makes no sense anymore.
- The top 1% are earning much more than their predecessors of last generation, not because they’re any smarter or harder working but because they benefit more from the gains of technology and globalization. Now more than ever, highly progressive taxation would re-introduce some fairness.
- Increasing taxes doesn’t mean big government has to micromanage the spending. We can use voucher programs.

make a list of the retailers that are on life support right now and ask yourself whether or not it will matter or if people will even notice when they finally die.

Rite-Aid? Please. Pier 1? Are you kidding me? They just don’t deserve to live anymore, end of story.

if the Woolworth’s Five and Dime chain was extinctable (just made that word up) aren’t they all?

There we go again. I would recommend this analogy from Peter Schiff:
Peter Schiff’s Island Analogy

@ yodalayhoo Says:
February 8th, 2009 at 9:28 am
… third-worlders haven’t yet shown the willingness to dive into debt for an iphone or lcd TVs for the kitchen …

That’s just so amazing and amusing: “willingness to dive into debt for an iphone or lcd TV”! That’s the problem with this country. People still have no idea what hit them! Or, maybe some of them haven’t been hit hard enough yet. Oh well … the march is on … As Schiff says, the fireworks have just started. So, thanks to Bernanke, the glory days are soon to be upon us and many will be humbled in the process. :evil: