Business Week - U.S. is heading toward becoming a "Third World country

[cthrumatrix]

Take a ruler out of your desk drawer, lay it down on top of some economic trend graphs, and extend the lines out to 2015. What you're seeing is one vision of what lies ahead for the U.S. as China and India rise, and it ain't pretty. Three million U.S. manufacturing jobs have been lost in the past half-decade, so by the ruler method 6 million more will go poof in the coming 10 years. The U.S. merchandise trade deficit with China has been growing 20% a year, so the ruler says it should surpass a trillion bucks by 2015. By straight-line projection, China stands to trounce Detroit in autos and Silicon Valley in infotech, while India captures software and high finance. That would leave Americans to export raw materials, colony-style, and give each other haircuts. No wonder Paul Craig Roberts, a senior fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution, says that the U.S. is heading toward becoming a "Third World country."

http://biz.yahoo.com/special/challenge05_article1.html

The world's superpower to becoming a 3rd world country???? How can anyone suggest that???

Look at the US issues:
-----------------------
* Social safety nets under atack &/or to be bankrupt (govt control)

* Jobs shipped abroad for "lower wage" countries (govt permission)

* Zero "energy planning" leaving us extremely dependent on foreign oil (again - govt planning)

* Our currency losing value becuase our trade deficit is only rising due to greater oil imports at higher prices.

* And you have the consumer "tapped out"...all mortgaged to the hilt.

* oops...and you have the housing bubble to come

* national bankruptcy laws passed



Take this another step..is the govt going to sit back and take the

heat for all of the above ...no way. Politicians were responsible for

much of the above (CAFTA, NAFTA, medicare prescription bill, soc sec

suprlus spending, tax breaks to corps while middle class eats it).


911 had zero to do with much of the above...in fact it was an "enabler

for the Patriot Act".


American's are waking up. Ask the 11,000 people that stood in line

for 400 jobs in Oakland yesterday. America is going to go through

massive changes. This is what happens when corporations "run our

world".

[enki23]

1. the editors of business week say that with a twinkle in their eyes

.

[cthrumatrix]

2. the new darlings are China and India .... US is old news

[bpilgrim]

49. save millions of jobs OUTSOURCE YOUR CxO's!!!

http://media.globalfreepress.com

peace

[EVDebs]

93. Not to mention saving Millions of $ ... what's the ratio

of chiefs to indians (pardon the pun) these days, anyway ?

[stevedeshazer]

32. They have wanted it to happen for decades

If you listen closely, you can hear the drops of drool hitting their Gucci shoes and their fancy lighters as they fire up their Cuban cigars.

[On the Road]

91. Business Week Doesn't Want This to Happen

They're part of the old liberal business consensus, not the robber barons.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Ok, ok haven't some of us been sying this

so why does he hate freedom? :sarcasm:

[loftycity]

86. Nadibrzezinski, this is really interesting --I think you will like it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Money_Masters

The Federal Reserve System is an independent central bank. Although the President of the United States appoints the chairman of the Fed and this appointment is approved by the United States Senate, the decisions of the Fed do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive branch of the United States government.

According to the United States Constitution, the U.S. Congress has the power and responsibility to coin money and set its value. In the 1913 Federal Reserve Act, Congress delegated this power to the Federal Reserve. The constitutionality of this type of action has been controversial many times in the United States, most notably in the early 19th century when Congress chartered the Bank of the United States. Although the constitutionality of the Federal Reserve system has not been a topic of recent judicial or legislative controversy, it has been the target of some who strongly distrust the delegation of power to an unelected and what they see as an unaccountable body

[cthrumatrix]

89. read the "Creature From Jeckyl Island"... all about how the Fed

was created...here is a link...you can listen to the author a bit

http://www.wealthunlimited.citymaker.com/page/page.cfm/creature

it will OPEN many eyes

[loftycity]

90. Thanks ...cthrumatrix I think this is at the crux of all the bs that is

going on.
If you know about how banking works. You just take on a completely different perspective on all that is happening to us and the world.

[DBoon]

4. Michale Lind in "Made in Texas" said just this

the whole point of the Bush republican party if to turn the US into an impoverished resource colony, run by a wealthy elite and with masses of uneducated slave labor doing the work.

Along with the 3rd world economy, we will have a 3rd world military dictatorship and 3rd world corruption.

[me b zola]

33. Spot on

That is exactly what I see as part of their plan for world domination.


A global plutocracy.

[Richard Steele]

5. It's practically a done deal.

And I honestly believe that the "conservatives" have done it deliberately.

The China train is coming , with it's horn blaring...
And the NeoCons have parked the USA on the track, and flattened all the tires.

[graywarrior]

6. It's been in the works for years.

[cthrumatrix]

10. obviously it has been planned....this is why they didn't care about

all the funding issues for soc sec and medicare etc...

it's criminal

[Skink]

8. We could always take up arms....

Worked before.:silly:

[Richard Steele]

9. And then, if we win....

...we will be a FREE and Democratic "third world nation".

Our coming collapse is ECONOMIC, shooting people isn't gonna stop it.

[cthrumatrix]

11. however.... they know we know.... and that's the dangerous part

clearly they have been planning for the awakening of the sheeple

at some point...you can assume they would do "ANYTHING" to create

a "controlled collapse" as opposed to daily marches on DC

[Richard Steele]

17. And they have already proven many times over...

...that they are capable of ANYTHING.

"Anything is possible with Commander Cookoobananas in charge"

[Gay Green]

50. And now they're pouring sugar in the gas tank.

.

[formerrepuke]

7. ...and there's the anti-science pResident who thinks creationism

should be taught in schools. I'm sure that nobody in the leadership of China or India holds fast to the creationist mythology... or any other country, for that matter.

[killbotfactory]

12. globalists don't care about america or it's ideals

they just want money, and they don't make enough when tide raises all boats.

[cthrumatrix]

13. and since they own our politicians --- we are the guinea pigs

[bribri16]

14. The wealthy can invest in those other countries and live at ease in US

The workers and the poor have no such options except to make it might uncomfortable for the wealthy.

[pnorman]

15. But the rest of the article sends a mixed message.

Here's what immediately follows that first paragraph:
Now put away the ruler, because real life rarely goes in straight lines for long. Remember the predictions about Japan's coming dominance in the 1980s? Or how Britain was called the sick man of Europe in the 1970s? Again today, the world economy may be on the verge of changes that will twist current patterns beyond recognition.

The rise of China and India will be better for the U.S. than the direst predictions hold -- yet worse than the Panglossian projections of boosters in America and Asia. On the upside, American consumers will clearly benefit from the availability of inexpensive goods and services. American shareholders of well-positioned multinationals will enjoy higher profits. And Americans employed in successful U.S. export sectors will benefit because China and India will buy more Western-style goods and services -- from cosmetics to jets to banking -- as they get richer and increase their consumption.
>
>

This is most likely the Paul Craig Roberts article referred to in the first paragraph: http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts08092005.html

I think that "straight line projection" is quite valid (and alarming) UP TO A POINT, but if we try to "force" evidence to fit, we may end up make fools of ourselves.

pnorman

[cthrumatrix]

16. oooh goodie...we get to "import cheaper made goods" with currency

not worth a damn....(sarcasm off)

[matt819]

18. I've been saying this for years, but nevermind

On the technology/jobs side of things, one of the old saws is that even when we ship jobs overseas, we still maintain the technological edge by designing and engineering those things that are made overseas, whatever those things are.

As it turns out, the Chinese, Indians, and others are perfectly capable of undertaking the engineering themselves, thereby depriving the US of that last bastion of unique expertise.

On top of that, here we've been in the US over the past couple of decades believing firmly that we, that is, American business, are just waiting for the development of a middle class in China and India (and elsewhere, but those two account for 2/3 of the world's population) so that we can tap into those markets and sell US goods there. Whoops. We exported jobs to those countries, and those folks now have the capacity to produce whatever it is they need without US support. The further irony is that the middle class in India (and, for all I know, in China as well) far exceeds, in terms of sheer numbers, the middle class in the US. Indeed, the Indian middle class may very well exceed the entire population of the US. And until the early 1980s they spent their energies developing their industries indigenously and taking advantage of foreign education to achieve those objectives. Now Indians trained here are returning to India. Whis is all well and good. My point is that the need for US support and investment is almost certainly limited.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, US businesses are in a race to the bottom with demands for low-priced goods in part due to the real decline in wages over the past 20 years.

And I haven't even touched on the economic risk of China stopping its purchase of US debt or the situation that might arise if China needs to go shopping in the US agriculture market for grain and is able to pay a premium for that grain, over and above what US food producers are willing to pay.

[cthrumatrix]

21. funny thing....WE can see this....so could OUR POLITICIANS and voted for

our demise....it's as clear as day.

Ask Joe Biden about his "bankruptcy vote"

[Dogmudgeon]

19. The "Pump-and-Dump" scenario

Once the financial community sucks every last penny from the American worker and puts us into hock with every money lender available, it will be able to depend on its friends in the Government to repudiate the debt and hunker down for a generation or more of isolationism. In other words, the debt will magically disappear, although we'll be just as poor. It will be a neat way of transferring all capital from the workers to the rich, and blaming it on foreigners.

Although it might seem suicidal to leave all that American capital in foreign hands, the result of a debt repudiation and border lockdown will be to render that capital worthless; there will be no loss of "real" property, though people who are "heavily leveraged" on paper will be S.O.L. When the financial system is destroyed here, the labor will still be intact; the survivors of the P&D will be able to hire at rock-bottom prices, creating enormous new capital wealth by exploiting starving people.

What it will do, in essence, will be to allow the United States to become a high-tech feudal society, where survival requires following orders, and where a dollar's worth of work is paid at a penny's rate.

We're seeing the start of it now. Just the start. The destruction of the information tech sector went so easily that they have been emboldened in their plans.

I am not at all sure of the timing of this scenario, and I also don't think it will proceed smoothly. It will depend on a flood of propaganda, and probably require the destruction and re-construction of the Internet, which is already a key part of our economic system.

Coming with the end of cheap oil, an epoch of dramatic climate instability, and an era of lethal international hostility, there will be tremenous pressure for such a scenario to be implemented.

Well?

--p!

[cthrumatrix]

22. I call it "wealth transfer" by design --- our politicians screwed us

[AngryAmish]

26. Why would we repudiate the debt?

Our debt consists of Treasury Bills. T-Bills are paid back in dollars. We can always print more.

But since you know the future, can you answer me a question? Who runs bartertown?

[cthrumatrix]

29. World Bank and IMF (with Wolfowitz ...hmmmm co-inkdink) would step in

and absolve US debt....not personal debt.

Of course the US would have to give up rights to land and resources since this is "collateral".

Read Confessions of an Economic Hitmen.... now we could be the needy.

[Dogmudgeon]

55. It depends on who is calling the shots

The scenario I wrote about assumes a nationalist effort. Of course, if the world financial system has a way to trump the strictly American interests, then the feudalization would work differently. Either way, someone would end up with control. But given the tendancy of people not to be nearly as sheep-like as the powerful would like, none of these power-grab scenarios are likely to proceed smoothly.

I "favor" (think they're most likely) the USA nationalist scenarios because it would make feudalization in the USA much easier to accomplish, and I think that would be the main concern of the very most powerful players. But there are many scenarios I may have overlooked, too.

I don't think there is any particular Grand Conspiracy -- it's mainly groups of people conspiring, and they inevitably get in each others' ways. But they can still do enormous damage. The big players know that this "damage" can be played to their advantage.

--p!

[Dogmudgeon]

54. That's a variant

Printing-press economics is a variant on debt repudiation, but it doesn't take down enough creditors. I'm talking about declaring that "we" don't owe anyone anything, all at once. It's similar to running up huge credit card bills, then filing for bankruptcy (a process now reserved for business owners and rich people).

WTF is bartertown, and what's with the attitude?

--p!

[Maple]

20. EVERYBODY has told you this!

Me from the first day I was on here, to Friedman's Flat World and a thousand others in between. And been soundly thumped for our efforts.

It's globalization....not a local American problem.

And yes, there will be displacement until things stablilize again...a new equilibrium. A world-wide one.

But 'fighting it', and with old mantras like 'make the rich pay' and 'evil corporate masters' against 'the poor working man' simply won't work. It is not a PLOT folks. It's a natural evolution for our planet. One world. One race...the human one. No borders.

Globalization is taking place, and will continue to do so, whether you personally like it or not. So you have to deal with it.

Now whether you deal with it via a Republican or a Democratic president is up to you...THAT part is local. But it's kind of like a 'when life hands you a lemon, make lemonade'...on a grand scale.

But denouncing it with slogans from some 1930s worker's movement simply won't do.

Brain over brawn...innovation....use yer heads, not old slogans and outdated ideology.

[cthrumatrix]

25. do you think 911 is part of "globalization"..?

[Maple]

27. Of course it is

Not only has the rest of the world dealt with 'terrorism' for years, but all the old ...and current...foreign policy goofs are coming home to roost.

911 didn't happen just out of the blue because some guy in a cave got bored one day...there was a reason for it.

And people finally found a way to bring it to your attention...simple complaints were ignored for years.

Fixing it is relatively easy. And then 'terrorism' won't be a problem anymore, and you can get on with your lives.

[Why Syzygy]

35. One race?

The human one? WTF does that mean?

[Maple]

38. Yes we are all one race

The human race.

Skin color is as irrelevant as hair color.

And eventually we'll all be brown.

Color is just another artificial 'barrier'

[Why Syzygy]

43. ic

Hitler believed "we" were all blonde and blue eyed. Same concept?

That sounds eerie. Maybe it's just me.

Humanity IS. No doubt. I have no problem with a variety of color tones.

[Maple]

46. It's in plain English

the HUMAN RACE.

And that we'll all eventually intermarry and be brown.

There is nothing in there about one color dominating another.

Skin color is as irrelevant as hair color.

Hitler, a man with brown hair and brown eyes, believed a lot of strange things.

There is only ONE race...the human race. The rest is rubbish, scientifically speaking.

How many ways do you want me to say it??

[Why Syzygy]

61. Of course we're "humans" / Race

I agree skin color is irrelevant. However. If the color meld hasn't happend in a billion years, in fact doesn't science support the opposite, then why would it happen now? Surely not in our lifetime, even if possible.

I don't even get your point. The beauty would be for all colors to come together as one. Not on a color scale (impossible), but as a united rainbow.

EOM

[Maple]

65. There's a reason for that

Many countries in the world have been isolated for thousands of years...sailors in ports produced kids that were left behind to a miserable life as a 'half breed'...and interracial marriage was banned in most places until just recently.

But today, people are intermarrying at a great rate...and considering we go from deep black to ghostly white with a few other colors in between, I assume that someday we'll all be a nice brown.

Hawaii had a lot of interracial mixing, and they're beautiful.

I hope the same happens to us all.

[bpilgrim]

48. it's an OLD story that's fer sure, and slogans are badly needed especially

in this global media age!

save millions of jobs OUTSOURCE YOUR CxO's

psst... pass the word :->

peace

[Maple]

51. Actually it's an entirely NEW story

Death to walls, barriers and protectionism.

Yes to the rest of the world.

[katsy]

62. Is it your opinion....

that our formidable multi-national corporations are forging ahead their agenda of globalization for the well-being of the human race?

[Maple]

66. Only Americans

worry about plots by multinationals.

The UN, Kyoto, peace-keeping, WHO are all part of globalizing...as are millions of small and medium sized businesses in all parts of the world. Not to mention universities and all the other things that exist.

Corporations are only one tiny part of the whole. They don't, and won't rule anything.

[katsy]

67. I referred to no "plot" by multinationals.

We're not talking about a soap opera here where Americans are trying to foil the heroic globalization advocates.

And you didn't answer my question. Do multi-national corporations have the interests of the human race at heart? Is that your contention?

[Maple]

68. I've never said anything about

multinational corporations saving the planet either.

They're just corporations, a giant committee. Not the UN.

[katsy]

69. And what role does the UN play...

in the subject matter at hand? Which, btw, concerns the American Economy.

[Maple]

70. The American economy

is globalizing. Many things are already global...including the UN...and your universities, and entire sections of your economy.

The point is, it's not just corporations that are involved...and the 'American' economy is now part of the 'world' economy.

Same as everybody else's.

You're not competing with people in your home town anymore, or in a large US city...you're competing with London, Tokyo, Beijing, New Delhi... as they are with you.

[katsy]

71. How competitive are we?

Is there a level playing field?

Can any American simply pick up, move to England, Germany, China, India et al and just get a job because we're now globalized?

Are we "lifting everybody's boat"?

Is this globalization having a positive effect in fighting famine, child labor, and worker's rights?

If the American economy is now part of the "global" economy... which parts of the U.S. Constitution will we have to dismantle?

Will individual U.S. states now be subject to lawsuits by the WTO?

Can we just chuck the Constitution and our sovereignty now?

Can you name ONE country that has embraced economic globalization to the extent that the U.S. has... without ANY social safety net in place for its citizens AND without a strong education structure in place to train its future workers?

Is this an orderly globalization that benefits everyone? Let's start with China and how well globalization is working there for the women and children in sweatshops.

Stop confusing committees, organizations or task forces like the UN, Kyoto, Universities, WHO with economic globalization.

[Maple]

76. At the moment, not very

but then the US hasn't embraced nearly as much of globalization as many other countries. Many barriers remain.

Of course there isn't a level playing field yet..the process is still ongoing and will be for some time. And it's an uneven process to begin with because some sectors move quickly, others don't. Some can globalize easily, others cannot.

Many Americans have jobs around the world. Just as some people from around the world have jobs in America. Someday you won't need passports or visas either...but that's difficult at the moment because of Bush and his homeland stuff.

Mmm no, you're not lifting anybody's boat. Did you expect to? There are 191 countries in the world...the idea is to work together.

Yes, globalization is having a positive effect on all those things...heck even people in China are going on strike and demanding better pay. That was bound to happen as their economy boomed.

Lots of people have constitutions, and nobody is chucking them as yet. Yours is in more danger from Bush than globalization.

How long did it take Americans to go from the Triangle shirt factory to well paid union members of today? Did you expect the Chinese to do it overnight...especially coming from where they were?

Nation-states are a relatively new thing in the world, and they may well be temporary. A passing fad as it were, historically speaking.

How you respond to it is up to you...your social safety net and education are decided by you, not the rest of the world. India and China don't have safety nets, but they do push education. Each country is different....another thing that will even out eventually. Both countries would be helped by pensions, but that's one of many things on a long list. Every country has a list.

No of course it won't be orderly! What major movement in history was EVER orderly?? Chaotic is more like it...it's massive change after all.

Globalization is the word used for all of it....education globalization,political globalization, health globalization, engineering globalization, food globalization.....it's a shorthand for all of it.

Economic globalization alone involves a thousand things...airlines, agriculture, water resources, manufacturing standards, roads and other infrastructure, food distribution.....much less all the other things.

[katsy]

79. Am I correct to state that you find little concern...

with how globalization is being inflicted upon laborers or the secrecy with which a few people (IMF) impose economic policy upon the many?

I believe the issues confronting the world because of globalization are somewhat more complex than the answers you have given me or the thought you've given to the downside of globalization.

For instance, show me one country that has fewer barriers to free trade than the U.S. Examine the barriers the two biggest beneficiaries of globalization: China and India have erected and cite your sources.

Also, one of the MAIN arguments used by globalization pundits is that globalization will "lift everyone's boat"... well it has in China and India. Unfortunately, China is not allowing it's citizens to participate in their good fortune. But they are ramping up militarily. And as for India... they even have a good little sideline business cropping up where they sell our personal info for profit. Address the Mexican corn farmers whose business, once thriving, have been bankrupt by globalization. So what's up here? Simply saying it'll all even out in the end is NOT a plan nor is it acceptable to those newly impoverished people at the wrong end of the globalization gunpoint.

Seriously, how is it that there are more than 100 million more people living in poverty today because of globalization (at the same time that wealth has risen 2.5% annually worldwide)? Is wealth is channeled into the pockets of the few? Can globalization work as a "one-size fits all" policy?

Here's a few good links to review before answering my questions. I'm sure you have links of your own also and I'd be happy to read anything that supports your declarations.

http://www.fertilefield.org/articles/archives/000006.html

http://www.globalenvision.org/index.php?fuseaction=library.main


Personally, I'm of the opinion that a market-controlled globalization effort will not create the utopia you envision.

[Maple]

80. I have little concern

with arguments against globalization.

It's been taking place for many years...it will continue to take place... whether individuals like it or not.

Of course globalization is more complex than what I've written here!! This is a chat site, not a classroom.

Many countries are much further along the route than the US...the US has barely started. Americans, in fact, are being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century because of a multitude of preconceived notions. None of which work anymore

You just want to argue and protest about this with someone. I understand that. But I work with it every day. I know the reality. Protest all you want. It's already in place.

Everyone's boat will be lifted...but by a joint effort...not just an American one.

You don't have accurate info about China, India or even Mexico...you are simply trying to argue with me personally about a shift in the world economy. That won't change the world I'm afraid

Of COURSE there is no plan!!...we've never done this before!

And I'm afraid the planet doesn't care if it's 'acceptable' to you.

No one is living in more poverty today because of globalization...poverty has noticeably decreased in my lifetime in fact...and my lifetime is small in historical terms.

I said nothing about Utopia...I said globalization. Utopia is a philosophical concept that has nothing to do with the real world.

I also said nothing whatever about 'market-controlled'. You are bringing old beliefs to the paradigm shift...and that simply won't work.

[katsy]

83. Your disparaging characterization of the arguments I set forth....

adds nothing to this discourse.

Stating that "many" countries are farther along blah blah without citing support for your argument doesn't strengthen your position.

I've given you some of the sources I've used to form my opinion and many of those sources have served to raise more questions in my mind. These sources have generated VALID questions in my mind regarding the real force behind globalization. It is NOT the UN. It is NOT Kyoto. It is NOT Universities. It is NOT WHO. The power behind globalization does NOT come from these social entities... it is driven by a select group of multinational corporations whose concern is their bottom line NOT people. If globalization is implemented in a manner that serves the economic interests of the FEW... what makes you conclude that the MANY are going to cooperate?

I didn't come here with a "rah rah we are the world" attitude about globalization and to paint a pretty picture of a planet with only one race - the human one (a fine, but utopian concept at this time). You seem to support globalization without any sincere and serious examination of it's impact on people whether good or bad. You totally ignore the human and environmental costs of globalization.

I asked you if a one-size fits all policy of globalization is wise given the local economies or poor vs. rich nations and you attack.

As far as people living in poverty... I have given you sources with these numbers and you tell me about your "personal" and highly emotional opinion. What is that about? I gave you a source which gives examples of how globalization has wiped out Mexican corn farmers and you tell me I don't have accurate info. Where's YOUR source for that statement?

It would be helpful to apply some method of measuring the successes or failures of globalization.

You happily state: " Of COURSE there is no plan!!...we've never done this before!" Well, let me ask you this... how does that square with the diverse cultures on this planet? What happens if, for example, the Middle East or Venezuela or just about any country comes back at us and tells us to shove our globalization where the sun don't shine? Do we go to war? Impose sanctions? Starve the country until they give in? What in the hell are you talking about when you say there's no PLAN????

Telling me that this "planet" doesn't "care" about what's acceptable to me is a rather childish statement. We were discussing globalization and I'm questioning the policies surrounding it's implementation. If you can't have a valid, adult debate about that without attacking... continue on with your empty rhetoric and I'll ignore it.

[bpilgrim]

73. the rich gett'n richer & the poor gett'n poorer is very old

it's new in the sense of us getting workers protections after fighting and dying for them but looks like things are heading back to the OLD school fast.

SUPPORT WORKERS RIGHTS - OUTSOURCE YOUR CxO :bounce:

peace

[Maple]

78. Well that was your choice

'upward mobility' is a hallmark of America after all.

Not like the England of yore, where you eventually died in the class you were born in.

[bpilgrim]

88. that was our FIGHT

and globalization is turning back the hands of time

peace

[hankthecrank]

23. Wall mart Work Camps

You can sell your soul to the company store.

You can live outside the doors.

You always be welcome at Wall mart as long as the man has your soul.

Just never you mind and get back to work!!!!

Oh yes and you better have a smile next time!!!

Put that item back on the shelf you didn't work enough for that!!!

[Maple]

28. And it doesn't involve Wal Mart either

Cheezus...whatever happened to the boast about 'good ol' American know-how'?

[sinkingfeeling]

24. Yes, we're going to be right about this just like we were about

invading Iraq. Alot of good it will do us to say, "told you so".

[cthrumatrix]

30. We have the questions to ask "our politicians" starting N OW

this is how we treat both parties...they hung the country out to dry.

[Why Syzygy]

31. "Consumers" aren't the only ones tapped out

Who do you think owns "government" land? All sold. To foreign interests. They'll want it I think.

Prepare to survive.

[_TJ_]

34. Did you know that disco record sales were up 400% for the year ending 1976

If these trends continue...Ayyyyy!!!

[phusion]

36. We need to teach self-sufficieny on a neighborhood level...

That's the only thing that's going to save our asses from starving in our own homes without any heat.

Community and roof-top gardens, co-op livestock programs, small scale energy initiatives (solar, wind), lots of bicycles, and a general turning away from corporate America.

We need to be able to run our own lives and rely on each other and stop being slaves to this ugly, manipulative corporate structure that's about to crash in on our heads.

[Maple]

39. No bunkers, no walls

no 'victory gardens'.

You've been preaching competition for eons...so get out there and compete.

[lanlady]

37. read the whole article

It's not at all pessimistic where the US is concerned. It's trying to look at different points of view, concluding that it's up to America whether it leads the world or withers away to 3rd world status.

[natrat]

40. oligarcghy

this country grew and prospered on cheap raw materials. That time is done. Robber barrons in the 20s owned everything while okies in the dustbowl had nothing. Happened once no reason why it won't happen again. Was the middle class an historic abberation? As HST said before he died -big darkness come soon

[Maple]

41. well with that attitude

bunkers are the only thing left for the US...hmmm?

[natrat]

52. no

just pointing out that there may well be a small group of extremely powerful people hell bent on taking as much as possible from the rest of us. You dont have to look far to see that it's beginning; so the more people recognize that there are some really bad apples in the mix the better. no?

[Maple]

53. Paranoia is a killer

Globalization is world wide...nothing to do with Bush or PNAC.

They may want to try and grab as much as possible, but they are small potatoes on the world scene.

[Cleita]

42. No kidding! What took Business Week so long to figure that out?n/t

[Wizard777]

44. But Halliburton is becoming a superpower!

I think their bonuses for over billing and price gouging is more than enough proof that they are slapping the Pentagons Little Bitch Asses Around. So when will America come to the defense of and rescue OUR Pentagon?

[cthrumatrix]

45. WE at DU have to understand that this "beyond politics"

divide and conquer has gotten us here

[Maple]

47. It IS beyond politics

and beyond America.

And waaaaay beyond local ideologies and beliefs.

[Disturbed]

56. Resistance is futile.

Globalization and Capitalism are unstopable forces.

Don't worry. Be happy.

[Maple]

57. Resistance IS futile

but globalization and capitalism aren't the same thing.

And if you want to be happy....work smart.

[bpilgrim]

74. we'll see

they said the same thing in the 20s

peace

[Maple]

77. And what happened then?

You invoked protectionism...and had yourselves a jolly little Depression....with 25% unemployment.

Wanna take that fork in the road again?

[loftycity]

81. The Federal Reserve is a private institution that caused the

depression. The Fed tightened the money supply. For the obvious reason. For more concentration of wealth and to reap in real estate to re-sell again.
To this day none of know who is sitting on the Fed Reserves board.
Could make some good guesses.
Going Global is about concentration of wealth -- the world bankers bottom-line.
The globalization of the world is much more sinister than what you have posted here.

[Wizard777]

60. Who knew that the greatest threat the Pentagon could ever face wouldn't

be from a foreign government or even a terrorist cell? But a Multinational Coporation with America represenatives in the White House. They are providing logistical support to our troops in Iraq. They are also conducting business with our enemies in Iran. That there is talk of attacking. So we go Right and attack Iran. Syria go's right and attacks our troops in Iraq. Turkey goes south and attacks the Kurds. Business will be booming for Halliburton. That much is certain.

[Blue_Tires]

58. ttt n/t

[tlsmith1963]

59. And This is Why the Neocons Need to Be Defeated...

...they are taking our futures away. We need another FDR to save this country, not war-mongering psychos!

Tammy

[WLKjr]

63. Bush bankrupted everything he ever managed.

He has almost done it to the US, give it another 2 years.

[AX10]

64. By 2008, not much of America will be left.

:cry:

We have fallen badly in the last few years. How the HELL could this have happened.

[pitohui]

72. haha the socialist business magazine

that's what they called it when they ran the headline in the 80s, "how jimmy lee got $10 million to lose gulf oil"

they can't completely p. off their customers but the folks over there know what's going on

of course that $10 million would be like $100 million today...

[kittykitty]

75. Lou Dobbs has been pointing this out daily.

He reveals the demise of the economy, but unfortunatly offers no remedys. But I guess it's enough just to expose what is happening.

[NoSheep]

82. I'm bragging-I said it 2 yrs ago. I figured out communism too. And blue

jeans.

[kodi]

84. the rich are parasites who don't give a shit about the US. its just a host

they will sell america off a chunk at a time as long as they maintain their lifestyle.

revolution's coming folks, get ready and be prepared, because its going to get real ugly in the next 15 years.

[idlisambar]

85. This cracks me up

The beginnings of the new Asian opportunities are already apparent. As China modernizes, it needs more of the high-tech stuff the U.S. specializes in. Tech accounted for 22% of U.S. exports to China last year, up from 14% a decade earlier. American culture is a highly successful export to Asia. Such icons as Baywatch, The Apprentice, and American Idol have been licensed to satellite broadcasters in China and India. And America's financial giants like American Express Co. (NYSE:AXP - News) are positioning themselves to provide sophisticated products and advice ranging from mortgages to brokerage accounts to retirement planning.

An economy based on Baywatch reruns, sounds like a plan....:crazy:

[xchrom]

87. ''tech'' is switching to india.

china won't need the u.s. for that.

corporatism is the new political reality -- not globalization -- globalization is the step child of corporatists -- and there are too many examples of how western conceptualized globalization fails us to mention.

america is refusing to look at the brutal reality it's creating for itself by refusing to admit that it needs ALL of it's jobs -- from the simplest shoe maker to the most advanced bio-engineer.


any country to depleting itself of economic diversity is creating the road map to disaster -- i.e. the notion that goods will stay cheap enough coming from china to benefit an american worker on the economic skids is simply lunatic reasoning.

[EVDebs]

92. Ah, the fruits of globalization and the concentration of wealth

'You can have great wealth or a democracy, but you cannot have both'
Louis Brandeis

[shanti]

94. aw jeez

i've been posting this for years. NOW they find this out??

[Blue_Tires]

95. i also saw this coming ever since bush came to power