Could the US become a third world nation?

[Dittohead not!]

Look where the USA is headed currently:

Dysfunctional government,
Widening gap between rich and poor,
Runaway unemployment,
An unaffordable health care structure,
Increasing difficulty starting a successful small business,
Waste of human resources,
Gang violence,


Add it all up, watch it all work for another decade or two, and we could wind up with a third world economy, government, and society.

 

[Redress]

Look where the USA is headed currently:

Dysfunctional government,
Widening gap between rich and poor,
Runaway unemployment,
An unaffordable health care structure,
Increasing difficulty starting a successful small business,
Waste of human resources,
Gang violence,


Add it all up, watch it all work for another decade or two, and we could wind up with a third world economy, government, and society.

You sound like my dad 40 years ago....

 

[Dittohead not!]

You sound like my dad 40 years ago....

40 years ago, 1973. No, the things I mentioned weren't half as bad then as they are now. Wages were much higher compared to the cost of living, for one thing.

Maybe your dad was on to something, but was a bit premature in his predictions.

 

[SingleCellOrganism]

40 years ago, 1973. No, the things I mentioned weren't half as bad then as they are now. Wages were much higher compared to the cost of living, for one thing.

Maybe your dad was on to something, but was a bit premature in his predictions.

Much like many commentators, they see the trend, but have a hard time identifying when the 'freak out' moment is.

Unfortunately those who don't understand history see this and say "nothing will ever change, my DAD said that X years ago"

Yup - we're heading for a collapsed USD FRN. UNARGUABLE for even an econ 101 student.

Look at M1. Look at QE. Look at the derivatives market.

 

[Velvet Elvis]

 

[RDS]

A government shutdown is 5th world and matches Zimbabwe.

 

[Wraith8]

Look where the USA is headed currently:

20 years ago I had a college teacher who claimed the US would soon be a third world country. That seems to be a common prediction from pseudo-intellectuals.

The US will decline as all superpowers have historically declined but we will still remain a major world player for decades to come.

 

[Respecthelect]

Go to Taiwan, KL, Hong Kong, etc., and tell me we aren't already a second world country and slipping fast. Barring an Iranian nuclear strike, we may never become a third-world country, but the electorate is propelling us to misery as fast as they can pull the D-lever.

 

[Harshaw]

A government shutdown is 5th world and matches Zimbabwe.

Oh, please.

 

[sangha]

40 years ago, 1973. No, the things I mentioned weren't half as bad then as they are now. Wages were much higher compared to the cost of living, for one thing.

Maybe your dad was on to something, but was a bit premature in his predictions.

1973:

Dysfunctional government = worse then - watergate was tearing the nation apart
Widening gap between rich and poor = better then than now
Runaway unemployment - worse then - unemployment was higher
An unaffordable health care structure = just as bad though fewer people were uncovered
Increasing difficulty starting a successful small business = much worse then - the economy was in the crapper
Waste of human resources = worse then - see above
Gang violence = just as bad - heroin was big back then and so were gangs. Murder rates were higher, cities were crumbling, etc

 

[RDS]

Oh, please.

I am a lifelong Democrat, but I write as a worried chief executive officer. My fear is that we are becoming a banana republic. The federal government has been forced into a partial shutdown because the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, which has been hijacked by tea-party extremists, refuses to fund a law that has already been passed, and threatens to default on the nation's debt for the first time in our history, because it doesn't like the law.

U.S. could become banana republic | SeacoastOnline.com

 

[Kobie]

The U.S. is not even remotely close to being not a first-world nation, and won't be for the foreseeable future.

 

[specklebang]

Right at this moment we are sort-of third worldly. Nonetheless, as soon as they start printing these, we'll quickly regain our status.

 

[Harshaw]

U.S. could become banana republic | SeacoastOnline.com

I say again: oh, please.

 

[RDS]

I say again: oh, please.

That is your fellow American who is a hands-on practical person and he knows what he is talking about.

 

[Canell]

I don't think so. America is still full of smart people.

 

[Harshaw]

That is your fellow American who is a hands-on practical person and he knows what he is talking about.

No, it's one guy's hyper-partisan opinion, and it also doesn't validate your asinine claim that the government shutdown makes us a "fifth-world" country akin to Robert Mugabe.

 

[RDS]

No, it's one guy's hyper-partisan opinion, and it also doesn't validate your asinine claim that the government shutdown makes us a "fifth-world" country akin to Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe has a plus point - he has yet to shut down his govt.

 

[Harshaw]

Mugabe has a plus point - he has yet to shut down his govt.

Yeah, triple down on the juvenility.

 

[RDS]

Yeah, triple down on the juvenility.

You seem to go bananas when I say USA is about to be a banana republic.

 

[Harshaw]

You seem to go bananas when I say USA is about to be a banana republic.

Pointing out the dumbass nature of comments isn't "going bananas."

 

[uncleray]

Look where the USA is headed currently:

Dysfunctional government,
Widening gap between rich and poor,
Runaway unemployment,
An unaffordable health care structure,
Increasing difficulty starting a successful small business,
Waste of human resources,
Gang violence,


Add it all up, watch it all work for another decade or two, and we could wind up with a third world economy, government, and society.

I would like to add:
> Suppression of science by ideology.
> Adult population skill-level below international peers in literacy, problem-solving, etc.

Anyone else care to add to the list

 

[CRUE CAB]

1973:

Dysfunctional government = worse then - watergate was tearing the nation apart
Widening gap between rich and poor = better then than now
Runaway unemployment - worse then - unemployment was higher
An unaffordable health care structure = just as bad though fewer people were uncovered
Increasing difficulty starting a successful small business = much worse then - the economy was in the crapper
Waste of human resources = worse then - see above
Gang violence = just as bad - heroin was big back then and so were gangs. Murder rates were higher, cities were crumbling, etc

Negative ghostrider.
Watergate was a blip on the screen.
Poor are staying poor out of choice and government allowing and enabling it.
Unemployment, more of a nouveau euro trash type problem.
Heathcare, all hype.
Wanna open a business, do it. Not impossible.
Gang violence, its better now then in the late 80s early 90s.

 

[CRUE CAB]

I would like to add:
> Suppression of science by ideology.
> Adult population skill-level below international peers in literacy, problem-solving, etc.

Anyone else care to add to the list

Prove those two things.

 

[Dittohead not!]

1973:

Dysfunctional government = worse then - watergate was tearing the nation apart
Widening gap between rich and poor = better then than now
Runaway unemployment - worse then - unemployment was higher
An unaffordable health care structure = just as bad though fewer people were uncovered
Increasing difficulty starting a successful small business = much worse then - the economy was in the crapper
Waste of human resources = worse then - see above
Gang violence = just as bad - heroin was big back then and so were gangs. Murder rates were higher, cities were crumbling, etc

While it would be comforting to believe that your assessment is accurate, there are a few things that require some examination.
The federal government, for example. Yes, there was a major scandal. The president and VP both resigned, to be replaced by the speaker of the house, just as the Constitution provides. No dysfunction there, just a blip that was easily dealt with.
The economic woes of that era were a direct result of OPEC and its oil embargo. As soon as that was over, the economy recovered.
Gang violence has spread to the point that hardly any part of tre nation is not affected by it. In 1973, it was pretty much confined to the decaying inner cities.
Health care may have been expensive then, but the cost of it has been outpacing inflation ever since.