DISQUS

ChrisWWW · 9 months ago

Our society, for better or for worse, has shifted to a focus on consumption as the driver of growth and the definition of well being. Unfortunately, our consumption was fueled by debt and our economy hasn't grown at all for decades. Now that the recent crisis has swept away any illusions we had about debt vs. real wealth, too many innocent Americans are without a job, without health insurance and without savings.

I think the government and the wealthy in this country have a responsibility to make sure increasingly large numbers of Americans aren't left to fend for themselves with no savings. After all, they were the ones who shaped and ultimately benefited the most from this debt ridden economy.

Jazz · 9 months ago

I believe (which is a far cry from "I know") that we are still a good ways from the abyss of an actual, full blown depression with people living in tent cities and shanty towns across the nation, but if it comes to that then our priorities will most certainly change. Some day people will try to sort out who caused it, etc. but for the time being lifestyles would become far more simplified.

In the end, whether it's a depression or a recession, though, I think we were long overdue for a huge correction and the various markets need to bottom out and have all of the bubbles pressed out of them. If we come out the other side in anything resembling stable shape, I only hope that we'll learn something from the experience and not just start inflating it back up again. I'm not hopefully of that, though. I imagine we'll keep up with the bad habits until we really have to sizzle in hell for a while before we learn anything.

Jim_Satterfield · 9 months ago

Jazz,

Unemployment could double, tent cities could become common and Richard Shelby, John Boehner, Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell and Eric Cantor among others will still be saying the exact same things they are saying now. So will the Republican punditocracy.

yetanothermoderatevoice · 9 months ago

With respect to the addendum, there is a catch name for the idea ...

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

rcb91320 · 3 months ago

The solution to homelessness is hemp. If we mass produce hemp for fuel, fiber, cellulose, food, and medicine, the American economy would boom within the first growing cycle! Please do your research on hemp! When you realize that hemp is the solution to America's economic problems, organize your communities to lobby your state for hemp laws. And, hemp is "marijuana". However, there are strains of hemp that are virtually THC free that are good for food, fuel, and fiber, and the fiber can be used for everything from clothing to building materials to paper and textiles that are literally as hard and harder than most steels, and if you mix the fiber with metallic fibers, you get extremely light weight, nearly indistructable materials!

The first law in America was to require farmers to grow hemp to supply our armies and communities with food, fuel, and fiber to win a war!

And here's what's interesting about hemp! If mass produced, it cleanses the air and heals the soil, the hemp seed can be cured and ground and provides the perfect sequence of amino acids so it is the perfect protein for humans to consume. The seeds are saturated in Omega 3 & 6 oils. It's high in enzymes. Hemp provides a highly nutritious food and cleans the air and, again, heals the soil. Also, it has the highest yield per acre compared to every other plant on the planet, many times over, including all trees. In other words, when it's grown in mass production, you get at least 4.5 tons more per acre of it, and it's all usable, no waste!

Mass production of hemp can be accomplished primarily on small farms, but corporations will want to monopolize on it and continue oppressing us with high prices and poor quality. So, when you organize your communities, know that it cost pennies per pound to grow hemp, including medical grade hemp ("medical marijuana", as we all know it). In other words, it costs less to grow and package a pound of medical hemp than it does a pound size bread, meaning, when you go to buy medical hemp from a farmer or store, you should only pay what, ...$2.00 per pound? Here again, watch out, the people who make billions off of "marijuana" prohibition will want to continue monopolizing upon us and charge thousands for pounds.

Anyways, if you do your research, you'll find the only solution to America's economic woes is hemp, but the corporations don't want you to know this, and our government is not helping, if anything, they, "the government", are simply an extension of the corporations as they are heavily funded by corporations.

Great thread!