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Partly about the trend of the debt. We as a nation, and as individuals, are consuming more than we produce. This means we enjoy a pleasant lifestyle - but we are robbing the future.
At some point, something - oil prices, more war, an economic cycle - will cause disruption. Then we'll have a lot of people destroyed financially. Things become even more interesting when we look at the effort to destroy social security, the devastation of private pensions, and the dearth of savings. We will have a large number of destitute elderly. We'll also have people who are unable to escape their debts through bankruptcy due to the new legislation.
I believe this suggests that we are about to see the destruction of the U.S. middle class, and the establishment of a permanent underclass of desperately poor people who will work until death's merciful release.
How long can it last? No one can say for sure, but I think not long. Is there a solution? Sure. Produce more than we consume for the next 30 years. But just as it is unlikely for a 300 pound couch potato to become a lean athlete, so too is it improbable that we will voluntarily change the path we are on.
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