Is the United States a Third-World Nation? (video)
Michael Lewis, author of the new book "Boomerang," says the United States and many European nations suffered a moral failure that led to economic collapse. Lewis insists that the U.S. economic situation will get much worse before it gets better.
According to Lewis, the optimistic scenario is "slow growth, high unemployment" for an extended period. Otherwise prepare for shocking financial collapses, e.g., banks and even governments (for example many U.S. states and cities have made unsustainable contracts with public employee unions--California is the poster child for these kinds of excesses). Unfortunately, the only way to correct things in a democracy appears to be through crisis--when the pain gets bad enough that almost everyone realizes "something" must be done and the voters will elect those who will do the "hard" things that must be done to "right the ship." In short, we can either face the truth and do the necessary things to correct the situation which will mean short-term pain for long-term gains. If we are unwilling to have a decade of pain, we can only look forward to a century of decline. See also "That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back" by Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum.
According to Lewis, the optimistic scenario is "slow growth, high unemployment" for an extended period. Otherwise prepare for shocking financial collapses, e.g., banks and even governments (for example many U.S. states and cities have made unsustainable contracts with public employee unions--California is the poster child for these kinds of excesses). Unfortunately, the only way to correct things in a democracy appears to be through crisis--when the pain gets bad enough that almost everyone realizes "something" must be done and the voters will elect those who will do the "hard" things that must be done to "right the ship." In short, we can either face the truth and do the necessary things to correct the situation which will mean short-term pain for long-term gains. If we are unwilling to have a decade of pain, we can only look forward to a century of decline. See also "That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back" by Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum.
Tweet Follow @johnmpoole
