And with this, I have officially lost all hope

[Risen]

This was so startling to me I felt I needed to make a separate post.

Bad News For The Bailout - Forbes.com (http://www.forbes.com/home/2008/09/23/bailout-paulson-congress-biz-beltway-cx_jz_bw_0923bailout.html)

In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy. "It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

Need I say more?

I heard this today, from a story that was posted almost a week ago. That sort of comment from the treasury blows my mind to unbelievable heights in the stratosphere, for reasons that should be quite obvious. This, folks, is the end of my faith/hope that anyone involved in the current slew of issues we are facing has any real competence or integrity. I am waving the white flag and surrendering to the doom and gloom "prophecies" so many people have been making...

[Jack Flak]

I think it's funny. We can laugh about it now, right?

[reason]

I am waving the white flag and surrendering to the doom and gloom "prophecies" so many people have been making...Fortunately, your decision to stop fighting the doom and gloom prophecies will not make them any more true than before, so your surrender is inconsequential. Nice find, btw. The chambers of power are full of charlatans, but luckily for the ordinary people, it is not upon their intelligence and wisdom that we depend for prosperity and freedom, however much they would like others to believe it.

[Risen]

Fortunately, your decision to stop fighting the doom and gloom prophecies will not make them any more true than before, so your surrender is inconsequential. Nice find, btw. The chambers of power are full of charlatans, but luckily for the ordinary people, it is not upon their intelligence and wisdom that we depend for prosperity and freedom, however much they would like others to believe it.

Let me put it like this, political and financial aspects of the situation aside; For any amount of data and proof there is out there for someone to say that such and such is LIKELY to happen, there is still the possibility that it wont. I personally always stay on the side of "Well, the evidence may support that this country and series of events are leading in this direction, but that is not set in stone until they occur, and people can still take a different direction." But there comes a point when you have to assess the situation we're in and realize "Ok, we've stumbled just a weeeee bit too far down this cliff, and now we don't have the means to get back to where we were." In other words, from what I've seen over the years I personally believe its gone past the crossroads, and down the cliff. Nobody knows where its going to go in the future or how bad it could be. But, it's pretty darn certain we wont be going back up the path we just fell down to get back to Happyville. We've gone too far in one direction, and I don't see a turnaround as being possible.

Harping back to the current economic situation, theres a lot of psychology and speculation involved in in the turbulence, but the majority of economists and analysts would agree that even if we had a fair bailout plan at this point, the direction we're going in WILL NOT change, we're still headed for a recessionary/depression period and a collapse of the dollar. A decent bailout package would do nothing more than stall the inevitable. Where it goes from there is quite frankly up to the us all to decide... if we wake up and realize the truth of how bad a situation we're really in, and educate ourselves on the many (MANY) factors at play and take action to correct it.

Yet when I see these people flailing around like mentally retarded crack heads, taking action without a single shred of intelligent forethought on how important the implications of their actions are and what the best course of action is, I see that they are manifesting a course that is linearly related to what the informed among the world populace have been saying for so long. It has become a predictable phenomena which will not defect from its pattern unless a radically different force clashes against it (*cough* an informed public *cough*).

Assuming thats still a long ways off, I'd be looking at what the likely direction is and earnestly preparing for what is to come.

[YourLocalJesus]

Well, the United States are experiencing a collapse, much like every other empire have done before them. It's just my personal opinion that it would take much to reverse this trend. It might be possible to grind it to a temporary halt, but I seriously doubt that it will be possible to stop the decline and fall. Well, might be possible to try and solve it with another world war, but the rest of the world isn't really up for it, and would probably kick the U.S. in the teeth if such a thing was attempted.

Just my personal thoughts.

[ZiL]

So, the question is now: who will marry me so that I can partake of their citizenship?

[YourLocalJesus]

Why on earth would you want such a thing, ZiL? :shock:

[ZiL]

Lol, to get out of the U.S. It's the strategy some illegal immigrants use here to get citizenship. I actually know two people who have married non-citizens so that they can stay here.

[Metamorphosis]

Well, might be possible to try and solve it with another world war, but the rest of the world isn't really up for it, and would probably kick the U.S. in the teeth if such a thing was attempted.

Just my personal thoughts.

It's easy to laugh but the collapse of the United States as a superpower wouldn't be a fun time for anyone (virtually). A lot of nations benefit from us being on top.

[heart]

Lol, to get out of the U.S. It's the strategy some illegal immigrants use here to get citizenship. I actually know two people who have married non-citizens so that they can stay here.

Anyone else read: MILLENNIUM - Winners and Losers in the Coming World Order by Jacques Attali ?:D

[ZiL]

Anyone else read: MILLENNIUM - Winners and Losers in the Coming World Order by Jacques Attali ?:D

No, but lemme guess. I am one of the losers.

Heh, checked out the synopsis on Amazon, sounds cheery....