ForecastYes Virginia. Our generation IS robbing yours now. Wages are falling, benefits shrinking, working hours longer, vacation time is less, the environment is deteriorating, debt is increasing, most of the growth has rewarded the already wealthy, politics is degraded, and the Constitution is at risk. The Bush agenda was never for the people, but always for the Corporations (That, by definition, is called Fascism.) In fact: union busting, less job security, outsourcing, stronger CEOs, shady book-keeping, auditor's collusion, corruption, and crony capitalism ran rampant. Manufacturing jobs hemorrhaged to third-world sweat shops in what was called globalization. (See Naomi Klein's book "Shock Doctrine".) You will be competing for third-world wages. Financial instability will be evident as the run on the dollar continues, energy prices continue to rise, trade deficits get worse, housing foreclosures impact the middle class, inflation escalates, and debt is increasing. The Fed is out of weapons. The stock market could fall out of bed. The market is responding to Republican deregulation. Their bank deregulation was particularly unwise. The last two Presidential elections WERE stolen. (See Conyer's report) The next one won't be any different. The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) is dysfunctional. Any candidate that would serve the people (with, for example, peace) is disqualified. Only Kucinich dares utter such thoughts but he was easily excluded. Media, already bad, will get worse. The three Republican Commissioners of the FCC decided, with strong Bush encouragement, to further consolidate ownership. Last time they attempted this there was a massive public outcry, but Bush has promised to veto any Congressional action if there is any attempt to roll back the new standard. Yet another perk for media moguls. Less foreign reporting, hardly any investigative reporting, new legal obstacles for reporters, more classified information, less whistleblower protection, and more consolidated media. It is evident that US media keeps people distracted, exploited, subservient, misinformed, juvenile, and ignorant. Since people don't really have information to make an informed decision, there can be no democracy. Don't trust anything you hear from US media. With media complicity, the Mideast wars will disappear from your screen. The issues you care about won't get much press: i.e. healthcare, pensions, falling wages, union busting, outsourcing, offshoring, etc. What you WILL hear about is illegal immigrants (you will hear this every night), religious fervor from Republican candidates, hate speech from Republican shock jocks, If they can get you asking the wrong questions, the answers won't matter. The military-industrial complex is incredibly profitable, and it now rules. Your generation will sacrifice for endless war for empire. Climate damage will be increasingly evident: and Republicans will, as usual, be in denial. (If the arctic ice caps melt, just think... we can drill for even more oil there.) It is well established that "losses in biodiversity are occurring globally at all levels". Global warming is real and the consequences are occurring more rapidly than the climate models predict. Population pressure and lifestyle are the roots of environmental degradation. Republicans are wrong in all of their population policies. Expect resource wars, such as we are seeing in the middle east. The US reached peak oil in the 1970's and the world probably has reached a peak by now. What's going to happen when we run out of cheap gas to guzzle. The Republican War on Science will continue to introduce religion into the classroom. Creationism will get a hearing. Ideology trumps science. That's the Republican agenda for improvement of education. Some are predicting that Israel will bomb Iran. U.S carriers are off shore of Iran, and Bush can call them into action at any time. (For good reason, the Constitution authorized the Congress the power to declare War, but, really, what's to stop Bush.) Federal agencies have been populated with party hacks, and career civil servants have left in disgust. Incompetence is rampant. There won't be any press for this though. Republican sycophants will continue to be promoted to key positions. At most Federal agencies the foxes are guarding the henhouses. The US is returning to feudalism. It will build walled communities for the affluent, there will be walls along the borders to keep 'them' out, and there will be a steady increase in the population of detention camps. Massive military budgets, endless war, militarization of the country will inevietibly produce a national security state. Civil liberties are collateral damage. Wiretapping, massive datamining, RFID, large scale surveillance will proliferate. The Constitution will be all but meaningless. The final stage of many empires in history results in 'strong man' head of state. The President has expanded his power so that he can now act in secret without the need to worry about the Geneva Conventions, International Law on Torture, Habeas Corpus, Posse Commitatus, and he can freely disappear people even if they are citizens. He does not need to practice 'due process of law'. He is above the law...and the Roberts Supreme Court will likely agree with him. Congress will not be able to perform oversight because he doesn't have to tell them anything. This means that we no longer have a Constitution. Checks and balances are history because the President has more power than the King we revolted against. Because war is profitable expect more of it. Resource wars will become more frequent as climate change accelerates. The next war could be on our own soil and it can be more destructive than any of the past. As the pace of events accelerates, U.S. empire will not last long, but its continued opposition of much of the world. Bush has created a lot of ill-will. If you doubt any of this check out the bibliography. Charlie Savage's book should be on top of your reading list. Technology Forecast10 Future Shocks for the Next 10 Years Other ForecastsGore Vidal's views
The World Future Society produced this YouTube video of its top 10 forecasts for 2008.
LinksBibliographyCommon Wealth, Economics for a Crowded Planet: Jeffrey D. Sachs The Long Emergency: James Howard Kunstler Futurecast: Robert J. Shapiro Preparing for the Twenty-First Century: Paul Kennedy |