Can America Survive a Catastrophe?

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LaserWraith

Level 1
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Feb 24, 2011
497
Can America Survive a Catastrophe?


Japan has experienced one of the worst earthquakes in recent history, the Middle East is in flames and turmoil, the threat of a war in that region becomes more of a reality by the day, China is flexing its muscle and plans to dominate Asia and the world, the US national debt is approaching 100% of the Gross Domestic Product, the annual federal budget deficit will exceed an unimaginable $1.6 Trillion and the current leader of the United States, safe in his plush bunker, is without a clue and is more interested in his re-election and the trapping of office.

President Obama either fails to understand or is deliberately oblivious to the fact that the major responsibility of those in government is to be certain a country is capable of surviving a worst case scenario such as war, massive economic downturn or a catastrophic natural disaster.

It has been predicted that California has a 99% chance of a major devastating earthquake in the next 30 years. The central part of the United States extending to the east coast, in an area that has recorded four of the largest earthquakes ever in North America, could experience a cataclysmic earthquake sometime in the next 50 years. The cost of these events may well be in the multi-Trillions of dollars.

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The wealth of the United States has always been its fallback position in order to come through wars and recessions or cope with natural disasters. The country's enormous gross domestic product (GDP) has allowed the government to spend (by reducing taxes if necessary and borrowing) whatever monies were necessary to offset the losses incurred from these events and/or to re-start the engine of the economy.

This nation has had an unlimited credit card and until recently used it somewhat wisely. As long as the United States maintained a reasonable debt to GDP ratio (less than 50%) and kept the annual budget deficit to less than 3% of the GDP, then it always had the ability to survive a tragedy of unimagined proportions.

The Obama administration and their fellow travelers in Congress appear to care little for the long term survival of this country. They are in the process of squandering the nation's wealth and thus its wellbeing in their headlong determination to "fundamentally change the country".

This, let the consequences, unintended or otherwise, be damned approach to governing will put the United States in a position where it will not have at its disposal the funding and economic activity necessary to recover from whatever overwhelming debacle the country may encounter in the future.

At the end of 2008 the total publicly held debt of the US Government stood at 65.2% of GDP. In the four years of the Obama administration the debt will increase $5.8 Trillion (equal to the entire debt incurred by the United States since its inception up to and including 2001). This will result in the country having a debt to GDP ratio of 105% by 2012, a mere 21 months from now.

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Recently the bond ratings of Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain have been downgraded (Greece to junk bond status). Not only is the entire European Union threatened with collapse because of the excessive debt and budget deficit policies of these countries, but the entire world economy. In the case of Greece the debt to GDP ratio is 125% and the annual budget deficit is 13.6% of the GDP. Greece can no longer borrow money (except at excessively high interest rates) and must turn to the European Union for a bailout in order to pay debts.

By comparison, the United States, if it remains committed to the Obama agenda, will experience a debt to GDP ratio of 100% and an annual budget deficit of 11.5% of GDP this year. This nation is becoming the next Greece.

In the event of a disaster, the United States, unlike Greece or Ireland, will not have the European Union or the IMF to turn to, where then will the monies come from if the worst occurs?

How do we pay the recovery costs associated with a catastrophic natural disaster? From whom do we borrow the money without paying a usurious interest rate and forcing the country into further decline? Can we expect our traditional allies, who will find themselves in a similar situation, to come to our aid?

As to a dramatic economic downturn, the traditional tools used to come through a recession or depression will not be available. Would the debt holders of the bonds of the United States concur with significant tax reductions to spur the economy, or would they agree to finance more debt as a stimulus?

Would the United States choose as an alternative hyper-inflation by continuing to printing more dollars in order to mitigate the debt, in a potential repeat of the devastating experience within the Weimar Republic in the 1920's? A strategy which would ultimately plunge the citizenry into a dramatically reduced standard of living, excessive unemployment and societal upheaval.

If the United States continues on its present course, these are the only choices the country will have, yet never in the history of this nation have we had an administration and a political party so willingly, and with no second thoughts, place their agenda and philosophy ahead of the survival of the United States. This may well border on treachery of the worst sort, as it violates the allegiance owed by our elected leaders to preserve and protect the long-term welfare and well-being of the people and the nation.

Ouch.
 

Watasha

New Member
Feb 8, 2011
226
Americans are more willing to help foreign countries than we are to help ourselves, that's always puzzled me & could come back to bite us if something like this ever happened. Take Katrina for example.
 

LaserWraith

Level 1
Thread author
Feb 24, 2011
497
Yes. If we were stable, then it would be fine to help others (within limits, of course). But we are now deep in debt (apparently, from what I hear, we have forgiven some of the debts others owe us in the past). We also didn't always help in the right ways. For example, take Haiti: The US sent a lot of money and stuff over there, and corrupt government officials took a lot.
 
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