Slice of Laodicea

A Russian expert was quoted in the Russian daily, Izvestia, predicting America’s decline and ultimate break-up. I absolutely concur with the man. It doesn’t even take advanced degrees and political knowledge to see that the way America was living could not continue.

I spoke recently with a young man in his 20’s who is a prime case in point. He and his apartment roommate decided not to go to college and during the last few boom years of retail worked for a big wholesale warehouse that supplies discount stores. They were getting $20 an hour plus benefits. They went out and got a very nice two-bedroom apartment where they could share rent, one got an expensive car with a big monthly payment, they went halves on a huge plasma TV for the living room (all on payments), they bought furniture and they both had multiple credit cards that supplied the pizza and extras they couldn’t afford otherwise. Both had iPhones, computer gaming consoles, and cable TV. And then. You can guess the rest of the story. The party is over. The jobs are gone, but the lease and payments for their lavish lifestyle are still there. These two are no different than millions of Americans who lived their lives on credit and helped establish an economy based on debt. The bills are now coming due and there is panic in the air. The drunken spending orgy is over, and there is going to be one doozy of a national hangover.