Even with the propaganda spewing from the mainstream media machine, most Americans seem to be in tune with what is going on.
Most American voters believe it’s possible the nation’s economy could collapse, and majorities don’t think elected officials in Washington have ideas for fixing it.
The latest Fox News poll finds that 79 percent of voters think it’s possible the economy could collapse, including large majorities of Democrats (72 percent), Republicans (84 percent) and independents (80 percent).
Just 18 percent think the economy is “so big and strong it could never collapse.”
Moreover, 78 percent of voters believe the federal government is “larger and more costly” than it has ever been before, and by nearly three-to-one more voters think the national debt (65 percent) is a greater potential threat to the country’s future than terrorism (23 percent).
Who has a plan for dealing with the economy?
Overall, 35 percent of voters think the Obama administration has a clear plan for fixing the economy, down from 42 percent last summer (July 21-22, 2009).
At the same time the number saying the White House doesn’t have a plan for the economy has increased from 53 percent in July to 62 percent in the new poll. That includes almost all Republicans (88 percent), two-thirds of independents (67 percent), as well as a third of Democrats (33 percent).
Even fewer people think Democrats in Congress (24 percent) and Republicans in Congress (16 percent) have clear plans to fix the economy.
Surprisingly, 35% of those who believe the economy could collapse, also believe that the same people who got us into this mess have a clear plan to get us out of it. Unfortunately, there is probably nothing we can do for those people.
But, if you are part of the 62% that says the White House doesn’t have a clear plan, then you may find it in your interest to come up with a plan yourself.
There are different levels of “economic collapse,” so the first step is to define the potential scenarios you may be faced with:
- Stock market crash and double-dip economic recession lasting another 18 months
- stock market crash and a deflationary economic depression where GDP contracts for an extended period, unemployment continues to rise to Great Depression-like levels of 25% – 30% (currently around 16.7%).
- Stock market crash and a hyperinflationary economic depression not unlike the Weimar inflation of the 1930’s, where we experience high unemployment, extreme price swings, and complete destruction of the US Dollar
- Perhaps a combination of all three scenarios over the course of the next 0 – 10 years.
There are, of course, many variables that come into play here, but all three scenarios are possible. Some of the scenarios one can imagine are more severe than others, especially on the hyperinflationary depression front, where things can get very bad, very fast.
If you believe the economy could collapse, and you have no faith that your elected representatives have done anything to fundamentally repair the system, then start considering what you will do if you lose your job for an extended period of several years, or your retirement account doesn’t grow for a decade, or the purchasing power of your cash holdings evaporates as the dollar loses value, or what you will do if a hyperinflationary event causes food prices to triple or affects our food transportation systems.
The government cannot and will not save our economy. Only the people can save the economy and cause it to grow.
The government can help us to do that by getting out of the way in the private sector, for the exception of enforcing existing laws on the books to prevent financial scams, ponzi schemes and extreme leverage in the banking system.
Hat tip Economic Collapse Blog
Comments…..It’s not just the economy that is collapsing, what about the bee colonies, they have being dropping for the past five years with very little media attention, shortage of food equals an increase in prices. ” Lose your bees and you will starve within four years time” Albert Einstien.
Excellent post! Great job laying out some “more realistic” scenarios to help people move towards preparing for total economic collapse.
I too am surprised at the polling shown in your post. I guess the poll #s are a good thing.
consider, for a second, that this is a fox news poll. dont know how many democrats watch it. having worked for several network affiliate stations, i dont trust nielsen numbers at ALL. a more fitting title would be “majority of fox news viewers say economy could collapse”. I’m not saying that the economy wont.. I’ve been prepping for quite some time. Numbers are easy to manipulate.. I think the number of people who are even able to accept the fact that the economy is collapsing is very small.. less than 5% of the population.. most will be caught with their drawers down when tshtf.
Not only our economy but the world economy WILL collapse. Once all of these government booster shots wear off it will hit, and hit hard. This is no joking matter. This will be a history maker of Biblical proportion.
The wise are preparing NOW.
DS, I agree that there is a more likely chance that Fox viewers would answer YES to the question of whether they think the economy will collapse. Conservative talk show hosts and writers regularly mention the words. So I can see how 6 out of 10 of those polled, especially after the health care bill earlier this week, would say they could see a collapse in the future.
However, I think your figure of 5% of that population would be about how many have actually considered the worst case scenarios if such an event were to occur. Heck, it could be lower than that.
I think people have a hard time imagining an event that they have never experienced before and probably never even heard about. How many people are familiar with Weimar hyperinflation? Or even Zimbabwe’s recent turmoil? I’m just guessing here, but I’d say not many at all.
One person’s idea of economic collapse may be another’s recession. When Gerald Celente says “it will be like nothing we’ve ever seen before in our lifetimes,” I tend to agree; but most people can’t wrap their head around what that might actually mean. We’re not just talking job losses and lower retail sales here…
Sam – I am totally with you on the bees. Serious food security issue. Save the Bees! Turn of all the WiFi ! (Recently read an article about WiFi radiation and am considering this as one possibility or a contributing factor).
Its not a question of “Could” its a matter of “when” ! Mac : I agree with what you are saying , Its just that some out there have their heads in the sand and don’t want to admit that desaster is almost upon them , because if thay do admit it ,  its the end of the world to them,and thats somthing many cant adapt to. So just chant “everythins going to be ok” and it will be .  Denial is a way of life for many .
Good point about the bee colonies Sam, because 99% of all bees in the Southwest have been Africanized. There is some thought that colony collapse might be caused by genetically engineered hybrid seeds that have a sterilization chemical implanted in them (and in Roundup): which is why they don’t reproduce.
Neither do the bees.
PS: I have read Einsteins biography but I never read he said that.
Makes sense about the hybrid seeds – no telling what else it screws up, too!!! Kind of like the idea that the growth hormones fed to livestock may be a contributing factor for some of the weight gain in this country. Wouldn’t say it was the whole problem, but it’s not any more far-fetched than the sterilization of the bees.
Comments…..I think it’s mostly the pesticides being used. Back in 1965 nicotine was initially produced as a pesticide, now it’s fed to humans in more than just the cigarette, look how many it has killed over the years. Have you ever read the label on a pack of cigarettes that smoking could lead to impotence. Just imagine what it’s doing to those poor little bees.The bees also store the honey they produce for their own consumption, most keepers pick the honey and replace it with liquified sugar instead, which poisons the bee and weakens it’s immune system.Like human beings living off pop and smoking. I have a friend who has bees, the honey is for his own use, when he picks he leaves enough honey behind for the bees and he hardly lost any .The scripture states ” and in it (honey) there is  healing is for the people.Honey is the number one natural immune system booster you can find.Without the bees we are in very big trouble, both on the agriculture and the physical realm.
Back in the mid 70’s, a friend of mine from Canada told me the following:
The English would expand themselves to death, the Germans would arm themselves to death, and the Americans would loan themselves to death.
He was not sure of who stated this. However the US is well on its way of completing this scenario.
Yes childrens… the economy will collapse in a matter of time. To say exactly when is hard to predict due to so many variables, but it is inevitable.Â
The government isn’t  going to stop all of it’s overspending, it’s too easy to borrow more fiat currency from the fed and continue to spend… spend… spend. Also take into consideration that China, Russia and the Middle East are working towards getting off the dollar as the reserve currency for purchasing oil. Once that happens in combination of the devalued dollar… it’s game over kids.
Prepare now while the dollar is still worth something.Â
From the looks of T. Geithner’s statement below, I’d think it came from the same site as:Â
Looming Doom Report Says ‘Humans Extinct By August’
0:13:51 … The direct fiscal costs of this crisis may ultimately be less than one percent of GDP — a fraction of the over half a trillion dollars of losses estimated by CBO and OMBjust a year ago; a fraction of the S&L crisis; and if Congress joins the President in passing our proposed fee on large institutions to pay for this crisis, the American taxpayer will not bear a penny of losses for the actions of this government under the TARP. – Timothy Geithner
if you understand that people in wallstreet and bankers are raiding the government of funds then yes the economy is collapsing. only one way out of this is with glass steagall act of 1933 which seprates speculation banks seprate from investment banks. the other thing is the government is not willing to have a fixed exchange rate like we had before the 70’s. also use the credit system FDR created, and reinstate hamiltons greenback system. when you do that businesses through out the usa will grow at an estimated 5% a year. reinvest in building new schools and implement the education standard and capability we had during the 50’s and 60’s. use comprehensive tutorial videos and testing to get the people up to par and implement the emergency credential for teaching. take of the market these mind numbing games and put educational games on the markets for the game consoles. put educational and comprehensive tutorial videos on the shelve so that people can buy them and watch it instead of fiction movies.