Kunstler on 2008: Not Pretty
Yowser! Anyone who writes prose like this deserves to be read. What does Mr. Kunstler see for 2008? Predictably (if you've read his blog before), it's not pretty:On the ground out in the heartland, in the anxiety-drenched, over-valued beige subdivisions of California and the ennui-saturated pastel McHousing tracts of Florida (not to mention the pathetic vinyl outlands of Cleveland and Detroit) a mighty keening welled forth as mortgage rates adjusted upward, and loans stopped "performing," and "for sale" signs failed to turn up buyers, and sheriff's deputies showed up with the rolls of yellow foreclosure tape, and actual ownership of the re-poed collateral entered a legal twilight zone somewhere north of the Florida State Teacher's Pension Fund and south of the Norwegian Municipal Councils' investment portfolios.
He argues that the credit crisis, housing collapse, and peak oil will combine to make our lives much more difficult. Okay, that's an understatment: he writes, "In any case, whoever ends up in the oval office will preside over one king-hell of a clusterf@%k. In the immortal words of TV's erstwhile 'Mr. T,' I pity da fool who gets elected into this mess." His words may not be uplifting, but they're entertaining to read. Take his closing, for example:Not to put too fine a point on it, but my little walnut brain can't imagine any scenario in which the US economy doesn't end up on a gurney in history's emergency room.
I hope he's wrong, but I'm preparing in case he's not. My wife and I have discussed at length what financial collapse might mean in our world. We've done some planning and stockpiling, and we think we'd do alright. But then, we live in what's arguably the most prepared state in the union. Most of America doesn't seem to think much along these lines. I hope that changes, because what lies ahead could be pretty frightening.That sound you hear out there is reality knocking on the door. It has been standing out in the cold for a long time and it is not happy with us.
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