Make no mistake about it, economic chaos is coming. It will be caused by climate change and the growing subjugation of the lower classes by the elite. We do have options; we can control which parts of the economy it ravages and what the other side is going to look like.
This first thing we need to do to stop climate change is eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels. No amount of consumption is acceptable. The question becomes: what is going to happen to all the companies depending on the consumption of fossil fuels? The short answer is: I don’t care. Internal memos show they have been aware of the impending problem for forty years. There have been other credible forecasts going back to the early twentieth century. Instead of investing in their future, they have been aggressively buying back their shares and paying dividends If they don’t change their ways, they will fad away, just like the buggy whip industry. If we don’t solve climate change, in the process of becoming uninhabitable, there will be a lot of angry people fighting for survival.
Of course, one of the outfalls of eliminating fossil fuels will be a paradigm shift in how we get around. We will be much more dependent on public transportation, personal vehicles will be smaller and more practical, population will in many cases become more centralized. If we don’t make these adaptions, we will fail.
Healthcare reform WILL come. I’m not sure what form it will take, but it will be disruptive. How much is up to us and how we structure the transition. Think of all the insurance companies and claims processors that will no longer be needed. There will still be a need to process “paper” to prevent things like fraud. I saw some statistics a while back that stated claims processing by the government for Medicare averaged around 2-3% of the claim value while private insurance averaged around 17-18% of the claim value. There will be a lot of economic displacement during the transition. The difference between the two processing costs are resources that can be used elsewhere. This is another case of where I don’t feel sorry for the health insurance industry.
If we don’t do something to increase the living standards of the bottom 25% of our economy, there will likely be a peasant revolt(slave uprising). There are many things we can do to prevent this. I will go into my proposals on another day. Just saying it will be part of the economic chaos.
We need to plan for the changes coming. This won’t be done in a vacuum. There are many other factors to consider. Increased productivity due to advances in computer technology. Transition to a more service-based economy. Changes in policy regarding offshore manufacturing jobs. Potential changes in the basic work week.
Hold on, strap in, its going to be a ride, not knowing where the path leads.
Pete's Wisdom 