[BlisteredWhippet]

On the topic, "US will experience collapse from First to Third World" I think it is nearly impossible.

Consider the principles of Catabolic collapse: technological society has something to collapse ON. A cushion. The defining thing between different World classes is that cushion. Like a "crumple zone" in a Honda fender vs. the straight steel welds of a Model-T. The Third World has very little going for it. from economy to real economy to population and resource base, the picture is bleak without a "World Health Organization".

Try this simulation to see what life is like without "cushioning":

http://www.arcadetown.com/3rdworldfarmer/gameonline.asp

Third World Farmer.

A thought provoking simulation. A game that makes you think.

------

At the end of the day what Americans really want is the respect and adoration of their pets.

[jupiters_release]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'O')n the topic, "US will experience collapse from First to Third World" I think it is nearly impossible.

Consider the principles of Catabolic collapse: technological society has something to collapse ON. A cushion. The defining thing between different World classes is that cushion. Like a "crumple zone" in a Honda fender vs. the straight steel welds of a Model-T. The Third World has very little going for it. from economy to real economy to population and resource base, the picture is bleak without a "World Health Organization".

Try this simulation to see what life is like without "cushioning":

http://www.arcadetown.com/3rdworldfarmer/gameonline.asp

Third World Farmer.

A thought provoking simulation. A game that makes you think.

------

At the end of the day what Americans really want is the respect and adoration of their pets.

[eXpat]

Faber Says U.S. Government May Fail in 5 to 10 Years
Video: http://tinyurl.com/mmqsk9
As doomer as it gets: "the next crisis will bring down the capitalist system"

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'L')OVEBIRDS Steven and Kathryn share a well-organised home in bustling Las Vegas.
They have a neat, if compact kitchen, a furnished living area, and a bedroom complete with double bed, wardrobe and bookshelf featuring a wide selection including a Frank Sinatra biography and Spanish phrase book.

And they make their money in some of the biggest casinos in the world.

But their life is far from the ordinary.

Because, along with hundreds of others, the couple are part of a secret community living in the dark and dirty underground flood tunnels below the famous strip.

[mos6507]

I think people in the 1st world really have no idea what 3rd world living is like. Our sense of what comprises suffering is totally off. I think as bad as things can get in the US, even with a dollar collapse, it won't get as bad as the 3rd world. We may THINK it's as bad, but it's not. Compared to the good old days, it will be hell on earth, but certainly far better than the increasing percentage of the world that literlaly don't have a pot to piss in. Now, I'm talking about the complete fallout of this credit crisis, not necessarily peak oil doom in the mid-term or global warming doom in the farther term. Certainly the playing field will level out over time as we race towards die-off.

[SeaGypsy]

There is no clear definition of what constitutes 3rd world.
Here at home in the Philippines most people within the country say it is 3rd world. The Government changes it's own definition depending which international funding agency they are talking to.
There is the failed state scenario; not the same thing as 3rd world.
Within Australia there are 3rd world conditions in most remote Aboriginal Communities. In fact some of the worst living conditions I have ever seen are in remote Aboriginal communities where very generous mining royalties abound. I have seen with my own eyes people destroying their own lives on $100 a day while others in '3rd world' slums maintain tidyness, hygeine and basic food supply on $3 a day.
Some '3rd world' places rate very highly on happiness statistics and extremely low in suicide and chronic depressive illness.

[Revi]

There are parts of Maine that are already third world like. What's the difference? They asked an old farmer what it was like in the depression, and he replied that he didn't know it was over.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Revi', 'T')here are parts of Maine that are already third world like. What's the difference? They asked an old farmer what it was like in the depression, and he replied that he didn't know it was over.