by ian807 » Fri 10 Jul 2009, 11:33:08
What we'll see short term is deflation, followed in a few years by massive inflation.
As for the economy as whole, we'll be seeing a "sawtooth" pattern of decline (the economy is up a little, then down a lot, up a little, down a lot) for the next..... forever.
The reasons are twofold. One is derivatives. USA banks hold about 200 trillion (notional value) of derivatives. The world's holdings are north of a quadrillion dollars (notional value). Small shifts, particularly downward ones, trigger economic activity from this mass of derivatives. Small decreases in value (i.e. about 5%) will cause ripple effects throughout the economy. 5 percent of 200 trillion = 10 trillion. Quite a hit. Of course, that's "notional" value (i.e. fantasy value made up by bankers). Actual values are closer to 15 trillion. Still, even half a trillion dollars of decreased wealth in the USA economy is also quite a hit.
The next reason, of course, is oil. What would be the end of the economic crisis in 10 years or so dovetails nicely with start of highly visible declines in oil availability worldwide. Moreover, if countries like Iran, Russia and Mexico decide to hoard all their oil for domestic consumption, you could see a *sharp* fall off in energy availability that happens over the course of a few months, or weeks, with predictable effects on the world's economy.
Bottom line: The booming economy is gone. It's *never* coming back in our lifetimes. I advise learning to grow food, purify water, buy some solar panels or other independent energy source, put some gold aside for emergencies. Think about stocking up on trade goods like tobacco, alcohol, useful gadgets, etc.