The Demise of America

September, 2011. In the face of increased economic stress, the government reacts to save a "failing" market. Increasing intervention in the form of bailouts and regulations cause the American market to be dominated by the public sector. Taxes skyrocket as the Federal government desperately attempts to pay for it's massive buyout of private enterprise. Meanwhile, the drug riddled government of Mexico topples, plunging our nearest neighbour into chaos. As refugees swarm over the border China reads the writing on the wall and dumps the US debt it has in exchange for gold. Left with nowhere to turn the Federal government tightens its grip further, prompting many states to secede from the Union. The Second American Revolution has begun, and chaos reigns supreme.

Science fiction, or (future) historical fact? You decide at Slate.com's "How is America going to end" series. Pick your top five disasters and see the results. They can be mundane. China takes over as superpower or overpopulation. They can be slightly less mundane. Russia hits the button, or smallpox. You can even go way out on a limb and go with an alien invasion.

My picks (as I described at the beginning of this blog):

1. Nationalized industries
2. Tax revolts
3. China unloads US treasuries
4. Mexico fails
5. State sovereignty movements

Once you've picked your fatal five peruse their predictions. They cover four of the "most likely" possibilities and causes, from secession to global warming. It's tough to agree with everything they spout out as fact (The world is going to go up in a ball of fire! We're all doomed!), but keep in my they are predicting the future, which is by nature a little crazy. Personally, of their four, I see the "collapse" and the "global conquest" scenarios as the most likely.