When I study the predictions of astute people about the future of the United States after the financial crisis, I can group the forecasts into three themes:
Recovery – the best case scenario
A rebound after the financial remedies have worked with life as usual in the post-industrial societies.
Mediocrity – the middle path scenario
A slow decline of quality of life in the United States as the middle class slowly slides to a lower standard of living. Consumer spending is replaced by saving and extragance is replaced by frugality.
Instability – the worst case scenario
A decline into a depressing environment where jobs are scarce, financial systems cannot be trusted, government services are limited, food and water are expensive, and criminal groups gain power.
Coping with the Future
We all hope for and want recovery. If the recovery after the financial crisis is totally successful, we can all resume our 2005 lifestyle. But keep in mind there’s an abundance of evidence that the standard of living of 2005 was unsustainable.
No one wants bad news about their future. However, if you are unprepared for the future, you will nearly always price a price. If our society declines into mediocrity, being prepared will require some changes in thinking and lifestyle.
Effective planning requirements looking at the worst case scenario. A post-financial crisis world characterized by instability in the developed countries will demand adapting in ways that most citizens have not contemplated. When you have not contemplated a course of action, you will not prepare for that possibility. While many would argue that the instability scenario is not possible for a developed country like the United States, we will present some information that will suggest that it is indeed a very real and unpleasant possibility.
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