[quote=peterb]It’s a classic credit bubble deflating. Except this time, we have a historically gigantic public and private debt ratio to deflate. These things take many years to unwind. 11% of the population now recieves food stamps. U-6 unemployment is in the 20% range for the state and now the nation.

Global economic contraction is firmly in process now. But we’re also a very large welfare coutry now and will probably become more so in the future. I doubt there will be devistation, but the standards we’ve grown used to in the last 30 years are going to be for only the top few percent to enjoy.[/quote]

We had a credit bubble unwind in 1929 and in Japan in the 1990’s.
Now Unemployment hit 25% in 29, and floated around in Japan.
It’s a mess in japan, but it never became Apocalyptic.
It was a mess in 29 but it never became apocalyptic.