Why is everyone predicting the US's "economic collapse"?

I mean, its highly unrealistic to expect a countrys economy to always be booming. Our economy has been under a lot of strain lately, with the feds actions that first created the housing problem, and now their rate cutting that has hurt the dollar. Also, our economy is becoming more service oriented, like Europe. And dont forget about the wonderful, costly war that we are involved in.

So my question is, why is everyone prediciting economic collapse? Dont people realize that saying stupid things like that actually makes matters worse, since the strength of the economy is dervived greatly from consumer confidence?!

Also, look at our history. We kinda do VERY well under pressure...we saved the world in WWI and WWII, and in the process fixed our economy which was hurt by the great depression...we surived much worse than this in the 70's and 80's, as well as an unsure period when Bush I left office in '92...so why dont people think we will weather this little storm?

Also, I remember back in 2006 when the illegal aliens marched in May, the media said that we should not be concerned by them taking jobs, since our economy was booming and had never been better...no they say we are in a recession...wtf?

Not me, every thing's pretty good here...gas is too high but then it always was.

Because the people who expect that Barack Obama will win the General Election and become the next President of the United States of America expect that Barack Obama will destroy the economy the same way that Jimmy Carter did.

Barack Obama is being mentored by Jimmy Carter.

Barack Obama has copied Jimmy Carter's economic plans and is presenting those plans as his own.

When Jimmy Carter implemented those plans during the Carter Presidency they caused the economy to collapse, massive unemployment and skyrocketing inflation.

The same thing will happen if Barack Obama is elected and implements those old Jimmy Carter economic plans.

David,we are going through economic rough waters,no doubt.and we will get through it,no doubt. but I really think the media exaggerates the situation. i mean,if you tell people we"re in deep recession enough,you"ll cause a consumer panic,people freak out and dont spend money,and the situation gets worse.the only winners are the media who sell more papers,etc. beware the 5th estate

We're broke with lots of obligations on the horizon (retiring baby boomers). Thirty years of conservative economic mismanagement is leading to our bankruptcy.

Ok take this under consideration- Americans get MAD when costs rise, look at gasoline, transportation for all goods have made them go up and its at its highest point ever.

The war in Iraq is going to be continuous, money flows into that place like no tomorrow, and for how many years?

Because no economic model is perfect and will eventually fail! They all fail at some point, so why do you think this one is any different? They all have a beginning and an END! We are rapidly approaching our END!

Because it's already happened.

$135 a barrel oil does that....but we will get through it...but we all need to learn to do with less oil

Exactly, and we will save ourselves from the Bush disease, as soon as we get him out of our system.

Wishful thinking won't correct fundemental problems. The Europeans have already changed their tax structure (lowered capital gains) to improve investiment in manufacturing and reduced the cost of doing business there. That's why they have the largest oil companies and manufacturing companies there not here.

You're half right on the housing disaster. Congress should get the credit for inflating the bubble with the "fair practices in lending act" which forced financial insitutions to loan money to people who couldn't afford to pay it back. The fed has stepped in and lowered interest rates which reduced the value of our currency. Which is in effect an inflation tax no one can escape. The billions of dollars in losses suffered by lenders is now via inflation being spread throughout the entire economy.

The last reason is if the presidental canidates are any indication of the general population then we have finally reached the point where the majority is more concerned about what freebie they can get from the government than they are about their own freedom. They fail to realize that what ever they get from the government was first taken away from one of their fellow citizens. And it follows that what ever the government gives can be taken away.

In short my prediction is things are going to get a lot worse before they get any better.

Reckless economic policies, an enormously costly illegal 'war', mammoth debt owed to the Chinese, and an atrocious trade imbalance have all contributed to the devaluing of the dollar. Bush has put us on course for the WORST economic depression in U.S. history [my personal prediction is that it will strike in October, 2009].
GAO Director David Walker has been traveling the country for three years predicting that the U.S.A. is nearing bankruptcy. But politicians don't want to talk about it because Americans don't want to listen to it.
So when the depression hits, there won't be enough tall buildings with ledges to jump from; banks will close, the stock market will crash, and the Chinese will revoke our 'credit cards'.
Don't believe it can happen? That's what folks thought in October, 1929 until they uncorked the last bottle of champagne. That's what pre-war Germans thought until they had to take a wheelbarrow full of money to the bakery just to buy a loaf of bread.
Just as the great Greek and Roman empires collapsed, the great United States empire is right at the edge of the cliff. -RKO- 05/30/08