The Crash Course - Chris Martenson [125]
5. The U.S. government has a future date with a fiscal crisis and will have to trim its expenditures (possibly by as much as 50 percent) and increase taxes enormously (by perhaps 100 percent) to deal with the fact that it is fundamentally insolvent. The chance of this fiscal crisis morphing into a currency crisis is exceedingly high. Retirement dreams will have to be deferred by tens of millions, if not abandoned.
6. Similar difficulties to the United States will be faced by other overly indebted countries facing their own entitlement difficulties, including Japan, Greece, Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and France.
You’ll note that the scenarios I put forth are relatively benign: I propose no wars, no social unrest, no political upheavals, or anything else of that stressful nature. However, historically, the number one cause of wars has been resource conflicts. Given that we’re about to enter one of the most significant resource shortages in the history of a world that is more well-armed than ever before, it will take a rare combination of events and diplomacy to avoid heading to war over the remaining resources.
I maintain hope that we can avoid such an outcome, but this hope rests upon enough people, especially those in power, understanding the actual source of our predicament, choosing prosperity over growth, and using our remaining surplus to build rather than destroy.
Stay Alert
Because we can only glimpse the broad outlines of what is likely to happen, not the details or the timing, it’s important to remain alert. I like to think of myself as being an “information scout” for my clients, and I’m constantly sifting through every facet of information that develops in politics, geopolitics, and, of course, any of the three Es. It’s all potentially important. I wish I could extract a few thousand words of simple advice that would work for every person and any company, but this is neither possible nor feasible.
The broad outlines are easy enough:
Invest defensively.
Build resilience into your physical systems and financial dealings.
Favor liquidity and safety over the potential for higher returns.
Mentally prepare yourself for a very different future.
Practice doing more with less.
But the details are endless and specific.
The information in this book has hopefully prompted you to consider that there’s some value in becoming better prepared, whatever “prepared” means in your individual context. At my web site (www.ChrisMartenson.com), you will find a free “What Should I Do?” series that will walk you through the basic steps. After you’ve taken some initial steps, you might wish to join the rich and vibrant community of intelligent people who have assembled there, each of whom is working through the specifics of responding in their own ways. I’ve created a place for people to connect around these ideas that is safe, inviting, mature, and rational. In other words, it’s a rare place where one can have a civil, thoughtful discussion about these topics on the Internet.
In the next few chapters, you will find more answers to the question of what you should do. And I hope you will consider joining us online at www.ChrisMartenson.com to explore these issues further.
PART VII
What Should I Do?
CHAPTER 26
The Good News
We Already Have Everything We Need
As daunting as the challenges and predicaments outlined in this book may seem, the good news is that we already have everything we need to create a better future. All of the understanding, resources, technology, ideas, systems, institutions, and thinking are already available,