Prediction: What will the USA look like in 20 years ?

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

I see no progression into a better society. I see two classes. The haves and have-nots. No middle class ATM machine to feed the federal government money(tax). Socialism is on the table. The current group in DC are feeding into this by use of promising money. Larger stimulus checks. College loans paid off. What is next? People are being groomed to rely on the government for everything. Gas powered vehicles are gone. Already begun. VW,GM and Ford all have made it known that combustion engines are being fazed out. Keystone pipeline. Done. Fracking on federal land. Done. The Green New Deal will solve everyone's problems. The USA manufactures nothing. Truly a society made of services(restaurants, healthcare, etc.). China will manufacture everything. The USA is just about there in this respect.
I see less freedoms. The Constitution ignored(happen already). Companies such as Amazon will be the only go to for purchases. Stores will be closed(already happening. Sears, JC Penny are on the way out. Walmart eventually).

I do not disagree entirely but perhaps the way things are done and have been done for a long time are why there is no longer a strong middle class. Capitalism has failed far too many people for too long and when that happens, people become open to socialism or socialist ideas. I dislike it immensely and Trump but I have accepted we live in a global economy now so frankly our economic system must adjust for us to survive. Manufacturing is never coming back as we would like i.e. enough to provide the strong middle income working class we once had, China and other countries where they can pay slave wages for the foreseeable future in horrid conditions, that is where majority of things will be made. The US will be a consumer nation for most part, more than we are now, so we must progress especially as technology rapidly advances this decade and beyond. Andrew Yang was the only Presidential candidate to talk about it, because he is aware of that. Like it or not, a Universal Basic Income will become a necessity. A living wage for those who are employed must be paid. All of this with an American "twist" of course.

Far as leaving the combustion engine behind, that is a great thing. Oil is not an infinite resource and while we are not completely responsible for climate change, we certainly contribute to polluting the earth and the consequences, so if can move the country and thus the world off this technology. Why not? Fracking is not exactly great for the environment either. I've seen some of the issues first hand.

I see less freedoms as well, not a totalitarian state or dystopia but as tech advances, it becomes easier to restrict freedoms. A major political battle will be to reign in big tech such as Google, Facebook, Amazon etc. As I mentioned, a lot of growing pains, we are in a bit of a transitional time.

However, I still see an overall better society. One that joins the rest of the western world and provides basic services , protections such as universal health coverage, living wages, paid sick leave, paid parental leave, better overall labor laws which will foster a better working life for those stuck in the working class, most people. People's eyes seem open or be opening to many problems that once were not discussed such as systemic brutality by law enforcement along with the jail-prison industrial complex that allows the US have the largest number of incarcerated persons in the WORLD.

So again, growing pains yes, but strong evidence to believe we will be better off.

Also, you mentioned college loans. You are against any relief?

[3catcircus]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead1980

I do not disagree entirely but perhaps the way things are done and have been done for a long time are why there is no longer a strong middle class. Capitalism has failed far too many people for too long and when that happens, people become open to socialism or socialist ideas. I dislike it immensely and Trump but I have accepted we live in a global economy now so frankly our economic system must adjust for us to survive. Manufacturing is never coming back as we would like i.e. enough to provide the strong middle income working class we once had, China and other countries where they can pay slave wages for the foreseeable future in horrid conditions, that is where majority of things will be made. The US will be a consumer nation for most part, more than we are now, so we must progress especially as technology rapidly advances this decade and beyond. Andrew Yang was the only Presidential candidate to talk about it, because he is aware of that. Like it or not, a Universal Basic Income will become a necessity. A living wage for those who are employed must be paid. All of this with an American "twist" of course.

Far as leaving the combustion engine behind, that is a great thing. Oil is not an infinite resource and while we are not completely responsible for climate change, we certainly contribute to polluting the earth and the consequences, so if can move the country and thus the world off this technology. Why not? Fracking is not exactly great for the environment either. I've seen some of the issues first hand.

I see less freedoms as well, not a totalitarian state or dystopia but as tech advances, it becomes easier to restrict freedoms. A major political battle will be to reign in big tech such as Google, Facebook, Amazon etc. As I mentioned, a lot of growing pains, we are in a bit of a transitional time.

However, I still see an overall better society. One that joins the rest of the western world and provides basic services , protections such as universal health coverage, living wages, paid sick leave, paid parental leave, better overall labor laws which will foster a better working life for those stuck in the working class, most people. People's eyes seem open or be opening to many problems that once were not discussed such as systemic brutality by law enforcement along with the jail-prison industrial complex that allows the US have the largest number of incarcerated persons in the WORLD.

So again, growing pains yes, but strong evidence to believe we will be better off.

Also, you mentioned college loans. You are against any relief?

The issue isn't capitalism. It's crony capitalism entwined with leftist politics.

The robber-barons of the past may have been ruthless in business, but they then engaged in philanthropy on a massive scale, regardless of the political beliefs of those they helped.

The current tech barons do not appear to be so civic-minded unless their wealth is used to advance their personal beliefs. They treat employees as disposable or exploitable - with the blessing of the government they bought and paid for to allow H1B visas. The agricultural industry buys government to look the other way while they exploit illegal immigrants.

No way are you ever going to get industry to pay a bigger wage and more benefits and not pass the costs on to the consumer. Try doing that and taxing the middle class for all of these benefits and you'll end up with even more people who are worse off than before. Biden's $15/hr minimum wage will help 1 million people - while costing 1.4 million people their jobs.

As to student loans? Mine are paid off because I studied a field that leads to a good paying job that ensured I would be able to pay it back. Too many people end up going into debt for a degree in a worthless field of study - taxpayers shouldn't subsidize their poor decision - or the decision of the bank to issue the loan - this is the exact same situation as the housing market in 2008 when banks were issuing mortgages to people who would never be able to pay them.

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Hard to guess, but I'm guessing as a society we'll still be functioning as an defacto aristocratic corporate plutocracy.

[Rockstar]

As phenomenon grows, business booms for cancel culture consultant

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/feb/8/phenomenon-grows-business-booms-cancel-culture-con/

Ruin and ostracism have been part of human society for centuries, as have the jail time and stigma that go with convictions for actual crimes. But the current atmosphere, in which people live in fear a stray remark or long-ago post on Facebook could crash their world, is relatively new and growing.