TAX REFORM

[Donovan]

Of course I will survive, I'm already poor. I'm used to it. I have survival skills. The country itself, however, is in real trouble. When the leadership is corrupt, the financiers are regulating themselves, and most of the so-called "earmarks of success" are from corporate and financial institutions who depend on continued consumer input, while government revenue remains stagnant or by other means gets sharply cut for the wealthiest citizens, it's a recipe for disaster. See Argentina and Greece among others.

We have systematically dismantled our methods of fiscal oversight, alienated most of our allies and potential and existing lenders, and arranged our own government in such a way that destroys the working class on which everything depends.

There is no fix for this. The most likely outcome for the inevitable collapse is rioting, cessation of basic infrastructure maintenance, massive inflation, devaluation of our dollar, default on our deficit and subsequent lowering of our credit as a nation. Our economy will shrink in a spasm by maybe up to a fifth of itself which will in turn cause unemployment to skyrocket and crime along with it. May even see a second civil conflict as more prosperous parts of the country attempt to untether themselves. The West coast certainly could, as well as the eastern Seaboard. At the very least we will see severe austerity measures and eventually some sort of economy-boosting war. And many will die. Many.

These are not fantasies, they are likelihoods based on current conditions and historical precedent in similar situation s throughout the industrial age.