4.42 loss on the Dow today. Comparable losses on S&P and NASDAC. Lehmann entered bankruotcy, Merrill-Lynch was "bought" by Bank of America whose stock dropped afterwards and AIG dropped by about 26%. Wachovia dropped drastically as well.
I'd say some banks are about to "consolidate." Or close permanently. Investment banks are free-falling. The good side, so is oil, for the moment. Oil is under $100/barrel ($95+) for the first time since last winter but I suspect pump drops will not go below $3 where they were the last time oil was that low.
Both candidates suddenly started damning business and govt policies today and started casting blame at "The Predecessors." We shall see about Depression, but recession seems a word that definitely does apply right now.
As for democracy, USA has never been a democracy. What that has always meant here is that USA will "be safe for business," the bigger the better. As for impreial dreams we've had them at least since Aaron Burr sent Major Wilkenson on a boat down the Ohio River to steal New Spain from St. Louis to New Orleans to the Colorado foothills and in the mind before that.
By 1900 we had an Empire and the 20th century brought it to real-life. All one need do is take the persepctive of Latin America say from the Rio Grande south to Tierra del Fuego to know that. But after WWII the American Empire was a fact that everyone but those of us who got our "news" from the USA govt knew. No wonder so many Europeans, Middle Easterners and Asian citizens find us queerly moronic in our views of the world. We've been eating pablum for almost 100 years.
Actually at this point the Empire is in decline, again, much like Rome. Nothing was added post Republic until Trajan moved into Dacia around 110 CE or so, the other major attempt was during Augustus' reign when Varus went marching into Niedersachsen (or what is Niedersachsen today) and had his head handed him by Hermann and his German Confederacy in the Teutoberger Wald.
One can make the case fairly easily that USA imperial dreams dies somewhere arounf Khe Sahn in 1969 and only the final nails were removed from the raft in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most major corps will probably do pretty well. They've mined this land for about all it has to offer and will move operations elsewhere.
I suspect most Americans ideas how their children will "do better than they did" will now join those who gave theirs up the second they moved into Bed-Stuy.
Be prepared for the South-Centralizing of America. For a good look at how that looks there are a number of places in western upstate New York that will give you a pretty good idea of how that plays out in rural areas. For the rest of us we need only acquaint ourselves with some of the more burnt-over districts of most major USA cities of some size, say 1 or more million.
Jenn, I don't think you'll have to wait all that long for Peak Oil or something very like it.
Nichole
