Victor Davis Hanson's reports from the front line of civilizational collapse

[Nathan_Bell]

I do not know if any others have been following VDH's writings regarding the collapse of the economy and civilization in his part of California, but the latest is the bleakest yet.

http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson...inglepage=true


"Our Version

Sometimes, and in some places, in California I think we have nearly descended into Miller’s dark vision — especially the juxtaposition of occasional high technology with premodern notions of law and security. The state deficit is at $16 billion. Stockton went bankrupt; Fresno is rumored to be next. Unemployment stays over 10% and in the Central Valley is more like 15%. Seven out of the last eleven new Californians went on Medicaid, which is about broke. A third of the nation’s welfare recipients are in California. In many areas, 40% of Central Valley high school students do not graduate — and do not work, if the latest crisis in finding $10 an hour agricultural workers is any indication. And so on.

Our culprit out here was not the Bomb (and remember, Hiroshima looks a lot better today than does Detroit, despite the inverse in 1945). The condition is instead brought on by a perfect storm of events that have shred the veneer of sophisticated civilization. Add up the causes. One was the destruction of the California rural middle class. Manufacturing jobs, small family farms, and new businesses disappeared due to globalization, high taxes, and new regulations. A pyramidal society followed of a few absentee land barons and corporate grandees, and a mass of those on entitlements or working for government or employed at low-skilled service jobs. The guy with a viable 60 acres of almonds ceased to exist."

Snippet of it, but you should read the entire thing, and if you have not read his previous posts on the subject follow his links.

[nineteenkilo]

That is a bleak read right there. I am glad to see that even the non 'prepper' types are beginning to open their eyes and see what is actually going on around them.

Thanks for sharing.

[docsherm]

That was a good read...sad but good.

[Moose-Knuckle]

Ah yes Kalifornia, the bright shining example of liberalism and progressiveness.

I have not heard of him before, thanks for sharing.

[uwe1]

We are ****ing doomed.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/op...pagewanted=all

[HackerF15E]

We are ****ing doomed.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/op...pagewanted=all

I don't know when we got to the point where intellect and knowledge became bad things for some people....

"Making mathematics mandatory prevents us from discovering and developing young talent."

YGBSM. Because it's tough and makes some people feel bad about themselves when they aren't able to achieve something, we should just stop making people to those tough things?!

[Beat Trash]

Coming soon to a state near you?

[The_War_Wagon]

Just to keep unemployment numbers REAL, always multiply by a factor of THREE, what the gummint reports.

Here's the REAL numbers (top graph) - they way the gummint measured them BEFORE KLIN -TON I monkeyed them up in 1994 (middle graph), vs. the Obamanation numbers (bottom graph).




See more REAL facts here - http://www.shadowstats.com/

Bleak enough for ya'?

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

We are ****ing doomed.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/op...pagewanted=all

I say this as a writer and social scientist whose work relies heavily on the use of numbers.

Plugging and chugging number in Excel doesn't make you a mathematician. Excel has done more damage to statistics than good it has done.

The genius of Idiocracy.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

[VooDoo6Actual]

Just to keep unemployment numbers REAL, always multiply by a factor of THREE, what the gummint reports.

Here's the REAL numbers (top graph) - they way the gummint measured them BEFORE KLIN -TON I monkeyed them up in 1994 (middle graph), vs. the Obamanation numbers (bottom graph).



See more REAL facts here - http://www.shadowstats.com/

Bleak enough for ya'?

Interesting link. I had not seen that one before. Any idea if he's legit & accurate?