When a storm warning is in effect, the current weather conditions can be very deceptive. The sun can be shining on a calm day with a category four hurricane warning in effect. A day can begin with dry ground, sunshine and clear skies and within 24 hours there can be two feet of snow on the ground. The question is not whether the storm is coming, but what we are doing to prepare before it arrives? Depending on the severity of the storm and the location of its impact, preparation can mean the difference between life and death. Yet, following almost every severe storm we hear of people losing their lives because they did not heed the warning to prepare or evacuate.
Preparation for the coming storm worldwide in every sector of society means that we cannot continue with business as usual. In the economic sector, our personal, national, and global debt is exorbitantly high. Of the world’s industrialized nations, the United States was ranked sixth in national debt in 2018 with a deficit of nearly 19 Trillion dollars. As education is being devalued in some sectors of our society, the cost of education has resulted in student loans so high that some people will not be able to repay them in their lifetime. Credit card debt, personal loans, and what has been described as predatory lending, have interest rates ranging from 24% to 400% annually, making debt resolution almost impossible for many here, and around the world.
Some economic observers find it difficult to understand how the world economy has not already collapsed. In fact, I heard a catchy maxim years ago which I believe describes the imminent economic crisis. “If your outgo, exceeds your income, your upkeep becomes your downfall.” The debt to income ratio for many nations seems to be rising at such a drastic rate that either catastrophe is certain, or global intervention will be necessary to avoid global collapse.
Economic change and recovery for our world is going to require either change or collapse in the way we do business as individuals and governments throughout the world. We need a new measure of success and a new discipline to achieve it. Yet, there are several more sectors of society which will require transformation if our world is to escape the danger of global collapse. Stay tuned for further updates on the forecast.