The Burning Platform

http://theburningplatform.com/economy/21st-century-breakdown

This website has a provocative article about "great turnings" and the imminent crisis facing America.

I don't believe in the idea of inevitable historical cycles so I disagree with many of the assumptions made in this article.

That said, the article offers an interesting and provocative narrative about where America finds itself and is full of interesting data points.

On the cover of the WSJ today two articles dominate the headlines: "Lending Falls at Epic Pace" and "Jittery Shoppers Dim Stores' Hopes."

At the data crunching web page Calculated Risk today there are similar dismal headlines "Mortgage Purchase Applications at Lowest Level since May 1997," "Architecture Billing Index Shows Contraction in January," and "11.3 Million Properties with Negative Equity"
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/

It is clear that the pre-recession world cannot be resurrected.

This is not really a bad thing when one considers the environmental problems of that period and the gross global inequities fostered by that regime.

The problem is that leaders are not seeking to create a better and more sustainable world. Rather, the world's leaders are standing passively by while the oligarchs rape global populations (or the leaders participate actively in that rape)....

see also
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/02/martin-wolf-is-very-gloomy-and-with-good-reason.html