GreigMcallister

Just as the bubble bursting in the US caused ripples around the world, we are heading for a perfect storm.

China's economy is built on smoke and mirrors.

The US economy is not in recovery, no matter what the pundits say.

The EU's problems have not been resolved and they are living on borrowed time.

When it all comes down, there will be no place to hide. With the exception of living in a society / culture with a subsistence economy built on agriculture. Philippines, Vietnam and to a degree, Thailand.

Here is how China has been able to keep their GDP up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPILhiTJv7E

I agree fully with you on all but one point. Please don't sell the US short. When you look at someone's balance sheet, you can't just look at liabilities. You also have to look at assets. The US has two things in its favor. One is its vast size and natural resources, and the other is its technology.

China is picking up the scraps of what the West invented. Yes it makes the IPad and Nike shoes, but Apple and Nike make the real money. China isn't an inventor. It is a copier. Western countries are making big money from what China manufactures. China's debt, and its shadow banking debt are staggering.

The US is increasing its oil production by 20% this year. By 2017 it will be oil independent. In less than ten years it will surpass Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer. This is without touching any of the oil that's off shore, or in Alaska. And, the US has 88,000 miles of shoreline, much of it containing oil. The US has more oil than all of the rest of the world combined.

As for a safe haven in the perfect storm, I'd rather be in rural US where there is vast farmland and where people are already fairly self sufficient than to be in a SE Asian country which might become very unstable including perhaps another coup in Thailand or elsewhere.

Thailand is another country which picks up the scraps of what others invented. It manufactures, but mostly for other countries. There isn't much profit in it for Thailand. It's the inventors and the innovators who are making the money.

"The US has more oil than all of the rest of the world combined."

That's a new one to me. I'd be interested to see the source of this fact. Is it based on proven reserves?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves.. Not even close!