WHAT FUTURE?

The dollar is collapsing. The Euro and the Canadian dollar have now pulled even in value with the U.S. dollar. The American economy is now on its slide into oblivion.

You can't spend $10 billion a month on the occupation of Iraq and not have a dramatic impact on the U.S. economy. You can't ignore education funding, health care, infrastructure repair and not have a significant impact on the economy. You can't ignore the need for a real energy policy, that would dramatically reduce our consumption of fossil fuels, and not see an impact in the economy. You can't allow virtually your entire manufacturing base to leave the country without seeing a huge impact on the economy.

This economic slide is quite evident when you spend several hours on the street as I have done this week. You see the growing evidence of two Americas. On the street you see the reality of a whole generation of young people with no jobs, no future, no purpose in life, no hope, and feeling no need to finish school. Why bother with high school? There are no real jobs when you graduate so you might as well go have some fun now.

What happens to a nation when legions of young people feel they have no future?