Decay is a slow process, not easily spotted by those who live it. How many Romans living through the decline of the Empire had any idea what was happening? How many of us really sense the macro changes we are a part of?
Neither the general media nor the government has any incentive to tell you our true condition. Neither likely realizes the full implications. Instead, the government tells us that we are out of the recession and on our way to recovery — two lies in one sentence. The media supports their claims.
In reality, this is a Depression and the worst is yet to come. Government mismanagement over the past 30 to 50 years has reduced us to this sorry state. The so-called economic remedies of the past, abused by the political class to paper over every slowdown in the economy, were predicates.
We are likely in the phase that represents the economic and political collapse of the country. If it doesn’t happen in this current cycle, it will occur in the next one which will follow shortly. History will look back on our time as another Great Depression, only more severe and significant than the first one.
The e
conomic history of the past 50 years is not unlike that of a heroin addict. The analogy is imperfect because countries are more resilient and difficult to kill than individuals. A pusher, let us call him Jack Keynes, provided what appeared to be a “free” solution to economic problems. His remedy was readily accepted by politicians because it enabled them to increase their power while “curing” economic pain.
Once government learned that economic pain could be mitigated or avoided via interventions (stimulus), they were hooked. Their addiction was ensured when they convinced the populace that they were responsible for relieving the economic pain. Whether government believed it or not, they took ownership for the health of the economy. They conditioned the citizens to believe that they were the “”physician” capable of curing any and all economic ills.
Government is short-term oriented so the painless quick fix is preferred to the proper fix, especially if the proper fix takes time and requires pain. Maximization of the moment, rather than maximization of the long-term is always the political motivation. The pusher rationalized this behavior with his “In the long run we are all dead” philosophy.
Unfortunately, like heroin, Jack’s remedy was short-lived and each subsequent stimulus needed to be larger order to produce “beneficial” effects. Further each “cure” did hidden long-term damage to the country. After decades, the economy is wasted like the hapless junkie. The economy has been so wasted by its recurring use of heroin that it is near death. Whether the current dosage kills us or the one that follows does is moot.
We cannot survive without the “cold turkey” treatment. Our physician, the government, is unwilling to order such treatment. It will not relinquish its power. It will not cut spending drastically as 
required. It will engage in malpractice and continue to administer heroin to a dying patient.
To understand how sick the patient is, one only need look at the appendages, i.e., those entities who cannot print money to cover up their illnesses. These are the states and municipalities. Some of these issues are detailed here: 24 Signs That All Of America Is Turning Into Detroit.
