With all these dire prognosticators I wonder if the volatility we are seeing in the markets hasn't scrambled some people's brains!
Most people in manufacturing, engineering, science, or any of those 'forgotten' professions would tell you that we've been in a depression for most of this decade. Seriously, how can an economy lose so much of its industrial base and not be in a depression? If you measure the US dollar, or the US stock markets against any form of constant money, ie: gold, oil, etc. -- investors have lost 80% of their assets since the peak in 2000. If gold takes a bit of a spike here, that number could easily approach 90%, even if the Dow remains at 9-10k. Remember -- money was backed by gold during the Great Depression. Comparisons between today, and the Great Depression should therefore be made in gold, not in US dollars.