Nothing will collapse, this by design. The world is run by a plutocracy. Individuals who can see this and act will be fine. Everyone else is labor. Surplus labor will be culled. People who endure a "collapse" are those people who did average in high school, average in college. They have been trained, but not educated. These types are not even a dime a dozen, they are more like a penny a dozen. People who understand what is going on are preparing, and will be out of harms way when the tsunami comes.
I think it depends on what you mean by "starting at zero" - you mean everybody starts as an infant and gets the same upbringing/resources? Nurture counts for a lot. Knowledge is currency. If you are better-off financially, you can hire people who are smarter than you to take care of some things.
Typical bitter jealousy from hateful poor people who haven't dealt with their own failures. The reaction? Resent the privileges of others...
Wrong, he's more a "Fist up everybody's ass to control every aspect of our lives, Socialist/Communist". He only APPEARS to be moderating so that he might get reelected in 2012. If he does, don't be surprised if he wields a HUGE SOCIALISTIC HAMMER to smash every American freedom.. He does NOT "want people working in the private sector", regardless of his spew... he wants people dependent upon the government for their "living" so that they can be controlled. He's been a monumental LIAR AND FRAUD SINCE DAY-ONE, and still is.
If you are poor and get a million $, you will piss it away. If you are rich and get a million $, you will piss it away but get bailed out.
Interesting article that studies some of the issues in this thread (bottom of the page): http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=228188&perpage=6&pagenumber=12
Is the USA ready for it's first non-2-party president? Only those few Americans who are "awake" and looking down the road, instead of at their iPhone. So, I voted "Nah. Same old same old".