Predictions for 2008

I just posted this over at HousingPanic and thought I'd share it here:

Home prices will plummet to unimaginable lows in summer of 2008 when the bulk of arm resets hit, the FB's learn that Bush's bailout bill was a bunch of political smoke & mirrors that doesn't help anyone, and credit becomes all but impossible to obtain.

Oil prices skyrocket more - $5/gallon gas. Gold continues to rise on a weak dollar.

Phoenix/Scottsdale is hit with more store & restaurant closures and starts to look like a ghost town (parts of Scottsdale already do). Unemployment in that city skyrockets to double-digits thanks to the 40% REIC-based economy, crime spirals out of control, and the normal people pack up and move out, leaving behind the "New Detroit" for criminals and looters to take over. City of Scottsdale goes bankrupt due to massive loss of property taxes and the failure of their photo radar scheme to become profitable.

(People forget that before the REIC took over, Phoenix's economy was call center and factory jobs, which have now all moved to China and India.)

Other bubble cities such as Vegas, San Diego, Miami, suffer losses on a much smaller scale since they have something other than REIC to fall back on for jobs; however, the effects are still felt in those places.

There will be no terrorist attacks because Bin Laden wants a Democrat president in the U.S., and attacking us in 2008 will just make more people vote Republican.

Ron Paul won't win but his campaign will have woken enough people up that more and more Americans will take a stand and start putting their foot down against anti-American and anti-Freedom crap like the IRS, wealth redistribution (including socialized healthcare), gun control, global warming, special privileges for minorities, illegal immigrants, overzealous police, and everything else that is chipping away at our freedom.

Now let's hear your predictions - add your comments below!

Comments

[Andy]

I like how you pick and chose what what people like about Ron Paul. The biggest is staying out of other countries business. We have 700 military bases worldwide and this causes problems all over the world and creates anger.

Please vote for Ron Paul. If you truly believe in ideology of Ayn Rand, free market capitalism - he is your guy. Its just the primary, vote your heart and hope for the best. If he loses, oh well it will be mitt romney. But what if he wins? He will beat hilary by a landslide. He brings both conservatives, libertarians, and liberals like me together. He is the only one who has a shot to break the bush/clinton family royalty.

Wouldn't it be nice to have someone who doesn't go along with everyone else in Washington? Someone who actually stands for something? Someone who won't sell the American people out to the highest bidder? Who won't compromise when it comes to what he believes in. All the others bend in the wind depending on which way the money is flowing.

[Frank Rumbauskas]

I would vote for Ron Paul. I want to. But the guy is a military pacifist and isolationist. He wants us to let our defenses down and sit back and wait to be attacked.

Yes, he's a Constitutionalist, a free-market capitalist, pro-2nd Amendment, and everything else I like.

However, all of that won't do us any good if we get blown up.

People piss and moan and whine and say we need to shut down our overseas bases and "bring the troops home." They say we can because we haven't been attacked since 9/11.

But what they leave out is we haven't been attacked by terrorists since 9/11 because Bush has been busy killing them before they can get to us.

If we pull out everywhere and "bring our troops home" then get ready for a whole string of 9/11 style attacks. Like I said, I love Ron Paul on domestic issues, but his economic genius won't do one bit of good after the muslim extremists blow up Wall Street.

[war_shu_duck]

1) The saying "It's all good" will be replaced by do you have any spare change?

2) The term " Gold digger" will go back to meaning anyone who digs or pans for gold.

3) It will become common to move out of your house and live in your suv.

4) Suv parks will be the new trailer parks as those suv owners won't be able to afford to put fuel in them.

5) Scottsdale will create its own day of celebration to honor the death of the 30k a year millionaire.

6) Janet Napolitano will come out of the closet.

7) John Mccain will announce he never really wanted to be President. His wife was just forcing him to run for office so she could get her name into the history books.

8) Someone will ask why doesn't Arizona have left turn signals at all the major intersects and the idea will be considered but postponed for another decade.

9) The Tommy Bahama shirt will fall out of fashion. T-shirts reading "I couldn't afford the whole shirt" will become popular again.

10) Pretentiousness will be replaced by humility.

[whitetower67]

Ayn Rand would detest Ron Paul -- anyone who says that the 9/11 attack on NYC was essentially understandable or justified would receive Rand's undying contempt and vitriol. Just read her "Anti-Industrial Revolution."

[Joe Jacari]

My prediction is more real estate havoc, finally hitting hard in California. Especially the Bay Area/San Jose. Maybe I'll be able to afford to move back there then.
_____

On another note. I read from the "Housing Panic" site, another exchange from a clueless Arizonan called Happy Homeowner contra Frank.
___

(h)appy homeowner in the stix said...

Ok, Frank, I looked it up...(in reference to Frank saying that real estate made up a significant portion of the Pheonix economy and citing companies like Honeywell as big valley employers to counter Frank's assertion).
_____

My response:

Frank from "Scottsdale Sucks" is right about the Phoenix economy being dependent, a lot, on real estate.

You cited Honeywell as an example of a prime valley employer.

Well, I happen to be a Project Analyst at Honeywell Defense and Space in Phoenix/Glendale.

Work is now being outsourced to Puerto Rico and Honeywell's ACS division is moving sh*t to China.

The ADP (alarms, etc.) division of Honeywell, including Globabl Credit and Treasury in Tempe, whom I have also worked for is moving jobs to Mexico.

Better put down the crack pipe and consider what Frank is saying.

[Matt]

#1 Ron Paul IS NOT a military pacifist. I am a Gulf War and Iraq veteran so I know a little bit about military action. Ron is not an isolationist, he has repeatedly stated he would go after those responsible for 911 of which Iran and Iraq we're NOT. Further Ron believes in following the constitution and getting proper authorization to go to war.

2# Ron is 100% correct that it was our foreign policy that was to blame for the 911 attacks. Saying otherwise only PROVES you have NO CLUE about our history in the middle east and how we have endlessly stirred the pot over there and now it is boiling over. Lear a bit of history about it, and you will realize real quick WE caused them to hate us.

3# Having been deployed to the middle east I can tell you that yes if we just pull out LESS AMERICANS WILL DIE and NO the terrorists wont follow us over here. If you are foolish enough to think or dumb enough to believe Fox news or any other fear mongering news agency that they will just come over her and being bombing us is ridiculous. They attack us over there because we are..well OVER THERE...duh!

Why do you think Ron Paul gets more donations from the military THAN ANY OTHER CANDIDATE?

[Better Blue than a Rube]

Actually - the evidence that Al Qaeda and Bin Laden want a Republican administration is exponentially higher than them wanting a Democratic administration - evidence for the latter of which is based only on Bush Administration statements. And, anyone who believes the bs coming out of the bush administration now needs to also invest in arizona real estate - same type of thinking.

The Bush administration from 9/11 on fed right into exactly what Bin Laden wanted - a holy war between the west and the "east" which would dramatically increase the ranks of Al Qaeda - by starting a war with muslim countries - the jackpot of which was Bush starting a war with a muslim country that never attacked us and had nothing to do with 9/11. That was a real cherry on the top for Bin Laden and probably something he had never even expected or hoped for in his wildest dreams. Then, in October (surprise?) 2004, guess who turns up with a video trying to scare gullible Americans saying that it would be great if Kerry wins the election - yeah - Bin Laden again - surprise suprise on us. Hello - how stupid are we to believe that what Bin Laden says in a video is what he actually believes????? What was the practical effect of that video - exactly what Bin Laden wanted - to scare a few more moronic Americans into voting for Bush and not Kerry. And, that's evidence of wanting a Democratic Administration??? As opposed to the exact opposite? On what planet?

The fact is that the only thing Al Qaeda has going for it is a US administration that will idiotically shoot first and ask questions later - and that is a Republican administration up down and sideways. The last thing Al Qaeda wants is an adminstration (Democratic) that will actually seriously and methodically dedicate financial and intelligence resources both on our side and from around the world to root out this menance - through tried and true criminal investigative techniques like all other countries have used throughout history to successfully combat terrorist activity. They'd rather deal with block head neanderthals like we've had in "charge" for the last 7 years.

[Frank Rumbauskas]

"Better Blue" -

In case you forgot, a few days before the 2004 elections, Osama Bin Laden issued a video statement urging Americans to vote for John Kerry.

This is your final warning - post any more blatant lies on the site and you're banned.

[Matt]

Hey Better Blue than a Rube... so with a Democratic administration such as Clinton's we get a ZERO response to terrorist attacks... have you forgotten the USS Cole? Nothing is ever accomplished with a Democratic presidency.

Shall I provide a nail for your coffin? How about the promises of the current Democratically controlled congress? What have they done... NOTHING and with the lowest rating OF ALL TIME I suspect your arguing points are all but worn out.

[Frank Rumbauskas]

All the Democrat congress has done is make themselves look like a bunch of idiotic jackasses who cannot be taken seriously and who only wanted to hold public office for their own personal amusement and perks.

For all the media's painting Bush as a monkey buffoon, the democrats in congress look even dumber. All they do is point fingers, bicker amongst themselves, create drama, etc etc.... they remind me of a bunch of catty teenage girls in high school. Pelosi and Reid are considered our national idiots now.

They've really shot themselves in the foot for the Presidential election. All the Republican nominee will have to do to win is say, "Look at what the democrats have done to congress - do we really want them in the White House too?"

[war_shu_duck]

Here is the type of list Arizona makes the top 10 on. The F.B.I's 10 most wanted lists. We happen to have two of our former citizens on there. A shaved headed wacko named Robert Fisher and a spiky haired D'bag named Jason Brown.

[Russ DoGG]

I predict Russ won't pursue that aerospace engin. job near pheonix. Not that the company wasn't good but too much white trash culture, combined with rising levels of property crime, turned me off.

You all spoke of the area becoming Detroit 2.0 or something similar. Well I lived in the suburbs of Detroit for years (auto industry) and all of my colleagues avoided the city like the plague. When that kind of implosion occurs in a regional economy, let me tell you it ain't pretty. crime and white collar scams abound. It's a hassle to try and live with.

Remember that post about the old man getting run over by an out of control car? Where those around him seized the opportunity to loot his groceries? More of that stuff I predict for 2008. There's a new skankiness in American suburbia and I think it will be seen more in the mainstream media now- as opposed to just "cops" shows in years prior.

You convinced me to stay away. Thanks, I think.