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Is There Such a Thing as an Optimistic Doomer

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  • Is There Such a Thing as an Optimistic Doomer

    On a five hour trip down the east coast of the U.S. (Interstate-95), my wife and I ran into bumper to bumper traffic. It seemed to stretch from the middle of Virginia to the middle of North Carolina. We got off and zipped along the side roads. (Quick, name a town or city between Richmond/Petersburg and Raleigh/Durahm.) Off the interstate we were forced to slow down for a dozen small town main streets. They all looked liked they had been moth balled since the Great Depression and James Agee. I’m going back to explore the corners of those two states this summer.

    Many itulip threads are taking on a doomsday flavor…communities creating their own currency, I’ll move to Panama, etc.

    I find it ironic that Kunstler now seems more constructive and calmer.

    http://www.kunstler.com/

    “The attempted re-start of revolving debt consumerism is an exercise in futility. We've reached the limit of being able to create additional debt at any level without causing further damage, additional distortions, and new perversities of economy (and of society, too). We can't raise credit card ceilings for people with no ability make monthly payments. We can't promote more mortgages for people with no income. We can't crank up a home-building industry with our massive inventory of unsold, and over-priced houses built in the wrong places. We can't ramp back up the blue light special shopping fiesta.”

    “But there are scores of places like Montgomery, Alabama, and thousands of traditional main street small towns that are sitting out there waiting to be re-activated. We need to do this much more than we need to build new freeways to the beach. Suburbia is not going to be abandoned overnight, but we have got to arrive at a consensus about rehabilitating our forsaken small cities and small towns. The New Urbanists have gathered, organized, and codified all the principle and methodology needed to carry out this campaign. This should be their moment. Mr. Obama and his team should get with the program.”

  • #2
    Re: Is There Such a Thing as an Optimistic Doomer

    actually, Pnama, COsta Rica, Brazil or Uruguay sound good to me!

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    • #3
      Re: Is There Such a Thing as an Optimistic Doomer

      Funny, I'd already tapped Panama as my choice for flight.

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      • #4
        Re: Is There Such a Thing as an Optimistic Doomer

        Panama and Uruguay are high on the list for me too. That being said, I've never been to either, just researched them from afar. Might be a good subject for a new thread soliciting input from iTulipers who are well traveled as to their preferred "choice for flight" if it became necessary.

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        • #5
          Re: Is There Such a Thing as an Optimistic Doomer

          I'll Stay Right HERE(Columbus, OH) thank you, If you think the US is going to be a steaming pile of dog doodo. Then those countries list above will be absolute nightmares. I have been to Brazil and Uruguay, they are not places I would run too if the US was falling apart.


          I think there are optimistic doomers, Ones the believe that we are truly up the creek with out a paddle, but that given time and a little righteous anger then things will get better in the end, and then things will go to hell again and then get better, etc,etc. Human progress is not linear hasn't ever been and will not ever be. We will always rise to lofty heights and then crash back down, sometimes quite aways down. The true doomers I thinks should be classified by the the way in which the see the future, linear or cyclic. Linear Doomers will never see the inflection points because they always are assuming the the future will look worse than the past in linear fashion. Cyclical Doomers look at the short term future saying this is bad and will get worse but......(insert little statement of hope).
          We are all little cockroaches running around guessing when the FED will turn OFF the Lights.

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          • #6
            Re: Is There Such a Thing as an Optimistic Doomer

            quote; Might be a good subject for a new thread soliciting input from iTulipers who are well traveled as to their preferred "choice for flight" if it became necessary.

            I like the idea.

            I say move via sailboat.

            Use precious metals as ballast..encapsulate and hide it in the bilge....put the gold and silver to good use....

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            • #7
              Re: Is There Such a Thing as an Optimistic Doomer

              Great, now we'll have a sailboat bubble!

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              • #8
                Re: Is There Such a Thing as an Optimistic Doomer

                Originally posted by Thailandnotes View Post
                Many itulip threads are taking on a doomsday flavor…communities creating their own currency, I’ll move to Panama, etc.
                Reality is by far mostly created without optimism and 'doomism'. It is because something realistically and rationally is so.

                Some people like to use 'optimism' to show that they are well balanced, have hope and generally do not fall for tin-foil hat theories.

                Others like to doom around and be told-you-so when it happens.

                All groups ('optimists', 'doomsayers', 'sit-pretty-in-between') wish to tell others that their view represents reality, for better or worse.

                The actual extent to which any of those groups influences reality is small. Popular media likes to attribute ups and downs (not only in economy and markets, but in every aspect of life) to 'moods' and 'feelings'.

                In reality though, things move because they are pushed.

                There is nothing wrong with being amused with watching objects being pushed (possibly performing acrobatics while doing so), and in the process imparting one's predictions on the direction of movement of said objects.

                But outside of our heads things happen as they happen, mostly moved by power and will of those who dare (and can) move it.

                The rest of us like to stay in our heads (regardless of optimism or doomism), and continue to see what we like to see.

                When it comes to predictions, the trick is to be right.

                People who made it rich can attest to that.

                And so can those who were seriously harmed or have to eat from trash containers.

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                • #9
                  Re: Is There Such a Thing as an Optimistic Doomer

                  Originally posted by serge_oc View Post
                  Reality is by far mostly created without optimism and 'doomism'. It is because something realistically and rationally is so.

                  Some people like to use 'optimism' to show that they are well balanced, have hope and generally do not fall for tin-foil hat theories.

                  Others like to doom around and be told-you-so when it happens.
                  itulip reads doomy when you first read it. then 2 years later it reads like optimism. that's the pattern... for like 10 yrs. i'm not sure what to make of some of ej's latest, if these forecasts conform to the established pattern. will his recent forecasts of global economic/political chaos look optimistic in 2 years? :eek:

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