Painful Times in the Western World

I'm not sure the average person understands how economies actually work. And I'm not sure what to call what is happening in the western world. For lack of a better term maybe deleveraging might be the best one I've heard of so far.

The best way I can describe what is happening globally to the western world would be to say that Europe and North America and many other parts of the Western World have had unprecedented growth and affluence beginning with the end of World War II. Even though the actual peak of this affluence was in the 1960s and 1970s in real terms, the benefits of this affluence North America and Europe continued to share until now. However, now everyone has gotten used to all the social programs and retirement programs and social welfare programs etc. And countries can't really afford socially to let those programs go because it could cause a breakdown in law and order in those countries. However, to continue all the retirement benefits and social welfare programs and everything else may cause the complete bankruptcy of many if not all western nations one by one. And the more socialist the nation the quicker it will tend to go bankrupt. Since the United States is one of the least Socialist it might be one of the last to lose all its social programs. I hope it all doesn't happen this way and that there is some alternative to this but right now I don't see it.

However, we may be entering simaltaneously a new type of economy that I might call a worldwide green economy. Now this might be as revolutionary as the industrial revolution over the next 25 years or so and change everything so dramatically that Europe and North America will right themselves. This is a distinct possibility. For example, technologies like the Solar Impulse airplane that is planning to fly two people on solar power alone around the world might revolutionize not only flying but change people's minds on what solar power can actually do for everyone. For myself, actually watching this Swiss plane take off and fly for I think it was an hour or more on just solar power and then land with two pilots on board was just as mind bending as it must have been for those who saw Wilbur and Orvile Wright first take off at Kitty Hawk. So everything is changing and it might be very difficult to see exactly where it all will end up. But remember there is always hope and the only way to actually lose is to give up.