Doomsday Scenario

Just imagine for a minute....

-Federal tax cuts and off-budget war spending run the national debt to record levels.

-China responds to congressional talk of raising tariffs by threatening to dump the dollar holdings that it’s been acquiring at a rate of a billion dollars a day.

-Losses in the sub-prime mortgage market trigger bankruptcies in the home lending industry, lead to widespread foreclosures, falling home values, increased inflation and unemployment.

-Long term investments earn a lower rate of return that short term instruments, a so-called “inverted yield curve,” that is a traditional predictor of economic recession.

-A major storm in the Gulf of Mexico disrupts oil and gas production, causing a spike in the price of oil to over $100 a barrel.

-Meanwhile, the Bush administration labels the Iranian National Guard a “global terrorist group.” Congressman Dennis Kucinich calls this “an attempt to deceive Americans into yet another war,” saying “This new label provides further evidence for Iran’s leaders that there is no point to engage in diplomatic talks with the U.S. if our actions point directly to regime change.”

Don’t worry folks, I’m making all this stuff up.