My own opinion is that we are experiencing a worldwide adjustment downward. Baby steps back to reality after a series of booms, busts, bubbles and speculation.
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since much of the world is now even more unsettled than the US, the US has a window of opportunity to put its political and fiscal house in order and to become, once again, the civilization that emerging countries want to emulate.
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Good coffee, good weed, and time on my hands...