Okay all you writer’s out there, here is premise that can lead into a wide array of stories. This is an extremely scary topic – the national debt. If you have never seen it, take time to look at this link:
As a CPA and financial advisor, the numbers that appear there are unimaginable, astronomical and, quite frankly, catastrophic. Japan recently began discussions on their own country’s financial Armagedden. In the novel “The Road” by Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Cormac McCarthy, there is an unknown catastrophe, but one that leads to the basic instincts of survival and even cannibalism to that effort. In a recent documentary titled “The Crumbling of America”, our national infrastructure was given a rating of “D.” Add in the crippling absolutism of our two-party political system and the perfect storm towards catastrophe can be written about.
Consider what might happen if all of a sudden our financial system failed. The subprime mortgage fiasco of 2008 was the wake up call. Notice in the debt clock the term “Unfunded Liabilities.” In simpler terms, this might read “We promised you, but we lied.” There is no possible scenario that we can recover $117 trillion dollars to meet those promises. When promises are broken people riot. Take a close look at Greece or even the Arab Spring. When people lose faith they will take matters into their own hands. They will fight, murder, steal and collect members to dominate, ie: form gangs. This is nothing new; it is history being repeated. However, this next time around it will be more sobering. Why?
We are dependent on an energy grid for all the conveniences we now take for granted. We are dependent upon technology that also requires energy. More than 80% of the people in the US live in cities and have no clue on survival skills, farming, etc. When a catastrophe hits and all electricity is lost, food spoils, fresh water cannot be pumped and sewers do not work. It happened before in the 2003 Northeast blackout. Most of our money is now transacted via digital transmission thus you will have no access to your money. There is NO App for that.
So as you look for ideas for stories, take a good hard look at our current state of affairs. It is a series of horror stories that should be told. We need an awakening.
