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http://www.cultofmac.com/89492/bored-in ... he-rescue/
http://www.kotzot.com/italian-politicia ... arliament/

Every year being italian is more saddening than the year before, and I'm not talking only about the political class.
All the people are becoming more dumb, short-sighted and without a goal.
They smoke, they yell at the stadium, they drink until they pass out and go back to home at 4:00 only to sleep at work the day after. They don't care about learning something new, they simply live until they die.
If you go out and ask someone in the street if the moon is a planet or a star, only a few will point out it's neither one nor the other.
Same if you ask how electricity work, or how to make a division with a pencil.
They care about their car and their rights. Certainly not about leaving their trash in one of a the few parks we have in our cities. "Someone else will clean it up".

And young people born recently with parents like those are even worse.
The exceptions are few. And some of them don't stay here long.

I realize for my sake I should try to block out all this and live my life the best I can, but sometime I'm really saddened by this widespread zombification.

Please forgive my rambling

It's not just Italy my friend, this looks like a worldwide epidemic. I guess ignorance really is bliss .

I hear ya and those days of easy living under socialism are about to end, it's just not sustainable under any economic model.
Soon people are going to HAVE to go back to work and lead productive lives, whether they want to or not.
While not quite as bad yet, we here in the USA will soon be experiencing the same challenges.
Good luck to you!

It's actually worse in the US!
But, given our superior military and propensity to print money with an unelected FED, and near fascist control of the media, we will certainly be the last to admit it.
There is a sliver of reason if a 76 year old Presidential candidate can break through to the 'we want' masses holding their hands out for more guaranteed 'rights' than life and liberty.
Dr. Ron Paul's unwavering nay saying to countless new useless laws and transgressions against our Constitution and the world stage are beginning to resonate.
So many disillusioned citizens expected the social goodies to last forever - guaranteed health care that bankrupts society, guaranteed retirement despite ~30 more years to live!, super low interest rates/loans for low income home buyers and college tuition, restricting my neighbors income but not mine, bailing out failed industries to sustain their jobs, all while policing the world.
US citizens are becoming painfully aware that our system is broken and maybe, just maybe, that old geezer who won't go away who predicted all of this should get a shot at the helm.

-rant off

With all due respect, if you think it is worse in the USA than elsewhere in the world, such as Greece or Italy...

You are off your frigging rocker. We have our hands full with stuff that is boiling to a head, sure... But things are nowhere near as bad here as they are in other countries.


As for the original post at the top of this thread - that is what you breed with a cradle-to-grave entitlement society.
I still don't get how people can look at these systems, and the countries that are now collapsing under their weight, and think it is what the USA "needs".

I will finally, truly start to worry about this country when the day comes that they finally open up Fort Knox under intense public pressure; and find out that either

A) There is no gold at all
B) That there is gold, but we don't own it.

Zach - I don't own a rocker...yet.
Our debts to China and others far exceed the gold in Fort Knox, even accounting for made up numbers on reserves and $2000/oz ~= $600 Billion. Our debts are astronomical by comparison.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
http://goldprice.org/

http://www.usdebtclock.org/world-debt-clock.html
Are you really about to quibble over the numbers presented above?
LOL...Greek and Italian citizens, while claiming a love of socialist payouts, clearly loathe paying any sort of taxes. Ironic that eh? Why bother when they can flamboozle the EU into hundreds of billions of dollars and want more? And there is even a deal afoot for our FED to print money to prop up an EU bailout through the IMF. All this is silly money for sure as there really is a reset coming. The Mayans may be right about 2012.

Still, Mediterranean states have temperate climates and reasonably low populations and can roll their sleeves up and move forward far more swiftly than an aging, ever fattening America.

What America has that most countries don't is lots and lots of space and the supposed freedom of commerce across its entirety and a unified language to facilitate rapid transfer of ideas and products. I'm sure this was the EU's goal to mimic. But, they and we are getting bogged down in the collectivist manner in which the Federal powers attempt to pick and choose winning states(or countries 'Greece not Turkey') and industries. The Federation is only supposed to uphold the agreed rule of law. Not print money.

Such a great time to witness history unfolding at an epic pace.

Every year being italian is more saddening than the year before, and I'm not talking only about the political class.

BS.., think of all the premium cars you build, like Ferrari and Lamborghini for example,
and Motorcycles, MV Augusta, Ducati, and many more..

Ducati is besides the German BMW the most advanced brand in the world, The Japs cant't compete anymore.

Even my 2011 Tomos Flexer moped has lots of made in Italy parts in it, like the aluwheels.

All America has to do to pay a substantial portion of its debt (if not the entirety) to any other countries is simply stop internal spending at a dramatic rate. The tax revenue alone on a yearly basis would quite easily allow us to honor all our international debt agreements.

We still have many, many options before we see a true crisis here, on the scale that is occurring in Europe.

Zach, I think you are confusing Billions and Trillions?
We owe Trillions!
Look at the debt clock again...
Of course, we can decide to write it all off and raise retirement age to 75 and go to a gold standard and so on.