The press like to focus on one issue at a time. Europe last week, US elections yesterday, fiscal cliff today and China tomorrow.
The reality is that there are many major problems.
Off the top of my head:
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* People these days have everything they need. There are very few must-have items to spur sales
* The inventions so far cover a lot of what we need to live long in absolute safety and comfort. This is what Kasparov is noticing.
* Western Economies are 66% or more based on consumer spending ; any belt tightening has major impact
* People are still in too much debt, they're spending less
* Companies still have borrowed too much in the past: expecting boom years to continue 2050+
* Banks insolvent without support
* All governments bar Norway,Oz,Cananda? are in deficit
* Pensions are barely worth the contributions you put in over your lifetime. There has been no 5-8% increase as forecast
* Some countries have demographic problems where a lot of people will leave the income earning age
* It looks difficult for Democracies to reduce government spending. 'Pain-now', both real or perceived, is always deferred
[Edit for formatting, spelling]