[Drewbert]

The rest of the world will recover quickly by finding new markets to replace the USA. When the US people can no longer afford to buy gas for their cars, the price will drop and the Chinese will have access to more, allowing their economy to EXPLODE.

US Gov dept rings in at 5 digits per US household.

Factor in that most householders there keep refinancing their homes to pay for their spending habits and credit card debt levels, and you have a very sad picture.

Listen to the talking heads on the TV pleading with people to keep spending - it's the only thing preventing the collpase and one day the spending will have to stop.

This IS the Chinese century. USA is about to go the way of the Greek, Roman, and British empires.