This is the beginning of 1930. People did not lose their ass in 1929 compared to 1930. China is on the verge of imploding. Obama MAY try to stabilize the economy through 1 trillion plus stimulase packages but it will not do anything. The amount of money coming down the pipe is truely scary. What we are going to have is a mixture of inflation and deflation. Housing will tank even further, and jobs will go bye bye - right now at around 16% unemployment. States will become insolvent - as they already are, etc. BDI taking a shit - no raw materials, JIT produce, farmers being denied letters of credit, etc.....
The shit storm is coming, but I do not believe it will be from "god" as the bible thumpers like to argue. No, this will be mans doing. Shit, we haven't even talked about nature throwing a wrench into the works - no solar activity, wetter than most years, bad crops, etc. 2009-2010 and possibly a decade beyond is going to be interesting to say the least...
If it becomes another depression, more than likely it will be, yes SOME might come out of it. OIl production and populations have rose simultanously - meaning as more oil is pumped the population gets bigger due to more food, medicine, clothing, etc. The bell curve puts us on the right side compared to the 1930's. When production crashes, and output ceases to increase - people will die. So yes some may make it, but this is a mew society - new morals, new thoughts - MEism at its finest. The 1930's were completely different than now...