Chances--Maybe 20%

Someday, Someone will do this to me, and I hope that I fare as well as Paul Krugman. Individuals can only respond to their environment; they lack the capacity to change it drastically in the Short Run, and rarely much in the Long Run. Suffice it to say that to be 50% Right in future predictions stands as a high Success record. This is Why I have decided to pull a Krugman attempt, and give a hazy, lazy group of far-fetched nonsense as likely to be True in a decade. I hope it makes Everyone laugh.

1) A new consistent American Tax Code will be in place, after the huge financial disstabilization where not even the Federal Reserve could claim enough assets to purchase Treasuries.
2) Employment will be Up, due to new Regulations in place which actually Tax for the overuse of energy-intensive equipment in Agriculture, Transportation, and Manufacturing.
3) Much of the Interstate system will be closed to All but Freight and Mass Transient vehicles.
4) There will be a return to Urbanization as the effects of the above stresses take effect, with Land prices dropping in the hinterland. Much will return to Agricultural use with a Population density to meet Agriculture labor needs reminiscent of the 1945 Time span, before the return of Servicemen.
5) Housing will move to Apartment-dwelling, as the Costs of maintaining Private residences continue to rise, and Service Retail returns to urban settings to follow the Consumers.
6) Technology will continue to aid society: I look forward to individual electrical generators will translate Air resistence on vehicles back into Motive power to propel those vehicles.
7) I predict a return to domestic production as the Costs of Trade and Transportation continue to increase.
8) A consistent World-wide policy of reforestation will be introduced, while in America, widespread use of Tree-planting Summer camps will replace the increasing Costs of full-time, Privately-funded, Child Care supervision. It would probably be the most popular $10 billion dollar per year Public program for Congress that they would ever have passed.
9) A system of permanent Soup Kitchens would be set up, funded by Local Government, but aided by refusal to allow Waste expense to Retail Grocers, unless the total have been turned over to a registered local Soup Kitchen. There would be a base charge placed on All who would eat there of low amount to cover Wage and Capital Costs, but with Local Voucher offices giving Stamps to use instead of Cash in the Soup Kitchens. Preferment in Apartment subsidy to Welfare Recipients close to the Soup Kitchens would negate the need for the Food Stamp programs which is wasteful of both Food and Nutrition.
10) A Statement that the above trends will only be starting in a decade, and will probably take 30 years to reach fruitation.

I will first listen to Conservatives who will denounce the entire List as being un-American, and injurious to both Profits and averse impact of Taxation. I will next listen to Liberals, who will claim that the simplistic notions of Welfare will deny the Poor the possibility to expressing their individuality, and reduce necessary Government employment. I will follow with listening to the Property-holders bellow that I am adversely affecting Land values. I will finish by entertaining those rare Philosophers who proclaim that We should let All go to hell by their own chose of destruction. lgl