I have never felt such an overwhelming perception that our world economy is fragile, lacking any depth of stamina and operating on the thinnest of a margin for error. We have now purchased a brief 'timeout' with wild debts that the next generation will never be able to repay. As it is, we may face an inflation far beyond that which followed the Vietnam War. More than that, our present troubles may have been quietly triggered by a demographic shift in Western nations that cannot be changed within the lifetime of many who are reading these words. Exactly how do you have a growing GDP with a declining population, as in Europe or Japan? How do you intend to pay 20 year Sovereign debt when the taxpayers were never born? We desparately need a dramatic technological catalyst to inspire the 21st century world economy - or the future will be dominated by weak, miserable governments struggling to redistribute whatever wealth is left. Expensive hybrid cars to be purchased by overextended consumers, miscalculated energy yields from windmills, solar cells that keep promising parity with fossil generation, and waiting for hot fusion like the Second Coming will not save us. We need something much more profound - and not marginal. Will the answers come from status quo science? Resistant academia? The same people who cured every disease centered as the concern of a public charity over the past few decades? Who resisted cold fusion with religious fervor? My point, in summary, is this: The whole world may now depend on fringe thinkers such as those on this Vortex site or similar boards on the internet. The economy's deep emphasis on financial speculation in recent years (such as mortgages and credit cards granted to people who can't afford them) is a disturbing sign that profitability can't be generally achieved in businesses that already are too 'lean'. A new energy catalyst is vital. We may be the future Tech Saviors of the world. Finding that 'free energy' Holy Grail may be left as our life's burden - by default - and the clock is running out.......
