Really?
Although it's true that the U.S. is "addicted" to oil, we've been "addicted" to oil for decades, and the price often went down during that "addiction." It is ignorant to assert that the "addiction" is the reason for the recent increases in prices.
While it's true that the best workers and executives in the world are U.S. workers and executives, these folks are unfortunately a minority in this country these days. Most Americans are unwilling to accept any risk at all, or take responsibility for the negative consequences of their mistakes. The U.S. economy indeed sucks because by and large we
are a bunch of whiners. If more of us belted up a bit, and spent more time earning a living rather than whining about how we're not getting "the American Dream (TM)" we're somehow "entitled" to, I suspect our economy would be objectively strong, rather than running on promises of pay-offs that are not earned.
Although it's true that "predatoy" lenders obtained "bad" loans from folks who could not cover them, they also managed to make sure those were "good" loans by getting them insured. Ignorant is the notion that "predatory lenders" in any way pointed a gun at the heads of stupid people and forced them take out loans they could not cover, and nobody pointed a gun at the heads of the insurers who insured those bad loans, and forcing them to promise to cover those bad loans. I don't care how enticing a lender's offer might be; they can offer you the fucking MOON--
YOU have to know your limitations, and
YOU have to do your own homework, and
YOU can't blame anyone but yourself for the consequences of
YOUR failure to do so.
Again, while it's true that the best workers in the world are U.S. workers; if a job twisting bolts at Chrysler is not really worth $45,000, AND full health coverage, AND full pension, I don't care how hard a guy works, or how badly he needs that compensation--his job doesn't merit it, and we're fools to let him demand it use the force of government to achieve his fatuous demands. Sadly for this douche and those like him, with their over-developed sense of entitlement, the people who are willing to do that work, for the wages it's worth, are not from this country. If these assholes saved more of their checks, felt a little less worthy of a Harley Davidson, a boat, snowmobiles and a new truck every two years, and more grateful that being functionally illiterate and unwilling to learn a more valuable trade doesn't necessarily mean starvation for their kids, maybe they'd still have jobs, and less time to bitch and moan about how the economy sucks.
