1. The economy will continue to stall and sputter, unemployment (officially) will increase to 11.25%, unofficially, it will remain above 22%, (accounting for all underemployed, those that just gave up and those that have run out of benefits and are off the grid).
2. War with Iran by the fall. This will be conducted through drone attacks and other high tech weaponry to prevent 'boots on the ground'.
3. Average price of gasoline will settle around $5.25 per gallon.
4. Packers win the Superbowl.
5. Food prices contiune to escalate, essentially doubling what they are today, December 31st, 2011.
6. Electric cars are realized as an epic fail and a push towards hybrids is seen as a viable solution.
7. The federal government continues its nanny state tactics by instituting TSA checkpoints and security gates in football arenas and other public spaces.
8. The banking takeover will continue as banks further restrict lending and look to confiscate more property nationwide. Banks begin merging with Wal Mart and other retail outlets and push for an escalation of the cashless society.
8. The concept of aerial drone surveillance is 'sold' to the American public as a 'safety' issue and good for our overall welfare. Major cities begin to draw up plans to have 24/7 drone surveillance.
9. Food stamp issuance will increase by 20%, bringing the number of food stamp recipients to 80 million nationwide.
10. High Speed Internet connection in the home will begin providing all media, displacing cable and satellite service.
11. Smart phones get less expensive and more purchases are made with them further escalating the cashless society.
12. Having more than $500 cash on you at any time is seen as suspicious and can be grounds for a warrant less search of your vehicle or premises.
13. Books will continue being replaced with electronic media.
14. The unemployed will begin to be seen as a 'sub-class' of people and the federal and state government will begin to require mandatory work camps and and administrative duties to aid the bankrupt municipalities and states. Downsized government workers get replaced with the unemployed at a fraction of their pay. This is hailed as 'progress' to keep the cities and states from going completely insolvent.
15. Vehicle registration fees, property taxes, licensing - all double to make up for the shortfall.
16. More retailers and grocery stores go under and we have less choice about where to shop.
17. Depression, anxiety and mental illness all increase exponentially- making it a boom for the pharmaceutical industry however a complete bust for the health of the American public.
18. People will travel less, (already evident in the last 10 years). No one can afford to go anywhere.
19. Having a good job will be seen as an upper class entitlement - they will be rare and the competition for them will be fierce.
20. The dollar will continue to plummet in value. Income less than $50,000 a year for a family of 4 will be seen as poverty level.
21. Alcohol sales will skyrocket. Gambling will increase. The lottery business as well as any form of gambling will increase.
22. Health insurance will be more difficult to qualify for. Underwriting requirements will tighten and cheaper, HMO type plans will be offered in a herding mentality and sold as a way to "get the health benefits you need at a price you can afford". These plans will not cover much, there will be limitations for certain illnesses, waiting and exclusionary periods and limited networks. The uneducated public will glom on to these plans and feel good about 'having health insurance'- all the while unaware of the plans limitations.
23. People with the ability to do so will leave the country. Retirees will opt for Belize, Mexico or the Philippines. Businesses will also continue to leave from fear of the corporate tax and all other manner of taxation and regulation. It will become too expensive to do business in the United States.
24. The federal govt will begin scanning your laptop and personal data devices at airports- this will be a precursor to same type searches by the police when pulled over or questioned. Information gleaned from these searches will be complied in central data banks to be held against you when applying for health, life or property insurance.
25. IVP 6 - the "internet of things" is already in existence and will be officially rolled out in 2012. Everything will have a computer chip in it, most will not even be visible. This will allow your trash to be scanned- already being done in Cleveland Ohio- and all items accounted for and downloaded to create predictive behavior algorithms assigned to your person, address and family. This information about you and your family will be third partied to the corporate world for risk assessment, advertising and all other manner of potential corporate gain at your expense.
26. Everything you buy on a credit or debit card is already being downloaded and saved to create a 'profile' about you and your habits. Cable and satellite companies have been doing this for years and the trend is to increase the surveillance of their customer base. All of this data will be merged with the above example and sold to the highest bidder.
27. Key card locks will be introduced as 'safer' than traditional keys. These key cards will operate much the same as a credit card although they will time date stamp all of your comings and goings and, as above, eventually end up in the hands of the highest bidder. These records (and the above) will all be seen as admissible in a court of law- opening up a whole new venue for attorneys to further exasperate their already outrageous fees.
28. Prison overcrowding will become such a problem that violent felons will be early released creating a new crime wave.
29. The constitutional nature of our government will be further eroded with more 'super committees' and the like and Congress and the Senate will be seen essentially as sycophants for the superclass of corporate leaders who will dictate how this country rolls into the future.
30. Happy New Year!
