The Real Crisis 2008

The author of this book is an 88 year old grandfather whose life has spanned the 20th century and the greatest explosion of technological development in human history.
As a keen observor and participant he has watched individual technologies develop and the effect they have had on the lives of Americans. In particular, the social and economic problems that each technological development created.
While technology created advantiges in affluent living that are evident to all, certain side effects occured which are not so evident, but were at the root of the 2008 crash and now threaten to create a world wide depression.
For example, technological advances in health care, medicine,and food supply increased the world population from around 1.5 billion in 1900 to around 7 billion today, At the same time technology was automating production and replacing human labor. Finding a productive way to utilize the obvious oversupply of people that has resulted is not just a problem but essential to future economic health.
The way transportation technology has gone from horse power to space flight is a second example. This has virtually eliminated geographic limitations and resulted in the migration of productive enterprize to the lowest cost areas. The loss of jobs and the lowering of living standards in affluent nations poses both economic, social, and moral problems.
Another side effect, and perhaps the most damaging, is the digital revolution which allows instant manipulation of huge amounts of money for speculative purposes. This has converted Wall Street into a casino diverting available capital from investments, and, fostered speculation that is causing unrealistic price volutility.
These and other side effects are the subject of this book. The very survival of our way of life depends on solving the problems they have caused.