Let's Make 2022 Predictions!

[Joe Guy]

A couple for starters...

People will get less mindful of the pandemic (at least in the U.S.) and COVID will continue to greatly divide the thoughtful people from the idiots. The idiots will blame everything negative on Biden and Dr Fauci and become more militant. Thankfully, many of the idiots will get COVID and die.

I will catch COVID from breathing the air around some thoughtless idiot who shouldn't be in the same grocery store as me.

The Fed will raise interest rates a couple times causing stupid people to panic and say it's a bad thing caused by Joe Biden.

Donald Trump will say something divisive and stupid...

[MGMcAnick]

Eventually in 2022 nearly everyone on the planet will contract some varient of the covid 19 virus, probably after omicron, and gain at least some immunity. Then the virus will die out, or be thought of as not much worse than the common cold. (At least I can dream.)

[BoSoxGal]

The GQP will take back both houses of Congress in the midterms and the stage will be set for the re-election of Trump in ‘24 and the fall of the United States to authoritarian rule. More likely that not the GQP will manufacture some highly unconstitutional means to remove Biden and Harris from office even before the next general election, but that’s a prediction for 2023 so I’ll save it for later.

The pandemic will continue to devastate small businesses and the lives of working families across the nation, strengthening the national resolve to accept a petty tyrant who promises simple easy solutions to all their problems - like the persecution of liberals.

2022 will be the hottest year ever in recorded history and the country will suffer tens of billions of costs in weather related disasters which will destroy lives and livelihoods and further exacerbate popular will for strong government that offers easy solutions like purging our schools of CRT and all the liberals who teach it.

Fun times ahead!

[Jarlaxle]

More 24/7 panic porn.

[MajGenl.Meade]

I predict I'll be 2021 predictions short of the target

[BoSoxGal]

More 24/7 panic porn.

Get back to me in 365 days, dear.

[Burning Petard]

The traditional common sense wisdom is that the GOP is good for business, the DEMs good for the little guy and bad for business. Just off-hand, the Dow-Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq average are taken as the numbers that goes up when business is good and down when business is bad.

So I predict that the GOP will take back both houses of congress in 2022. The logjam/stalemate/do-nothing behavior of congress will return, just in time for another shut down of the federal government. So for last year, with 2/3rds of the Federal government 'run' by the DEMS, the stock indexes ended way up, year over year, with record highs. I predict down for the end of 2022.

snailgate

[Big RR]

The GOP will take back the House; not so certain about the senate, which may end up 50/50. Trump will keep making noise, but it will become less likely he will run in the next election, either because enough people get sick of him (my fonder wish) or he suffers a major health setback (either real or used to save face--I'll take what I can get). Biden will keep blaming his inability to get very much done on the gridlock, but at least he might roll back some/most of the policies of Trump's Executive Orders. Harris will remain more or less invisible. And Covid 19 will proceed to become endemic (either after omicron or pi or whatever), claiming tens of thousands of lives a year, like the flu, but becoming more manageable. And, regardless of what happens, the Dow will soar and the rich will continue to get richer, while the rest of us will see much of what we have gobbled up in inflation because, god forbid, we can't raise taxes to pay for the monies we spend, from the programs of the covid time to the uber expensive wars we were/will be part of. All in all, steady as she goes.

[Jarlaxle]

More 24/7 panic porn.

Get back to me in 365 days, dear.

Oh, I'm sure the panic-porn will continue even then.

[Guinevere]

Speak for yourself, I’m not panicking about COVID, truly the worst thing facing our country and world is global warming, and either we face it and manage it, or we die. Is it too late - possibly, probably, but I also believe in ingenuity, technology, and innovation.

Agree with BigRR about COVID becoming more manageable, and I’m also concerned about the midterms and the Dems losing the House. I believe inflation will be managed, and settle back down again by mid-year.

[Crackpot]

in truth I suspect inflation has been kept artificially low for the last 20-30 years

[Bicycle Bill]

-"BB"-

[Econoline]

[BoSoxGal]

Rather than ‘panic porn,’ the concern that the United States is heading toward authoritarianism is becoming mainstream among political scientists and historians both here and abroad.

Here’s a thoughtful view out of our neighbor to the north:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion ... t-prepare/


I fully expect to live through the fall of democracy in the next decade. I’ll be surprised if it survives, but not at all if it falls. I’m not succumbing to media hype, I’m relying on a degree in political science, another degree in law, and decades as a student of history plus the evidence of my own eyes these last few years. I’m not seeing how it doesn’t happen. I’m not seeing how things reverse course from the runaway train we’re on now.

I would love nothing more than to be utterly wrong.

[Joe Guy]

I fully expect to live through the fall of democracy in the next decade. I’ll be surprised if it survives, but not at all if it falls. .....

When a narcissistic sociopathic immature grifting game show host who often bought into ridiculous conspiracy theories was able to be elected president and became popular within his party for his misogynistic statements and his disrespectful comments and name-calling toward anyone who disagreed with him, I reluctantly accepted that something had changed in our political world. Trump came along at just the right time. A time when fewer people respect authority and even fewer seem to know or care about what once made our country great.

One side wants to emphasize the brutality of our history and destroy any kind of recognition given to leaders and others who didn't do what is now politically correct in the 21st century. The other side seems to want to do the opposite while building physical and imaginary walls to keep immigrants out of the U.S. There appears to be nobody in our country who is popular and strong enough or willing to pull this country together. There also doesn't appear to be enough people who would vote someone like that into office.

You may be right....

[Burning Petard]

I bought a poster yesterday. It shows the well-known picture of Gen'l Washington standing up in a pretty full rowboat. Under this in large bold letters is 'America' Below that in much smaller type it says: 'We will kill you while you're are sleeping. even on Christmas Day. We did it once, we can do it again.'

The famous painting is probably not very historically accurate. The fine print caption could be. Twice in my short military career I had to look over a five page form with small print and two columns, a list of private organizations. They got on the list because they all, in some fashion, advocated the violent overthrow of the government. I had to certify that I was not now and had never been a member of any of them. Actually read the whole list. One caught my attention because of the interesting name. I knew nothing about it. (This was in 1960 and 1962) It was called 'the Abraham Lincoln Brigade' which turned out to be a group of Americans who joined the civil war in Spain in the 1930's, in support of a democratic government and against tyranny. There was no way a 21 year-old soldier could have been a member, as I looked at the form, yet it was on the list. Check anything on the long list and you got a detailed FBI investigation as a potential security risk.

Now the investigation into the Jan 6 'riot' invasion of the US Capitol indicates the majority were middle class, solidly employed, stable family connections, some military experience, but less than is expected in fringe conservative groups. Most lived in urban or suburban settings. One third of them firmly believe in the 'principle' that the people have rights, granted by a power that out-ranks the federal government, to engage in violence up to and including killing. to overthrow the government. It is complete acceptance of political authority by superior force.

One president who has been accused (with some justification) of tyrannical usurpation of power is also believed to have said: ' Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just:'

snailgate

[ex-khobar Andy]

There was also a George Washington Brigade who fought the Franco fascists. I wonder if they too were blacklisted.

[Big RR]

I f I recall correctly, The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was accused of being a communist front because it was funded, at least in part, by some supposed international communist organization. I'll bet that's why it was on the list (although it was retained there for a very long time).

FWIW is interesting to look at the US since the rise of communism and see that we usually supported the fascists, excusing it by saying we had to fight the ""evil communists" (and usually support our business interests abroad as well). Indeed, except for WW2, I can't think or many times we fought in wars (or police actions or battles or clandestine actions or...) where we didn't support the fascists, suing the communists as an excuse.

[ex-khobar Andy]

I fully expect to live through the fall of democracy in the next decade. I’ll be surprised if it survives, but not at all if it falls.

And another opinion from abroad, (The Guardian) supporting your view.

The next US civil war is already here – we just refuse to see it

[BoSoxGal]

I should also add that it’s not just this country headed for the brink - the right is rising all over the globe and the shitstorms of climate change, refugee migration and related xenophobia, the pandemic, economic instability are feeding the fire. I hate to be a doom cloud, but I see major international conflicts on the horizon too. China under Xi has become a looming threat. Putin remains a looming threat. Let’s not forget that while we never talk about it anymore, between us and the Russians we still have mutually assured nuclear destruction in our remaining stockpiles and political and economic instability puts those stockpiles at risk of exploitation by a lunatic fringe becoming more and more mainstream.

I don’t think the human race is headed into any kind of golden age.