[BobL]

Yes, very sad.

But North Korea was once a VERY PROSPEROUS nation and it wasn’t until the 1970s (I think) that the South finally matched their per-capita income. They (the North) were industrial and doing just fine. But they also had a lifeline from the Soviet Union, and that being very cheap oil. Once the lifeline was cut, the powerplants shut off, and people starved.

In the US, we have lifeline from China. There is now VIRTUALLY NOTHING that we cannot build or do without Chinese help, and that includes our farm tractors, which will quickly start to putter out, once the Chinese replacement parts stop coming in. Or try running an oil refinery, without electronics.

So don’t think it can’t happen here, because it will. And sooner, rather than later.

[elkfersupper]

So don’t think it can’t happen here, because it will. And sooner, rather than later.

You said it, brother.

When it happens, People should first eat the people who made it happen

[GeronL]

But North Korea was once a VERY PROSPEROUS nation and it wasn’t until the 1970s (I think) that the South finally matched their per-capita income

both countries were very poor then S Korea discovered the joys of capitalism.

[plain talk]

In the US, we have lifeline from China. There is now VIRTUALLY NOTHING that we cannot build or do without Chinese help, and that includes our farm tractors, which will quickly start to putter out, once the Chinese replacement parts stop coming in. Or try running an oil refinery, without electronics. So don’t think it can’t happen here, because it will. And sooner, rather than later.

Bob -- No it won't. We have no lifeline from China as did NK with Russia. We trade with China and 'outsource' our manufacturing to China and other countries for economic reasons. They just make all our stuff for us with their cheap labor.

China has no incentive to stop selling to us. But if they did we would buy from someone else. If the whole world stopped selling to us (unlikely) then we would simply start manufacturing here again. We would not starve and start eating our children. That's ludicrous.

[logic101.net]

But North Korea was once a VERY PROSPEROUS nation

One thing we learned in my Comparative Econ course many decades ago was that Socialism DOES rapidly industrialize an economy, at least initially. However the top down command and control economy is highly inefficient; thus the benefits do not last long. The products that are produced are produced only to meet the quotas, thus there is no quality control.

As far as the “workers” starving; it happens in all socialist nations. This is because the incentives are all wrong.

However; the left feels that their ideas can never be wrong - so when they don’t work it is because we just didn’t do them enough. This is why even though socialism has failed miserably every place it has been tried they insist on trying it again. It just CAN’T be that it is a bad idea!