re: "I often wondered why the U.S. was so ill-prepared for WW II (which they damn well knew was coming)."
It's because we were... and still are... a purely reactive nation. Perhaps that's in our genes. We might be a purely reactive species.
As an example, it's pretty obvious at this point that the way we are handling our debt is not sustainable. But do you see any serious move to do anything about it?
Nope. We've got more debt now than we had three months ago. In another three months, we'll have more still.
One day, there will no longer be any point in expanding our debt - because our money will have been destroyed. The destruction will occur with lightning speed, and all of our politicians will feign shock. When that occurs, "preparations" will finally start being made.
Don't hold your breath on anything much being done before the collapse, except by self-serving insiders.
Folks knew that World War II was coming, but no one knew exactly when. (Jimmy Stewart enlisted in 1940.) Until the Japanese forced our hand, it was much easier to live in a dream, pretending nothing was wrong.
It was almost just like today - except that the average American back then was probably better informed about the crisis that was brewing than the average American today is.
Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months
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