Of course. But these "ifs" address changing the low-intensity depression, not the collapse thesis.
R: we have a huge deficit, growing daily by leaps and bounds. the interest on the national debt is about $25,000 for each US citizen. http://www.uwsa.com/uwsa-usdebt.html
Yes, and if you want to see the low-intensity depression turn into something a bit worse, John Kerry's idea of balancing the budget would do that, if it were ever to happen, which it won't.
R: these day to day issues may appear uncomplicated to people who look at, and believe in, statistics and the "big" picture. but they are the kiss of death for the majority of americans.
"Kiss of death?" Then why aren't people rebelling? Because they muddle through, as Greenspan and Bush stave off collapse. This is exactly the kind of Chicken Little hyperbole that makes the left sound nuts. The real kiss of death is the military and/or ecological disasters that are certain within the next century or so, if we don't alter our social order profoundly. Until then, the economy will not be allowed to collapse, just as the S&Ls weren't. Our rulers know they wouldn't emerge from another Great Depression.