Pay Me Now, Or Pay Me Later.

Predicting the end of the world is a big deal. When you wake up "the morning after", everyone is smirking at you.
Nevertheless, I'm going out on a limb with a big prediction of my own here, and please, smirk all you want when it's obvious I'm wrong.
But here's my prediction:

One way or another, in the next several months, this country is will undergo some BIG changes.

There was a special election held in New York State day before yesterday to fill the seat of that idiot (married) Congressman who put cheesecake photos of himself on the internet while trying to get a discrete partner to respond, then resigned when those photos were made public. Much of the discussion by candidates running to replace him revolved around medicare...
One of those candidates even had a deceptive video of a Paul Ryan look-alike pushing a wheelchair laden with grandma to the edge of a cliff, then dumping her over there. Congressman Ryan's plan will have absolutely no effect on anyone over age 55. This is the way politics is played today, and that video is a preview into how nasty the election of '12 is going to be.
That New York race was won by the candidate that ran those deceptive ads. So the medicare issue will, without question, be front and center during the coming presidential campaign. Look for democrats/liberals to fear-monger the issue to the max. And the saddest thing?
It won't make much difference who wins. The country is bankrupt. We are OUT OF MONEY. Changes are gonna come. In reference to the budget, the debt, and our economy, we can either try to "fly this aircraft until the wreckage comes to a complete, dead stop", or we can simply stand by as spectators and watch it fall apart.
Folks in New York have shown they are like drug addicts...
"I don't care that a disaster is coming, I WANT MY ENTITLEMENTS!"
And our elected officials, always campaigning to be re-elected, will take notice of results there and run their campaigns accordingly.
So we're doomed.
Are there any leaders left to stop this impending disaster?
Is the electorate intelligent enough to discern the truth when they hear it?
Is this New York election a good barometer of things to come? If it is, here's how I think things HAVE to unfold:

Our government will continue to print money like crazy in order to pay off our debts, thereby decreasing the value of existing dollars, and the price of everything we want/need will climb.
"Wheelbarrow full of greenbacks", meet "loaf of bread".

Back in the 80's I proudly discussed my financial retirement planning with a 20-years younger friend. Her comment at the time was, "What good is it to save a ton of money now when those funds won't maintain a normal standard of living then?"
At the time, I thought I was the smart one.
In retrospect...
[deep sigh.]