<strong>The State of the Union</strong><br/><br/>The United States of the near future (2010) is similar to that of today in outline, but differs dramatically in detail.<br/><br/><em>Onset of the Dark Times</em><br/>As the beginning of the new millenium approached, the world stood poised on the brink of the abyss.  Global population approached critical levels.  The socialist world had imploded economically, which placed major strains on the the rest of the world's financial institutions.  The capitalist world was at the end of several decades of reckless investments.  Intentionally, hundreds of billions of dollars had been loaned to third-world governments which faced insolvency and loan default.  Domestically, investments by even traditionally conservative institutions, such as banks, insurance companies, and savings and loans, had been increasingly concentrated in high-risk ventures, such as large real estate development schemes, stock speculation, and "junk" bonds.<br/><br/>Rather than drawing back, humankind seemed compelled to leap into the yawning chasm.  Greed and hostility seemed the principal motivations of key players in world finance and government.  In the first years of the new millenium, waves of nationalist secession movements swept Europe, Asian, and Africa.  Greed fueled the speculative binge among financial institutions.  Senior officals, in their rush to make their fortune quickly and get out before the collapse, hastened the collapse itself.<br/><br/>Then came the wars--wars over oil in the Middle East, over land in the Indian subcontent, over the nationality of Europe.  China slipped into anarchy and civil war, while new regional powers struggled for domination of their neighbors by force of arms.  Mining facilities, factories, oil wells and refineries--all were targets in the flurry of border wars that left belligerents impoverished, but still armed.<br/><br/>The result was an economic decline greater than any in modern history.  Over a decade later, the Greater Depression still grips the world, and shows no signs of improvement.