CaroleC and others,

I've been thinking about the characteristics of "Third World" countries listed in CaroleC's post of January 10, namely:
1. Dependence upon exportation of primary products to other countries in return for finished products,
2. Disparity between rich and poor, and
3. Enormous debt.

I'm wondering if those three are common characteristics of "third World" countries, but not DEFINING characteristics. In my profession, we have noticed that obesity is a common characteristic of diabetics. However, obesity is not a DEFINING characteristic of diabetes. Most obese people are not diabetic and many diabetic people are not obese.
It would be, shall we say, unhelpful, if I were to begin telling all my obese patients, "You are diabetic". It would be unhelpful in the extreme if were to tell all my non-obese patients that they are therefore not diabetic.
It is the simple truth to say that the U.S. economy has some characteristics more commonly associated with "Third World" than with "First World" status. It is equally true to say that some aspects of our economy are precarious. To say that the U.S. is now a "Third World" country, or to say that our economy has already collapsed is, well, let's just say it is not in accordance with the way those terms are generally used. I suspect it also tends to trivialize the real suffering of those in actual "Third World" countries, especially those in countries, such as Zimbabwe, that have suffered true economic collapse.

Kent