1 week Ago By BuzzFeed
It has been nothing short of a shaky year. Ever Trump won the 2024 election , there has been anxiety and uncertainty surrounding life as we know it — and this is a common feeling around the globe. The trade war has driven up the price of regular products, and the possibilities of a recession seem higher than ever.
The volatility of the stock market and a supposed attempt to "even the playing field" with America's greatest trade allies has put jobs in jeopardy. Basically, things are in limbo, and the US government's actions ultimately impact the average American more than any of Trump's cronies. Optimism for the future is exhausting at this point.
A viral post in the r/AskReddit sub asked users to predict what the economic future of the US will look like over in the decade. "What is your expectation for the US economy over the next 10 years?" the user wrote . To put it bluntly, it seems like everyone has a dystopic view of what's to come.
Here are a few responses that might capture your feelings, too: 1. "I’ll make a prediction: it’s going to be bad. Destroying the economy, global relations, education, federal government, and tax collection means the US is going to take a back seat to the rest of the world for the next century.
Best case, we are an idiot child screaming in the background. Worst case, we have a tantrum and still have the largest military on the planet. I hope the world is preparing for the idiot US in the near future.
" – u/one_pound_of_flesh 2. "The middle class will continue to disappear. The wealthy 5% will own even more wealth.
AI will take jobs , putting a lot of people out of work. The government will stick its thumb up its ass and take direction from oligarchs (people will continue to elect the same politicians as always) in regard to tax law. And housing will still not keep up with demand.
" – u/Wipperwill1 3. "I feel uneasy. The world market will likely trust the US far less; it will be hard to repair that and hard to work without allies.
" – u/athan1214 4. "I keep getting poorer while smug bootlickers keep telling me it's good for my hard-earned money to lose value." – u/magnaton117 5.
"Why do you ask people on Reddit when 16 Nobel prize-winning economists took out a full page ad before the election to predict the devastation of the 'Trump Slump ?' They said it would take 10 years or more for the economy to recover, if it can." "Even if you don’t read print media, this was covered on many YouTube channels. Perhaps people don’t want to accept economists' opinions.
The economy is influenced heavily by consumer confidence, and that’s getting lower every day. That creates a spiral of people not spending 'disposable' income, which decreases demand. Companies lay off employees, which means people have less money, leading to less spending, and it continues.
This will be much worse than 2008. Considering the uninformed people that are in charge, it will be much, much worse." – u/readerf52 6.
"Say goodbye to the unipolar world order we've had since the '90s. Russia got what it wanted. Although the second pole is likely to be the EU rather than Russia or China (due to wartime economics and demographics, respectively).
" "The US could reclaim its position as indisputed center of global commerce, but it will likely take more than a full presidential term post-Trump. As a Canadian, I am firmly buckled in and praying that this wild carnival ride doesn't go all Final Destination on our asses." – u/Troy64 7.
"Ghost towns." "A few weeks back, a Redditor from Kentucky brought that up. With the noticeable drop in bourbon production, some of these businesses will permanently close.
He said they're spread throughout the state, and there are no other employers near the business like that. The jobless people will end up doing something else, probably moving away to find work, taking that knowledge with them. Canada wasn't the only nation that boycotted bourbon, but Canada, if I recall correctly, is the largest buyer.
" – u/DaftPump 8. "I think more people need to realize how the hollowing out of rural America will be, finalized by the Trump tariffs." "American agriculture will be tariffed hard by all of our trading partners.
The farms will sell this season’s harvest at a loss and then let the land go fallow. The dealerships will consolidate. The co-ops will shutter.
The restaurants will starve. With nothing left, people will move to more urban environments for more opportunities. The heartland will die.
" – u/NaiveChoiceMaker 9. "I expect it to go exactly like the other six businesses Donald Trump tried to run." – u/NeverDoneClapping 10.
"It will be a dumpster fire for a while. The financial centers will move from New York Wall Street to Germany or Japan. The world will move from the dollar and barrel for oil.
The US will still be a player, but nothing like the past 80 years. On the bright side, Americans will finally learn the Metric system." – u/Boxdog 11.
"Bad. The US is busily chasing away customers and damaging its brand. I'm on a team planning a major project, and we are forced to avoid the US supply chain because it's too unpredictable.
Too risky. Every sensible business is doing the same." "Climate change is also going to drive up prices a lot.
Food and insurance are going to get so expensive that current prices will seem like a dream. It will be much worse than the last five years of cost-of-living increases." – u/fluffymuffcakes 12.
"Trump's actions will hurt the country's status as the world tech leader. Suddenly, most of the world will look to China for tech and engineering leadership. We'll still hold a big share of the market, but we won't be guiding the boat; we'll be paddling.
" – u/eliota1 13. "Four years of crap, followed by four (possibly two more) years of a Democrat cleaning up a shitty economy always handed over by Republicans. Look at the history of this trend.
" – u/PabloMesbah-Yamamoto 14. "I'm not sure this country even has 10 years." – u/Due_Willingness1 15.
"Gun fights over soup cans and boxed rice, I assume." – u/Desperate_Day_78 16. "Years of turmoil with vengeful racist idiots in charge.
Lots of struggle to wrestle control back from them followed by decades of repairing relationships and slow recovery. All fascist regimes end, so just hope we end this one quickly." – u/ColHapHapablap 17.
"The trade agreements will never return to pre-tariff tactics. The American boycott on goods will prevail along with the travel boycott." "These actions over three months will have long-term effects and be unrecoverable.
It'll be like taking back a crazy ex that has 'changed.' To answer the question directly, devastating." – u/Southsideman 18.
"They'll be fine, but Americans will have to get used to a net worse quality of life. Small businesses will struggle, big businesses will thrive. A lot of jobs gone, increased urbanization, and taxes.
" "Middle class America will live like Europeans without any of the European quality of life services they get from taxes. But overall, the economy will be fine. Fox News is state media effectively.
I'm worried Americans will never understand why life will be worse, and it'll get a lot worse before it gets better." – u/kurruchi 19. "Best advice: don't have expectations because nobody knows what they're doing.
" "The country is being run like a building burning down, and everyone in charge is trying to stuff their pockets with as much cash as they can before the roof collapses. Best we can do is throw some banana peels for them to slip on before they make it out the door." – u/AcidiclyBasic What do you think is going to happen with the US economy over the next 10 years? Share in the comments below.
Note: some responses have been edited and condensed for clarity..
