Fiscal Meltdown Open Thread...

As the U.S. economy comically tail-spins in to the ground (and in the process teaching you zany Europeans that why, yes, we do actually still have a fairly powerful effect on your way of life) it logically begs the question: how fucked are we?

Perhaps with some irony, this entire event has restored some life to the U.S. dollar, thus setting the voracious American consumer free to roam the world again. With further irony, (and proof that if there is a god, Bill Hicks is sitting next to him whispering in his ear) that ain’t gonna happen because the American consumer is currently bent over the kitchen table, getting a broomstick rammed in to its collective ass by its own government and bankers. Sorry, Europeans. We do things big here.

Poorly thought-out metaphors aside, it is demonstrable fact that the music industry usually gets quite peppy in times of hardship, which bodes well for those of us in a position to take advantage of it. Music is the ultimate lubrication for both rebellion and escape, and if you have nothing to rebel against or escape from, you don’t need any lube, plain and simple. But if your world is crashing around your shoulders, well, that’s a different matter entirely. It is our job, as the creators of culture, to ease the collective passage through troubled days.

(I’m happier with that metaphor. While a tiny bit disturbing, it does illustrate the point nicely.)

So, my question is thus: do you find your prospects enhanced with the current turn of events? Or is your world crashing about your shoulders? We’re here to help. Or take advantage of your misfortune. One or the other.