May 1, 2004: Economic Armageddon - Joseph Meyer

Art Bell opens with a discussion of extreme weather patterns, the political firestorm surrounding the upcoming film The Day After Tomorrow, and a NASA attempt to muzzle scientists from commenting on climate change. Callers weigh in during open lines on topics from chemtrails and time travelers to immortality and the Sonora Aero Club before the program shifts to the economy.

Art welcomes Joseph Meyer, a Wall Street professional and industry arbitrator, for a sobering look at the financial state of the nation. Meyer lays out alarming figures on consumer debt, now at 9.3 trillion dollars, and warns that 18 percent of after-tax income goes just to servicing existing household debt. He describes a manufacturing base hollowed out by outsourcing, noting that Walmart alone has become China's eighth largest trading partner, and projects oil reaching 65 dollars a barrel within three years.

The two examine a chain of vulnerabilities from record federal deficits and rock-bottom savings rates to the possibility that foreign bond buyers could lose confidence in the dollar. Meyer warns that rising energy costs and stagnant job creation could trigger a cascade affecting housing, transportation, and everyday grocery prices, painting a picture of an economy sustained more by perception than by fundamentals.