Massive decline in standard of living? What's oil at this week?
And what is the working class standard of living doing?
Plummeting.
Europe has an arguably higher standard of living than the US despite living on only a fraction of the energy the US does. And this is at current tech levels not more advanced future technology with better alt-fuels/alt-energy/electric powered vehicles.
Yes, Europe obviously has a higher standard of living than the US. But to pay for the US to get an entirely new infrastructure, housing stock, and transport technology will cost a lot, and it will have to come from the powerless, because the owners of the country certainly aren't going to pay for it. So working class standard of living in the US will have to decline still more.
