10 predictions for 2011

1. There will be many bankruptcies by municipalities. Some states will either default or laws will be changed to allow them to file for bankruptcy.
2. Major battles will erupt over underfunded public pensions and be used by conservatives as a proxy for attacking public unions.
3. Major advances in renewable energy, especially in offshore wind, solar thermal, and algae biofuel.
4. Inflation in commodities will spill over into the general economy.
5. Pitched battles over whether children born in US to illegal immigrants can be citizens.
6. Social media, the cloud, and wireless devices will continue to predominate as PCs and ponderous operating system software begins to seem archaic.
7. Major protests in the US due to economic conditions. The protests will not come from the left here but will in Europe.
8. Extreme weather events will become the new normal.
9. Some of the TBTF banks will do exactly that, either by overtly failing, selling off major parts of themselves, or being forced to break into parts.
10. The Internet will remain mostly open.

2011 will be tumultuous. Fasten your seat belts. My father-in-law put it well yesterday saying, I usuallly have a pretty good idea of what the new year will be like, but I don’t have a clue for 2011.

What are your predictions?