Defining event of our Lifetime

I'm pretty smart, but I'll admit that the global economy is pretty far outside of my area of expertise. My brother is pretty smart, and the global economy is a lot closer to his area of expertise. He is convinced that this credit squeeze will be the defining event of our lifetime. Talking with him makes me want to buy some nice camping equipment and a gun and prepare a "if shit goes down" survival backpack that I can grab on a moment's notice.

And I thought I was the doom-and-gloom macro-pessimist.