Automakers got rich by selling high-margin cars the size of trucks, but oil prices are spiking. Young adults are eager to join the gravy train, but their skills aren't sharp enough for real competition. Wealthy nations seem poorly prepared for adversity. The European Union is a tenuous alliance. Protectionism is on the rise.
Japan is awash in scandal and blaming.
Russia is mired in corruption. Wealth is usually an accident of history, not a consequence of moral or intellectual superiority. Wealth is a matter of luck - being in the right place at the right time. The lucky, however, want to see themselves as having earned it. When the going gets tough, there is more at stake than a mortgage payment.