The Trends Research Institute ®

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Vol. XV, No. 1	The Big Trends of 2006	Winter Issue 2007

ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY 2.0

Built in 300 BC, the Alexandrian Library, the repository of ancient wisdom and knowledge that housed over a half million books before it was destroyed in 415 AD, was back up and running again in 2006.

The 2.0 version of portals and information avenues … powered by Google, YouTube, Yahoo, Ask, and other dot-coms … hold billions of books and trillions of pages that are available for rich and poor, far and wide, through equipment smaller than the compartment that held the scrolls of Aristarchus (Greek astronomer and mathematician who discovered the Copernican Model 1800 years before Copernicus).
... For the rest of the story, read the Trends Journal.

MIDTERM MELTDOWN

For the first time since the electorate became disenchanted with the two year old Clinton White House in 1994, they again voted to "throw the bums out" in 2006. But unlike 1994 when they were persuaded to sign onto a blank "Contract with America," the big news in '06 was their realization that Washington's bark has no bite.

Facing defeat in Iraq, disgraced by Katrina, disgusted by corruption and fed up with holier-than-thou political hypocrites and their religious sidekicks - who were caught with their pants down - people have begun to realize the picture they've been sold is not so rosy. With little choice for different ways, they took the Democratic route which promised change and a return to ethical government.
... For the rest of the story, read the Trends Journal.

MIDDLE EAST BLOWOUT

It took until 2006, several hundred billion dollars, nearly three thousand of its soldiers killed, tens of thousands wounded, over 100,000 civilians slaughtered and the scapegoat sacrifice of their Secretary of Defense … before the American majority finally acknowledged that its military is being badly beaten in Iraq.

Unable to lick a third rate contender, the US Superpower - now caught in a showdown to stop Iran from going nuclear - appears helpless against a second rate Persian military.
... For the rest of the story, read the Trends Journal.

SECESSIONISM

It was just a blip on the news radar screen in 2006, and while it's the start of something big, the people pushing the trend are fighting for something small.

Believing that the United States has too many people and is too complex for a "one-size-fits-all" Federal dictate to control the entire nation, America's second revolutionaries held their first "North American Secessionist Convention" in Burlington, Vermont this past November.
... For the rest of the story, read the Trends Journal.

CRIME PAYS

Of the many reliable leading economic indicators, it's a sure bet that when the economy worsens so does crime.

In the US, after years of decline, crime got a boost in 2006 as the poor got poorer, the uneducated less schooled, and the violent more violent. At mid-year, homicides were up 4.2 percent above 2005 levels … which tallied the biggest increase in 15 years. While also registering gains in violent crimes, up 2.5 percent from 2005, robberies increased 10 percent by mid- 2006.
... For the rest of the story, read the Trends Journal.

LATINO POPULISM

The winds of change are blowing El Norte from the countries once controlled or propped up by US in- fluenced dictators and strong men, and Washington doesn't like it.

Throughout South America, nations large and small are breaking away from their colonial pasts and US dominance. Led by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez - who has picked up the socialism mantel from the dying Castro - Bolivia, Brazil, Nicaragua, and Ecuador voted in 2006 against "Big Business" and for the average Jose.
... For the rest of the story, read the Trends Journal.

GOLDEN BULL
DOLLAR BEAR

The trends for a diving dollar and rising gold prices were long in the making before 2006 got underway. Losing some 20 percent against the euro and down to a 14 year low against the British pound, around the world the dollar isn't what it used to be.

And unlike in the old days when everyone wanted greenbacks, today many foreign locals won't accept US currency as payment.
... For the rest of the story, read the Trends Journal.

MEXICAN REVOLUTION

Despite sitting on the US border and being the gateway to illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and trade, the 2006 political upheaval in Mexico hardly made the US news.

Claiming that the '06 presidential election was stolen and refusing to concede defeat, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his supporters have established a counter government to Felipe Calderon who officially became Mexico's president on 1 December.
... For the rest of the story, read the Trends Journal.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY MOVEMENT

Spurred by $70 a barrel oil, $3 a gallon gas at the pump, shrinking paychecks and enormous investment opportunities, Wall Street financiers and zealous entrepreneurs from around the world are looking to unlock the new energy genie.

More than just a passing fad, as it was in years past when new energy alternatives rose and fell with each oil price spike, in 2006 the handwriting on the wall made it clear that high oil prices are here to stay.
... For the rest of the story, read the Trends Journal.

REAL ESTATE RECESSION

In 2005 the great real estate bubble began to fizzle, but in 2006 the boom went bust. By virtually every indicator, real estate slumped into a recession.

New and existing home sales, inventories of unsold homes, new construction, mortgage applications and mortgage delinquencies … all the housing indices have trended negative.
... For the rest of the story, read the Trends Journal.

IMMIGRATION BACKLASH

The US, with its population hitting 300 million in 2006 and expected to top 400 million in 30 plus years … is filling up with a lot of people … people that a lot of people who got there before them, don't want to let enter.

Unlike the huddled masses who arrived from Europe on the eve and in the aftermath of WWI and the Russian Revolution … at a time when the American industrial giant was growing and hungry for manpower … today they come from south of the border to make a buck. With low expectations of getting rich, the new waves of immigrants, unlike the Ellis Island contingent, don't expect America's streets to be paved with gold.
... For the rest of the story, read the Trends Journal.

Take a look at our Trends forecast for 2007

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