How long can US sustain itself when it isolates itself from the rest of the world.?

Question

1.no fuel, no food, no technology imports... just us tending to ourselves...

2. and what will be the repercussions, meaning how will it affect ordinary american way of living?

Answer 1

lol we have no problems with food really. We pay the farmers to NOT grow food for crying out loud lol. The rest has been answered by the guy above me.

Answer 2

The seeds of self destruction are built into your, and most other economies.

the private ownership of the "means of exchange" results in the economy dying the "death of a thousand cuts"

Answer 3

Uh. Well. We did a really good bang up job during 1941 - 1945 when we won WWII. Ya think with about 6 times more popultion, we couldn't do it again and even better?

Duh!!!! We want to do it, we'll accomplish it.

Answer 4

This is an interesting question and the only thing I will add is that some countries depend on us on trade. What to trade? Well, much human capital is needed in many poor, underdeveloped countries and they need money! Now, from another economic point of view, yes, we might be able to survive by ourselves... but from world viewpoint, that should be reconsidered.  

Answer 5

If we cut ourselves off the rest of the world, it might actually make us richer. No more trade deficit, means money stays in the US economy instead of being exported in exchange for widgets.  We have plenty of fuel. We can build Nuclear Plants, we are the Saudi Arabia of Coal, and we have lots of Oil. So fuel isn't an issue.  As for technology, believe it or not, the tech-designs are drafted in America. We just build the stuff overseas. So if cut off, we'd just have to build more factories in America to make American drafted tech. stuff.

America is nobody's slave. The world needs us more then we need the world.