What would happen if the U.S. was completely isolated from the rest of the world....?

Question

no imports, no exports, no debt to pay back, no travel, no communication, no U.S. patents to enforce internationally, no oil from the mideast, no cars from Japan, no foreign investing, no international stock exhanges, no foreign banks, no foreign ownership of U.S. companies, no tourism ... nothing!

Answer 1

We would be SOL

NO gas

Very few products

BUT there would be no wars and we would spend more of our money helping ourselves

Answer 2

Nothing. You answered your own question.

Answer 3

Our standard of living would fall dramatically.

Put it this way, what would have if your household were completely isolated from the rest of world?  You would have to provide all your own food, all your own clothes, etc.  In all likelihood, you'd spend so much time trying just to survive that your life would be c**p.

What if just your neighborhood were completely isolated?  Your life would probably be a little bit better (than just your household being completely isolated), perhaps there is a doctor down the road or a farmer that knows how to grow corn well, but in general, you'd still struggle.

What if just your state were completely isolated?  Life would be a bit better now (than just the neighborhood being isolated), as you could have some people specialize at farming, some specialize at building houses, but you still couldn't get a lot of goods and services.

Standards of living get better with more interdependence on others whether it be domestic or internationally.

Answer 4

It would take a few years to readjust our economy, then it would be business as usual.

There is no limit to what Americans can accomplish. The only thing we lack is vision. But necessity creates vision real quick.

Answer 5

We start over plant garden's and become self sufficient. Kinda like the Amish.

It actually doesn't sound that bad we wouldn't have to worry about the lead paint in our kid's toy's or salmonella in our food supply nor corporations lobbying to all of our elected officials. You might acually meet your neighbor and perhaps trade goods w/ them!