Once BP becomes bankrupt, in less than a year, 40% of the world's known oil reserves go on the market (twice the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia -- about 500 billion barrels -- over $35 trillion worth) as part of its liquidation. No bank, government, or conglomeration of either have that much cash or real assets to make that purchase. Our government has bankrupted itself covering the gambling debts from derivatives trading of financial institutions deemed too big to fail. They were much smaller than BP with no real assets in the first place! The taxpayer got stuck with the bill, too big to pay so we mortgaged our grandchildren to the beast of burden.

If, as I expect, the well will still be spewing death in a year's time, very little remaining wealth will be available to pay for damages here at home. BP will have bankrupted the US too. It will have done what no enemy, domestic or foreign has ever done: Destroy America.

What will this mean to us as citizens? Will our currency have value? Will it become a world unthinkable just a decade ago when George Bush was just a Republican nominee? Will politics matter anymore? To anyone?

This is purely hypothetical, but I raise the question here:

What if this series of events comes true?