It's a bit funny to read something like this living outside of the rich western world. Seems like the author doesn't know what is like to live in a failed or authoritarian state. You guys have stable economy with hard currency that doesn't go down with oil prices. You have economic freedom and civil rights, not a ridiculous semblance of them like in many other places of the world. You have a real market, you don't have to rely on some shady people or grovel to the government to earn a living.

Comparing America to USSR sounds like a joke. In Soviet Union people were semi-slaves, with little choise of lifestyle and even less legal possibilities to build wealth. There was no property, you couldn't own real estate or run a business. Everyone worked for the government, did what the government told them to do, and had to content with what they were offered in return. To have a life better than miserable you had either to be a big boss in government, or do then-punishable things like underground trading. Vladimir Melnikov, currently well-known Russian businessman and owner of Gloria Jeans shops, was jailed several times for so called 'speculation' - he just resold scarce commodities, which was what many people did to make ends meet. The 90s were a gift for enterprising people like him, and the economy boomed for a while, but now we have a backwards trend: nationalization, state monopolies, etc.

But still modern Russia is incomparably better in terms of standards of living than USSR, no sane person wants to return there. Of course, economic inequality now is also high (maybe higher than in America), many people are poor or in debt, and political status quo is at least questionable, but we don't complain and just try to live a life. A simple one, not luxury. What the author calls 'the basics' are actually luxuries here - good healthcare, quality food, spacious houses, etc. Having a steady, well-paying job is a huge luck. Average salary outside of largest cities is less than $500 per month. Still I don't see many people complaining, because we've had it worse. Russians are amazingly hardy and patient people, and you Americans could learn something from us. Sure, we are all living through difficult times now, but please stop thinking that your society is collapsing. This is simply not true. You haven't seen the real collapse. The 1917 revolution, 1930s famine, repressions and Gulag, WWII, Cold War, hyperinflation of 1990s - we survived through this, and you will also be ok. No reason to fall into apocalyptic mood.