A columnist in Northern California wrote predictions for New Year’s Day in 2006 that imagined what life would look like in 2026. Many of the predictions were off base (including the idea that Dick Cheney would run for president), but they serve as an interesting snapshot of the hopes and fears of a certain era. And they start with a reference that hits a little close to home for those of us witnessing a new war in the Middle East.
“Well, 2025 is over,” in a 2006 column Ukiah Daily Journal reads, places the reader 20 years into the future.
“The Iran war finally ended when newly elected Pres. Barack Obama gathered everyone around the table to settle once and for all the distribution of territory and oil resources among 15 tribal leaders from Iran, ex-Iraq, ex-Libya and ex-Syria.”
Written by KC Meadows, this is an incredible key for those of us who have the benefit of living in a time he can only imagine. On February 28, President Donald Trump started a new war against Iran without any clear logic or purpose. When the Iraq War began in 2003, President George W. Bush at least had the decency to lie to the American people and claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
We didn’t get any song and dance this time as Trump changed his war explanations every day. But remembering what it was like in the mid-2000s is helpful when appreciating this artifact of retro-futurism from Meadows.
From the article:
The region has been embroiled in a kind of multinational civil war, a free-for-all conflict since former Pres. Dick Cheney abandoned the idea of creating a democracy in Iraq in 2008. Recognizing that terror has once again won, the United States sent more than 1 million troops to Iraq that year, and that number has been changing ever since. Of course, Cheney left the White House after George W. Bush after revelations about wiretapping of the House Speaker’s and Senate leader’s offices, as well as a secret government program that tapped into the emails of all Californians.
During President Bush’s two terms (January 2001 – January 2009), many believed that he was the real puppet master pulling the strings, but President Cheney was not. In this timeline, President Cheney probably serves President Barack Obama’s real terms (January 2009-January 2017) well, and Obama will be elected later.
Obama became a nationally recognized figure in a speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in which he said there was neither a blue America nor a red America, but a purple America. Obviously, Obama’s trajectory to become president will be faster than Meadows predicted, because Obama was envisioned as someone who would end the Iran war in 2025.
Meadows also looked at the local situation in Mendocino County, north of the Bay Area. The county has long been a center for the cultivation of marijuana, especially in the mid-2000s after the drug was legalized in 1996 and the program expanded in 2003. When Meadows wrote in 2006, drug legalization was undoubtedly on the minds of readers in the region.
From the article:
Of course, he was very concerned in California, where Mendocino County is the first county to ban DEA agents within its borders without someone from the local ACLU chapter, as well as the Sheriff’s Department and the local Boy Scout Pack. This decree is still in place today and has spread to other countries, although now most drugs are legal, the DEA doesn’t have much to do.
Meadows had some fun with that prediction. But cannabis is legal for recreational use in 26 states and can be used medicinally in 40.
The article further predicted that a new residential development in the area would be completely car-free and a 24-hour bus service would be available. He also predicted gas prices at $15.50 a gallon, which would have seemed even more absurd a month ago.
Bus service has grown this year with several private bus and taxi services competing with the MTA. With gas at $15.50 a gallon, most people in town now take the bus, and service is surprisingly good, especially to Ukiah’s four big-box retailers — the former Wal-Mart — now Costco — center, the Pear Tree Center, which houses a 300,000-square-foot Trader Joes, and the former 005-square-foot center. It’s home to Schat’s Bakery and the former City Hall, where Nordstrom moved back for a while.
Before President Trump decided to start a pointless war on Iran, the national average price for a gallon of gas was $2.90. The average price is now up to $3.91, according to AAA.
The article also projected Mendocino County’s population to increase slightly to just over 100,000 by the 2020 census. The actual number was 91,601, which was higher than the 2000 census count of 86,265.
Meadows also predicted that more families would move back into the area after the “Real Estate Depression” of 2016. In fact, the global financial crisis, fueled by the housing market, would occur very early in 2008.
From the article:
When home prices fell to 1987 levels during the Real Estate Depression 10 years ago, many young families moved back to the area and played an important role in the continued charter school boom in our county. In fact, this year, Mendocino County had more charter schools than any other county in the state (except LA). Our 1,200 charter schools serve all grades K-12, and we even have an experimental charter college at the former Grace Hudson Elementary School that is accepting freshmen this year. The enrollment in the Ukiah Unified School District is approximately 250 children, all of whom are housed in what is now known as Pomolita Public School.
Meadows ended his post by talking about the earthquake and allegedly referring to the mayor knock down In 2005, his historic house without proper permits.
This year’s earthquake was a shock, but no one died. Many homeowners in the West Hills were damaged, but no damage was reported in the valley except for former mayor Mark Ashiku, who said a house he was renovating on Valley Street “just collapsed.” The city is investigating.
Meadows did not respond to an email asking how he felt about the 2006 paper and its predictions. We’ll update this article if we hear back.
