Recipe for Squalor

There's a place where the light won't find you
Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down
When they do
We'll be right behind you
--Tears for Fears

First, create a centralized government.

Second, grant the centralized government unlimited capacity for forcefully confiscating economic resources (thru taxation and money printing).

Third, give all people, including those who have little or no resources, an equal vote in how government should redistribute those confiscated resources, and couple with democratic (majority wins) decision rule.

Now, forecast the subsequent general trend (up or down) for each of the following:

government size
special interest groups seeking to influence politicians
national debt
budget deficits
unemployment

Yep. Now what about these:

voluntary cooperation
innovation
general standard of living

An easier forecasting problem you'll never find.

Reversing the trends is straightforward as well. Removing condition two above should be sufficient, although removing condition three reduces the chance of recurrence.