when they achieve sufficient economic strength, they will want their piece of political strength too. USA is not any more leading power in the world. If you need a proof for that, ask the generation of your parents how they lived and compare that with how you live. Purchasing power of grown ups in USA today is half what it used to be in 70s.
This is a conversation that I really don't like to enter. But when something is said about my country that is so far off base, I must. You said something about us not living as well as our parents. Sorry Axy, but you don't know what you are talking about. As a 73 year old man, I have lived during the time most of the parents you're talking about lived in. My parents worked and lived in the early 1900's and lived well for the time. Dad had a car, a TV when they came out, etc, etc. My family was certainly not rich but they/we were comfortable. Today there is much more available, just about everyone can get whatever they want. Most homes have multiple TV’s and car for every driver. My kids, all four of them have more than I had, the oldest of my grandchildren are also doing very well with more available then I had available and the ability to get it. I’m sorry Axy, I don’t know what you are reading or hearing, but it is all wrong. Everything here is better today. Come on over and check us out. I’ve been to some of the Western European countries, they don’t compare to what we have and I understand that Eastern Europe has less than the west where I have been. If you don’t know it, don’t teach it. Now I am already sorry I got into this conversation. But you have my first hand opinion. Stay with scoots, Sea Foam, and gasoline you seem to be well informed in that area.
Richard L.
Richard, don't be offended by facts. I do not think that people in USA are homeless and poor.
I just said that purchasing power of the nation is sinking rapidly. Dollar is worth close to nothing.
Comparisons between countries are very difficult to make, even futile sometimes.
For example, I tried once on this forum to explain to one member who is reading this also, that we have free health care for everybody.
Full coverage, top notch.
He could not even comprehend that something like that is possible.
In USA with 1 dollar you can't do anything, in some other countries, you can live for a day quite comfortably.
In USA you can have "many
stuffs", but 50 million people have no health insurance.
In Cuba, you cannot drive a Ferrari, but you have free food and health care for everybody, the best hospitals in the world and very good quality of life.
In my country, I have bigger income than average American, but that does not mean that everybody has it.
Etc, etc.
And as 73 yr old person you should also understand that you, your child and grandchild are not a representative statistic sample.
Representative statistic sample is strictly defined by the science of statistics.
Obsession with "having stuff" is one of the reasons why your children will be owned by the Chinese. In fact,they already are - do you know who owns 30 % of US foreign debt? Do you even comprehend how much money is 14 trillion dollars? These 14 trillion of dollars printed out of thin are are what US has spent but did not have, in order to finance pointless "buying stuff".
The main export product of post WW II USA is - CRISIS. Crisis is exported to other countries, packaged as war, economic crisis or conflict. It has been like that for decades now. USSR, Vietnam, Korea, Iraq twice, Libya, Syria, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Egypt, not to mention backing up South and Central American dictators, you name it, it has been done. USA has been playing a world cop for decades. Saddam was a friend once, then he was set up with not existing weapons of mass destruction. Gadaffi was a friend once, then enemy, then friend again, and then villain to-be-asassinated. Talibans were friends once, enemies now. Osama was a friend of Bush family from Saudi Arabia, and then he became enemy nr. 1. The story goes on and on.
The main source of revenue is military-industrial complex. Without it, USA cannot survive anymore. Deindustrialization is at its peak - what can USA produce today better and cheaper than Chinese? Find out whose goods are sold in Walmart. General idea 40-50 years ago was: we will export dirty industry to the East and they will work for us as poorly paid slaves, we will do services each to other and blow up balance sheets of financial sector. What has been happening in the past 5 years proves how good this paradigm was.
Unfortunately, most European countries except Germany and France took the same route and now they are equally bankrupt as USA, both morally and financially.
My country is also obsessed with "having things", usually,
"things people do not need in order to impress people they do not care about." That kind of stuff.
That's why our foreign debt is skyrocketing and we are owned by those who loaned us money. In our case, German and Italian banks.
In your case, China, Japan, UK, Brazil, OPEC countries.
Currently, purchasing power is at its lowest point SINCE 1955. IN USA.
Nobody ever said truth was easy.
Also, I can very well separate American people from American establishment and elite and I firmly believe that democracy is in fact idiot-cracy, because the average and idiots choose among them who will rule over them, but human race on the whole still did not invent better system than capitalism and democracy, so we have to cope with them for the time being...
