Death of the American Empire?

[Doc Safari]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-1...rs-unstoppable

The American empire is coming to an end. The U.S. economy is being drained by wars in the Middle East and vast military expansion around the globe. It is burdened by growing deficits, along with the devastating effects of deindustrialization and global trade agreements. Our democracy has been captured and destroyed by corporations that steadily demand more tax cuts, more deregulation and impunity from prosecution for massive acts of financial fraud, all the while looting trillions from the U.S. treasury in the form of bailouts. The nation has lost the power and respect needed to induce allies in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa to do its bidding. Add to this the mounting destruction caused by climate change and you have a recipe for an emerging dystopia. Overseeing this descent at the highest levels of the federal and state governments is a motley collection of imbeciles, con artists, thieves, opportunists and warmongering generals. And to be clear, I am speaking about Democrats, too.

The empire will limp along, steadily losing influence until the dollar is dropped as the world’s reserve currency, plunging the United States into a crippling depression and instantly forcing a massive contraction of its military machine.

Short of a sudden and widespread popular revolt, which does not seem likely, the death spiral appears unstoppable, meaning the United States as we know it will no longer exist within a decade or, at most, two.

Under every measurement, from financial growth and infrastructure investment to advanced technology, including supercomputers, space weaponry and cyberwarfare, we are being rapidly overtaken by the Chinese.

Many of the estimated 69 empires that have existed throughout history lacked competent leadership in their decline, having ceded power to monstrosities such as the Roman emperors Caligula and Nero. In the United States, the reins of authority may be in the grasp of the first in a line of depraved demagogues.

“For the majority of Americans, the 2020s will likely be remembered as a demoralizing decade of rising prices, stagnant wages, and fading international competitiveness,” McCoy writes. The loss of the dollar as the global reserve currency will see the U.S. unable to pay for its huge deficits by selling Treasury bonds, which will be drastically devalued at that point. There will be a massive rise in the cost of imports. Unemployment will explode. Domestic clashes over what McCoy calls “insubstantial issues” will fuel a dangerous hypernationalism that could morph into an American fascism.

A discredited elite, suspicious and even paranoid in an age of decline, will see enemies everywhere. The array of instruments created for global dominance—wholesale surveillance, the evisceration of civil liberties, sophisticated torture techniques, militarized police, the massive prison system, the thousands of militarized drones and satellites—will be employed in the homeland. The empire will collapse and the nation will consume itself within our lifetimes if we do not wrest power from those who rule the corporate state.

My take: I have no doubt America is coming apart at the seams, but my take is that it's due to the lack of any sort of moral compass present in the country anymore, i.e., "everyone does what is right in his own eyes."

[tehpwnag3]

20T in debt cannot/will not be paid off. The unfunded liabilities are absolutely breathtaking, and are untenable. These numbers are so huge that they become almost abstract.

[skywalkrNCSU]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-1...rs-unstoppable

My take: I have no doubt America is coming apart at the seams, but my take is that it's due to the lack of any sort of moral compass present in the country anymore, i.e., "everyone does what is right in his own eyes."

I think it probably has more to do with a government that can’t balance a budget, has incredible waste, is overextended in countries we have no business being in, and two parties that seek to further divide us on pointless issues just so they can retain power at the expense of the well being of our nation. But yeah, maybe it’s the fact that gay people want to get married and people are smoking the devils lettuce.

[TMS951]

This problem is one that will outlast many of the people in power creating it. They are sociopathic and only care about when they are alive and what happens today. There is no care given to the future, thats some one else's problem.

Its a downward spiral and self feeding cycle. The military, mostly our Navy and the 7th carrier fleet are what keeps the dollar in power. It is what makes it so we don't have to worry about money we owe people. But to keep up the charade we need to keep feeding the Military Industrial complex. To keep feeding the Military industrial complex we need to keep borrowing money and printing it. Once we stop feeding it, we loose absolute military domination in the world theatre and once again become liable for our financial liabilities.

The best thing that could happen is a collapse as soon as possible, the longer this goes on for the worse it gets. The sooner it ends the sooner we can rebuild and the sooner the people making these decisions are gone.

And have no doubt when we collapse it will have severe global repercussions, which why the rest of the world plays along in addition to the threat of our military might.

Also don't forget the "American Empire" Is only a post WW2 thing. We don't need to be a global empire. We simply need to get back to an America first isolationist America.

[Doc Safari]

. But yeah, maybe it’s the fact that gay people want to get married and people are smoking the devils lettuce.

Wasn't even talking about that. I was talking about it being okay to cheat, lie, or otherwise do wrong at nearly every level of society--from the checker at Wal-Mart who steals your credit card number to the politician who pads his own pocket while refusing to vote on behalf of his constituents' wishes.

I could give a crap if gay people get married or if someone smokes pot (as long as he's not impaired in a way that endangers other people--then we ARE talking about that person).

[tgizzard]

I think it probably has more to do with a government that can’t balance a budget, has incredible waste, is overextended in countries we have no business being in, and two parties that seek to further divide us on pointless issues just so they can retain power at the expense of the well being of our nation. But yeah, maybe it’s the fact that gay people want to get married and people are smoking the devils lettuce.

You’re spot on. The problem is our elected officials will continue on with the status quo and we’ll keep electing them cycle after cycle.

The whole outlook looks pretty dim in my eyes. But hey, hopefully I’m wrong.


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[chuckman]

The US isn't an empire in the classical sense. But we go to and support enough countries that the title may de facto apply. Ironically, the same reason that will likely be one of (if not the biggest) reason for our downfall--economics--is the same reason every 'real' empire has fallen.

[Dist. Expert 26]

This problem is one that will outlast many of the people in power creating it. They are sociopathic and only care about when they are alive and what happens today. There is no care given to the future, thats some one else's problem.

Its a downward spiral and self feeding cycle. The military, mostly our Navy and the 7th carrier fleet are what keeps the dollar in power. It is what makes it so we don't have to worry about money we owe people. But to keep up the charade we need to keep feeding the Military Industrial complex. To keep feeding the Military industrial complex we need to keep borrowing money and printing it. Once we stop feeding it, we loose absolute military domination in the world theatre and once again become liable for our financial liabilities.

The best thing that could happen is a collapse as soon as possible, the longer this goes on for the worse it gets. The sooner it ends the sooner we can rebuild and the sooner the people making these decisions are gone.

And have no doubt when we collapse it will have severe global repercussions, which why the rest of the world plays along in addition to the threat of our military might.

Also don't forget the "American Empire" Is only a post WW2 thing. We don't need to be a global empire. We simply need to get back to an America first isolationist America.

This right here.

Our debt will be our downfall, and likely the stepping off point for the next World War as other countries rush to fill the power vacuum.

Domestically it will be bad, but internationally it will be worse.

[BoringGuy45]

I agree, the moral compass is gone. It's not gay marriage, marijuana, and all that stuff. It's lack of responsibility and lack of unity. Identity politics rule the day, and people are universally more selfish, greedy, lazy, and entitled. Nobody wants to make sacrifices, but they want others to make sacrifices for them. Nobody wants to do anything for themselves, so they elect leaders who create program after unaffordable program to do it for them.

Also, I don't think there has been such large percentage of people who openly WANT our nation to fall. Today America in and of itself is considered to be unworthy of existence due to its racist past is scary. Communism has returned, and we seem to be heading towards a civil war.

We also have huge corporations that are every bit as evil as the government, that are running the country into the ground. There isn't true capitalism anymore; the lobbying is out of control, and when corporations gain monopolies, it's not a "free market", especially when they go to the government to ensure that their monopoly is legally binding. Not only that, it's not a free market when we are forced to use the private sector's services.

Honestly, at this point, we need a war, or something big and bad, that can unite us. It sounds awful, but we need something drastic that will slap this generation in the face and will help us reboot.

[crusader377]

This right here.

Our debt will be our downfall, and likely the stepping off point for the next World War as other countries rush to fill the power vacuum.

Domestically it will be bad, but internationally it will be worse.

The sad thing is in the whole scheme of things American's problems are pretty easy to fix if we had halfway competent leadership in Congress. It is not like the Late Roman empire which was faced with plagues, barbarian invasions on multiple fronts, a declining population, bankruptcy, etc...

America, honestly if it tightened its belt and reigned in entitlements could fix our debt problem within a generation if not sooner.