[QUOTE=Oberon;2128945]The world really needs to rapidly move towards a post-America-centric state, changing international currencies and the like, so when America does stop kicking the can it doesn't screw us all over, so we can help America get back up on its feet again.[/QUOTE

That's coming eventually, but seems nations would rather lend America in debt so they can deal with the problems of the world. America is really a win win for China, they can create problems and lend us the money to deal with them.

Aye, well it helps that you are the dominant military power in the world, and when it comes to hard power you really can't beat good old fashioned firepower to get your point across, in comparison the EU nations (even if they worked together) would struggle to match the reach of the US armed forces, Russia has little means to project its power before its regional borders and very little will to do so, and China is in a similar situation. So, when there's a problem that needs someone who carries a big stick, naturally the US is going to be the first person to go to since they carry the biggest stick.
Furthermore, with such a global reach it's in the best interest of the US to use that big stick to maintain its presence around the globe, and thus the reputation that if you want someone with lots of guns, you go to Washington, because then Washington gets itself a lot of political IOUs, and thus can continue offloading debt to other nations in return for acting as the security guard for those nations.
America has spent the best part of seventy years cementing its position as a superpower with a global reach, and has made the pedestal that it stands on so high that it can't get back down from it again.

I think in the coming years, the US is going to have to accept a reduced military, a drastically reduced one, and a reduced global influence, a sort of 'East of Suez' style disengagement, but not, by any means, isolation because that will result in disaster, as has already been seen.
In a way, the US at the moment can be compared to the UK post-WWII, in dire financial problems with a multitude of overseas commitments that simply cannot be funded anymore without dramatic alterations. There's going to be a lot of difficult decisions to be made for America in the coming years, and I really feel for the American people who are going to have to come to terms with the new world order and the anger and resentment that there's going to be with the fall from grace. I imagine a lot of British people went through a similar state in the 1950s and 60s.

Do I understand this correctly?
The tea party fringe of the Republican party decided to hold the country to ransom so they could get rid of the ACA.
The deal they "won" with all their silliness simply adds another level of government bureaucracy to the existing bill. :hmmm:

Not even, Tribesman. Income verification was already in the bill.

All sorted now? Or as they say..sort of.

So, we dig ourselves deeper in debt with little thought of entitlement reform and spending cuts.

Just another day in America! Get yours! Oh, nevermind, you are one that is supporting those getting theirs. :shifty:

Seems the only folks that understand are those who look at their paystubs and see that they are nothing more than a ATM for the government.

Today in MD 81,000 have been added to the Medicare rolls. Free. Come and get it.

Well, hopefully this mess will have given the world the wake up call it needs to wean itself off cheap American money. :yep:



EDIT: So, the next fiasco in the US political system is likely to be immigration reform - http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/...ry?id=20582502
The GOP will want to back that reform in order to get more immigrants onto the Republican ticket and to stop being seen as dinosaurs and out of touch...but guess who in the GOP won't want that reform? Yup, the Tea Party...so it'll be another internal-GOP fight, more shouting and heartache, and further weakening of the GOP. Obama is out for the kill, and the GOP has a massive weak-spot which is just ripe for exploiting.

Sadly, you are correct for the most part.The final nail in the coffin will be if obama gets "immigration reform" through.Blanket amnesty is unlikely but any form of amnesty that gives 20 million people rights they do not deserve and are in no way entitled to, will finish this country off.While the idea of a melting pot sounds great, a little under half of this country no longer shares traditional american values.I am not talking about this in the religious sense because as an atheist, I find the god thing ridiculous.However, roughly half of this country wants socialism, even at the inevitable cost of our liberties.Sad part is prob 40-46 percent of these poor fools just do not know any better.They are uneducated, no sense of history, etc, they just want their "free stuff" and feel oppressed by "rich" people.They are, the "unwashed masses", and failure to properly manage them has left us where we are . The other half of this country believes in the constitutional, traditional free markets, liberty, the things that made this a great nation.

Well, I do not want us to be like the UK.I find it sad that what was once such a great and proud empire, is no more.Not putting down your people, I have a lot of love and respect for the UK and it's people but socialism ruined your country and seems it is doing the same with ours.

Perhaps fate will save us, it has before, if not then will we just try to pick up the pieces in the years to come.

Britains wartime debt and national independence movements across the empire had far more to do with the demise of the British Empire than socialist governments did.

Not saying that socialist policies didn't help but they were definitely not the primary cause.

I won't disagree, various factors but it's a huge part of the decline and definitely the main cause of ours(USA)

Actually this keeps federal spending low due to the sequester. Which is a fancy way of saying spending cuts. Deficits are also shrinking fast.

Regarding entitlement reform, there's going to be a budget conference so things may get hashed out there. It's depressing that it took a shutdown to get to conference but there you go.

The debt ceiling doesn't change anything about long term debt or deficits. It sounds like it does - which is why you get idiots vowing never to raise it. It should be abolished.

Neither the immigration reform, nor Obamacare will decide if the U.S remains an (economic) superpower or not.

The people should more discussing about how to up skill the people, how to compete with China/Asia and what investments and reforms are necessary in the education sector and in the job world in general.

I really do not understand why politicians are discussing about Obamacare in epic depth but not the real issues, which the country faces now. This seems to me being an ideological battle, nothing more.

But the same is true for Europe. We discuss endless our Euro-debacle and in Germany about our "Energiewende" (drop out of nuclear generated energy).

If we continue the same way like in the last 10 years, China's political system (mixture of capitalism and government-controlled, no individiual rights) will win the battle. The do not need endless our markets in the current magnitude to sell their products...they have soon Africa and their own domestic market because their people get richer.

So Obama is to blame for the GFC, the war debt that Bush handed over when he left power? Go figure. The decline of the US started largely due to the war in Afghanistan more than 10 years ago. The rot had set in well before then in Iraq. Going into those wars with poor strategies for what happened afterwards was criminal negligence of the first degree. didn't see many socialist policies making that happen.

Please try to use evidence when you make ridiculous claims. It makes them much harder to refute them.

I reckon in Americas case its a combination of welfare, warfare and simply too much government!. If congress followed your constitution properly you wouldnt have any of those problems at all, the US needs to cut back on socialist programs, but equally it needs to cut back on foreign aid packages and reduce its military bases & presence over seas, if some other parts of the developed world wants you fight certain wars for any reason then they should be paying you for it and not lending you money to do it IMO.