America is Falling Behind

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by DPolo

Primary responsibility of a company is to the Share Holders, Business Law 101.

Primary responsibility of each person is to mankind. Humanity 101. God 101.

[censusdata]

I find it interesting that both Liberals and Conservatives feel that America is past our prime and are now in decline. I agree as a moderate. I'm a history geek and we've seen this before with great societies who left written records.


Evidence that the end of America as a great civilization is near...


1. To maintain our standard of living we must deficit spend. To have a balanced budget we would have to both raise taxes and cut spending, and by a lot. This can not continue into perpetuity.


2. The rich are having almost no kids, only poorest are reproducing. Across lines of race and religion the most successful people aren't producing future elite citizens who have specialized skills and knowledge. The groups of people who invented pretty much everything we use are vanishing while the groups of people who make up the unemployed and prison population is growing. Not to mention the effects on the budget, the net givers are vanishing while the net takers are growing.


3. Our govt is gridlocked and we're clearly headed towards a split country. Rome split into West and East shortly into it's declining period and America is headed that way. We are now a nation of political extremes who dominated separate parts of the nation. I actually expect a split among Red / Blue state lines within my lifetime


4. Work ethic has been replaced with an entitlement complex. Blue collar jobs and military are increasingly dominated by immigrants because multi generation citizens refuse to do tough jobs.


5. Wages have stagnated for non rich. Because of student loan debt even the relatively affluent young people have little disposable income, to the point that even yuppies are now buying homes in the poorest neighborhoods because that's all they can afford.

[reed067]

Most American's believe that the U.S IS the best place in the world to be, when in fact some of the things going on in other countries, is happening right here under our noses. It would seem that no one really cares though.

[jertheber]

Reading through the various economic posts on CD one could easily conclude that the end is indeed near, the constant crying of those who find the plight of the poor to be something any fool could fix is but one of the clues to the fact of a decline in American empathy. The decline in our collective financial position is another shameful part of the evidence of a mass malfeasance on the part of our politicians, not to mention a near criminal neglect of their democracy by the middle class.

Yes, American exceptionalism is alive and well in 2015, the cheer section of those who are in the winners circle are rallying around the notion of America as being number one, that kind of sports view of our nation is now a common malady among the wealthy simply because for them it is certainly true. Where else could you run a very large bank and by extension (have banks) begin to rule the nation?

The US will remain in power for a long time to come, and that rule by a corporate global elite will, by necessity, rule at the peril of the citizenry. Already we see the lack of any true compassion on the part of our institutions, deaf as they are to the plight of ordinary citizens and downright demeaning when the poor are considered. Most people have been indoctrinated to worship wealth, and it's logical follow on, worship of the wealthy, only now we are seeing the truly wealthy not as individuals with wealth, but moreover, the mass concentration of corporately held wealth.

The stage is definitely set for the historical pattern followed by most empires with regard to their demise, not just in America but in many of the worlds poorest nations. History is a good source of info when making societal projections, most of the two tier autocracies have been replaced, only to see the growth of a new kind of top down construct appear. That most basic human attribute, greed, left to itself, will eventually poison good societies without exception.

Americans have a choice, work together to overcome the power of greed or sit back and allow it to grow, working together seems simple on it's face, but in practice it would be a monumental task as any readers of the usual political posts can conclude. We have the top stealing from the treasury, while the middle argues the merits of the minimum wage, we see the right and left battling it out over guns and abortions, both being issues of individual freedom that the other wants taken away. When a nation that calls itself The United States of America becomes a disunited pile of rotting logic I'd say that's a clue to our future, no matter the time line..

[eok]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

On April 19, 1775 our forefathers stood against the most powerful army in the world and defeated that army. They sent the Redcoats back to Boston from Concord, Mass - empty handed. We forget our history at our peril. Tyrants still want to take our firearms. They will not be successful.

That's part of why we're falling behind the rest of the world. The mentality that we only need to do what our ancestors did, and spend no time learning or thinking. The redcoats of the future are going to bring tanks, bazookas, bomber jets, etc. What are we going to do with our muskets then? The time to start learning and thinking is now, not when we're under attack.

When Obama talked about people clinging to guns and religion, he really meant clinging to the past. We need to move forward, into the future, a much more sophisticated world, where guns are religion are obstacles holding us back and keeping us in the barbaric past.

We aren't falling behind. We're running behind. Backwards. Running away from the future. Running towards making America a barbaric wasteland.