Is America past its prime?

Is America past its prime?

It would seem so, and here is a TED video that makes the case.

The US economy has been expanding wildly for two centuries. Are we witnessing the end of growth? Economist Robert Gordon lays out 4 reasons US growth may be slowing, detailing factors like epidemic debt and growing inequality, which could move the US into a period of stasis we can't innovate our way out of.



Is job growth over in the United States?
Will the future economy look anything like the past?

Gordon talks about four "headwinds" that oppose growth,
but many others could be added to that list.

Be sure to watch the opposing viewpoint from Erik Brynjolfsson
who is quick to say, "Grow is not dead." www.youtube.com...

In my view, Erik is only added to the list of why growth is dead.
Robots my be our friends, but they don't solve this problem.

America is in decline. The day of rapid growth are over.
There will be exceptions to that rule in certain sectors,
but over all, the factors that conspired to make America
experience run away growth are no more.

Anyone care to disagree?

a reply to: wasaka

No , Only Two Thirds of it's Population Are . The Rest Still Hold the Old " American Values " that made this Country Great since it's Inception.





" the factors that conspired to make America
experience run away growth are no more. "


Those Factors Involve the Overthrow of the Government of the People, by the People, for the People, by a Corporate Theocracy Conspired Into Creation by Bribery and Greed .

a reply to: Zanti Misfit

No i would actually say, its just downhill

Now that America is a Corporate Oligarchy and not a Democratic Republic; the government and the citizens are completely controlled by the profit motive. Most Americans are now slaves to their jobs, have no savings and are living from pay check to pay check.

a reply to: olaru12

America is decades past its prime. The world has been aware of this for almost 20 years now, but naturally the people that live within and the propaganda that rules them won't accept that for a bit longer.

All you have to do is travel around the world and see how people react to Americans, and I travel a lot. 25 years ago, people looked up to me and my travel companions when we'd say we were Americans. Turn of the millennium, it was getting a bit more rough. A few years ago, we stopped sharing our nationality because it usually leads to negativity.

It is also possible that Americans were disliked even earlier but we were such a powerhouse and our money was worth more so they tolerated us; now we are not viewed in the same light, and our dollar is actually the weaker currency at an exchange, they don't have to any more.

No empire goes on forever, it would be silly to assume ours will.

As B. Franklin said there three kinds of people.

There are those that are immovable. Those that are movable, and those that move.

Right now we have too many immovable, and they are dragging this country down.

They need to get on the move, but that is never going to happen.

America's best days are well behind her, we now have nothing too look forward to than mediocrity.

And that is putting it nicely.

I think America gave up its principles and belief in the free market when the banks were bailed out in 2008. If you are willing to die for your freedom like so many did to gain those freedoms you should be more than willing to accept economic uncertainty. If Iceland is any indication the economy would have recovered faster anyway and it would have been a true lasting recovery.

The response to 9/11 is also partly to blame because it led to an erosion of freedoms and with the security structure that is now in place it's going to be hard to get those in power to release their grip. So yes I would agree America is in decline.

a reply to: Kharron

I agree with you.

Point of contention with the OP, America is a continent, not a country.
The country you are referring to within the continent of America,
which constitutes Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, is,
ta da, the United States of America.

America, as in the USA, not the continent
is in the early stages
that begat
the decline of the Roman Empire

Yes, the US is dying as an economic powerhouse,
over regulation and over taxation has seen to that
as well as an impossibly huge welfare state

The US is dying as an international powerhouse,
we have cut the number of troops to pre WWI
levels and kept them drained at war for the past
14 years, the military is drained and demoralized

The US will decline as did the Roman Empire
The US may end up like the old Soviet Union, with states being "let go"
to go their own way. Texas has a great chance of surviving secession,
Hawaii has had a huge secession movement for many many years. Other
states that have ocean borders, and border Canada may also succeed successfully.
North Dakota and Alaska would probably be better off succeeding also.

The end is near for a country that has drained itself dry
and is allowing itself to be over run and invaded
with non-citizens who still maintain loyalty to other countries,
or maintain loyalty to ideologies that are in conflict with US values,
which will further drain the welfare state and cause
severe cultural conflict within the US.

What was our prime? the 50s?

after watching the video looks like my prediction was spot on

originally posted by: frostie
What was our prime? the 50s?

after watching the video looks like my prediction was spot on

Most people think so.

I'd say when the DOT COM boom went bust, that was the end.
At that point, there was nothing left but one speculative bubble
after the other... from that point on it is all hype.

in Europe the vast amounts of cash the mobile operators spent
on 3G licences in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom,
and led them into deep debt. The investments were far out
of proportion to both their current and projected cash flow,
but this was not publicly acknowledged until as late as 2001.

a reply to: wasaka

Good point.

The DOTCOM era was all but pixels.

What about the physical aspect of the 50s?

Doesnt that override the web>

Why was the 50's a golden age for the US? Oh yeah, the rest of the industrialized world was a smoldering ruin from two world wars.

a reply to: frostie

> Why was the 50's a golden age for the US? Oh yeah, the rest of the
> industrialized world was a smoldering ruin from two world wars.

Correct.

The 50's was also when the CIA started to overthrow
democratically elected governments but the the
general public remained blissfully unaware and
naive to the IMF disaster capitalism agenda.

The decade following World War II is often described
as one of the most prosperous economic times in
American history. With victory under their belts
and money in their pockets, Americans in the 1950s
could optimistically pursue the American dream.

Part of that dream included the comforts of home
ownership and the opportunity to start a family.
Although the housing boom began shortly after
World War II, it wasn’t until 16 million veterans
actually returned from the war that America
went on a full-fledged housing spree. The baby
boom was well on its way. By 1954, more than
four million babies were being born each year,
peaking at 4.3 million in 1957.

To keep up with the residential housing demand,
especially in the Southwest, large builders began
building mass-produced, “cookie cutter” tract housing,
making owning a home affordable to millions.

The returning GIs were interested in low-cost housing,
low down payments, and long-term mortgages.

That was the Pinnacle of America growth and
what we call the American Dream.

Those days are long gone now.

a reply to: neo96

At work they describe 3 types of people as those that row the boat, those that just sit and those that are trying to sink the boat. We can all guess what type is in charge of the boat.

originally posted by: olaru12
Now that America is a Corporate Oligarchy and not a Democratic Republic; the government and the citizens are completely controlled by the profit motive. Most Americans are now slaves to their jobs, have no savings and are living from pay check to pay check.

If you think about it, it's always been like this.
During the civil war and the first time conscription was brought into play 'common' farming men were called into battle, those who had the wealth of a certain amount of slaves were exempt, the poor were beaten into battle.

History has always repeated itself from the rich and the poor, the rich simply ignore the poor tho and reap the benefits of those trying to achieve the american dream, with tax, jobs, etc. The USA is a country full of many kings, all of them are in a constant war for economic territory, all of us who work for them are simply their peons.

originally posted by: neo96
As B. Franklin said there three kinds of people.

There are those that are immovable. Those that are movable, and those that move.

Right now we have too many immovable, and they are dragging this country down.

They need to get on the move, but that is never going to happen.

America's best days are well behind her, we now have nothing too look forward to than mediocrity.

And that is putting it nicely.

Three kinds of people reminds me of the sort for hypnotism.

20% will be hypnotized if you ask them to.

60% can be hypnotized if you work at it and they are distracted.

20% can't be hypnotized, except maybe to save their own lives.

a reply to: grandmakdw

the decline of the Roman Empire

Great that you stated that, And what was the major reason that Rome fell?Not from the outside per se but from the inside as all the enemies they let in as workers from outside.By the time it fell, only a part of Rome were true Romans. see the similarities ?

originally posted by: grandmakdw
a reply to: Kharron

I agree with you.

Point of contention with the OP, America is a continent, not a country.
The country you are referring to within the continent of America,
which constitutes Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, is,
ta da, the United States of America.

America, as in the USA, not the continent
is in the early stages
that begat
the decline of the Roman Empire

Yes, the US is dying as an economic powerhouse,
over regulation and over taxation has seen to that
as well as an impossibly huge welfare state

The US is dying as an international powerhouse,
we have cut the number of troops to pre WWI
levels and kept them drained at war for the past
14 years, the military is drained and demoralized

The US will decline as did the Roman Empire
The US may end up like the old Soviet Union, with states being "let go"
to go their own way. Texas has a great chance of surviving secession,
Hawaii has had a huge secession movement for many many years. Other
states that have ocean borders, and border Canada may also succeed successfully.
North Dakota and Alaska would probably be better off succeeding also.

The end is near for a country that has drained itself dry
and is allowing itself to be over run and invaded
with non-citizens who still maintain loyalty to other countries,
or maintain loyalty to ideologies that are in conflict with US values,
which will further drain the welfare state and cause
severe cultural conflict within the US.

You make a great point and it leads into mine which is that the US is in decline, but that in its decline, it will come to merge into the North American Union. So....in a way, the US is in governmental decline, but economically its going to be "absorbed" such that it will, in a sense, simply disappear. We'll know we're beginning to see this develop when the US is forced by poverty to close its overseas military bases, bring its fleets home to mothballs and starts to withdraw from the bases in NATO, i.e., Germany.

a reply to: TonyS

In my opinion the bases we have overseas are a form of occupation, like the British and Romans of the past. We should have long long ago closed bases overseas and stopped occupying Europe or "protecting" Europe. After WWII we should have shut them all down and returned to a policy of non-interference in the rest of the world, unless someone like Hitler arose again. It is and was not our duty to spread our form of government. By being so obnoxiously pompous we have contributed to our own demise by spreading ourselves and noses around the world where they don't belong.

People blame the US for the ME, so wouldn't the best solution be to completely leave the ME to it's own devices to sort our their own problems? Staying just makes things worse and drains our already nearly bankrupt country.

originally posted by: grandmakdw
a reply to: TonyS

In my opinion the bases we have overseas are a form of occupation, like the British and Romans of the past. We should have long long ago closed bases overseas and stopped occupying Europe or "protecting" Europe. After WWII we should have shut them all down and returned to a policy of non-interference in the rest of the world, unless someone like Hitler arose again. It is and was not our duty to spread our form of government. By being so obnoxiously pompous we have contributed to our own demise by spreading ourselves and noses around the world where they don't belong.

People blame the US for the ME, so wouldn't the best solution be to completely leave the ME to it's own devices to sort our their own problems? Staying just makes things worse and drains our already nearly bankrupt country.

Oh my goodness. I agree with everything you said. Have I changed? Have you changed? I should probably go lie down.

We are going to have to learn to leave other countries alone. They must learn from their mistakes like we did, and they can't do that if we continue to assert our western culture in their business. They don't accept them, and think we are crazy for trying. ( However, while we are there, it can be helpful to teach western values, such as it's wrong to rape children, and stone women. Toilet paper is a good thing.)