Fading American Power: Internal Threats

13/08/2011 02:05

Since historical times, nations have risen and fell. Until today, no nation has remained top forever. Similarly, when applied to modern context, America cannot be top forever and signs of its decline are already appearing. Let us now see how internal threats have caused the fading of American power.
To start, baby boomers who fueled American growth in the previous century are retiring and collecting Social Security and Medicare with their World War 2 parents. This has drastically strained US finances and since such payments are already promised by the government, they 150-510 have to be honored. With only rising debt to come, I find it hard to not see the US fall from grace.
Moreover, many highways and bridges in the past now need repair. This first places a heavy burden on a nearly bankrupt government who still has to fork out this money. If not, the US will see foreign investments being withdrawn as exports will now take more time to be transported to their markets. In today's competitive world, speed is crucial and whoever lags behind will lose out. Given this dilemma between repairing or saving the money, choosing any option will endanger the US economy because if the government chooses to repair the infrastructure, it has to increase debt and this inflates the growing debt bubble. Likewise, if it chooses not to repair, the economy will slowly die as export revenues fall.
Furthermore, the auto industry today is dying and becoming outdated because countries like China, Japan, Korea, etc have caught up with the US. With firms like Toyota and Hyundai being able to produce cheaper and better cars than the US, America really faces tough competition and this has taken a toll on many automakers. Their weakness is further illustrated when car makers like Chrysler and Ford had to be bailed out in the recent crisis. With the industry being so fragile today, it is likely that the US has already lost its superiority in this field.
In addition, as life expectancy rises, there is increased demand for health care. This causes costs for health care to rise, thereby increasing production costs for businesses as they have to provide welfare for employees. As a result, many businesses will close down and this will entail a rise in unemployment. To make things worse, this trend is likely to be 143-360 irreversible as health care costs will usually increase as more people live longer. Given this threat brought about by an aging population, America faces a serious problem and this definitely has the potential to break it.
To add on, pension plans are going broke, increasing the need for Medicare and Social Security. Because of this, the government all the more has to guarantee payments for the above schemes to avoid losing support. Since people make up the base of a nation, the ever burgeoning debt bubble once again has to grow in order to feed these programs. For every single moment the debt bubble is present, America's greatest enemy (debt) will haunt it until its economy becomes ruptured apart.
Hence, 143-510 to conclude, given the internal threats present in its economy, it will be extremely hard for the US to remain top unless these knotty problems are resolved. Nevertheless, while today's evidence show signs of decline in US power, we shouldn't pass judgment too quickly because change is constant and anything can happen.

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