John F. Kerry

Will the 'Age of America' end in 2016? - CNN.com

all these folks lamenting the "decline" of america.

were gonna be the 2nd biggest economy in 2016 evidently.


now, the problem with this shit, is , that we got to this point because we chose to pursue certain actions.


we decided after ww2 to have the world be integrated and prosper together. we continued that for decades and opened up china and other places, and after the cold war invited our old arch enemy to join in too, and build space stations with us and shit.


china has a population of 1.5 billion people, india the same, america has like 6% of the worlds population. therefore, it shouldnt be a shame or surprising that we arent going to have the number 1 economy forever. if each chinese person creates 1/4th the wealth of each american, they will create twice the wealth that we have. thats just numbers. obviously the point that goes here is that chinas per capita income is not going to be anywhere near americas, anytime for probably half a century , if then.


but why did this come about? its a natural extension of the values and policies we have had for decades. we have free trade agreements with these countries where until 20 years ago people were dying of starvation....now , i think something like 1 billion people have been lifted out of abject poverty in the last 10 years.... thats a good thing, both for the world , for each person in it, and for us, whether u think about it that this will make the world be more peaceful and happy and coexisting, or whether u think that this will reduce the chances for future wars and conflicts.... either way, this is the fulfilment of pretty much what people expected to happen.

i dont think we should be too sad about it. because we planned it. and its good. i dont know if the chinese will be eternally grateful to america for comming in and helping them and doing trade agreements with them and taking them from the backwater cultural revolution days to world superpower in 40 years... but they should , because we have as much to do with it as they do.

woodrow wilson wanted this kind of thing a century ago. and its finally comming about. america doesnt have to fight every war anymore, because we rebuilt europe after ww2 and kept cooperating with them for decades and now nato is much stronger not to mention has a greater moral legitimacy than the us army would by itself...and it means sarkozy or merkel can take care of some of the expensive world problems instead of us always having to foot the bill.


i can see the visceral reaction about not liking to not be on top with gdp anymore. but america in the 1890s was booming and prosperous...and not the number one economy. theres no reason we have to have the highest gdp to live good happy lives. and in fact, the more equal the distribution is, it actually gives our arguments GREATER moral weight, because people cant all just say oh america is just trying to keep poor countries down....

i see so many benefits, and also how what has happened has been more or less by design. of course, now that other countries are powerful, they also have greater responsibility. which could end up not being good if they decide to be agressive or evil or whatever.... but long ago smart americans realized that 6% of the world cant decide everything for everyone in the other 94% forever.... and the best way to make those people likely to make good decisions like we might, would be to join with them and help them move into greater prosperity for themselves. so by definition we are giving up some control, but also, by helping china and others build good economies for the past 40 years, we have done probably the best we can to help them get in the right frame of mind for the heavier responsibilities they are going to take on in comming years.

i would say its like the pax americana might be ending, but thats because its not just up to america anymore, and it could be a pax humanity, thanks to the work we have done to help people around the world get closer to our standards of living, and make them feel like they have a stake in the future good advancement of the world and integration of all peoples.


my 3 cents for today, what do u think?

__________________
Nasa under Obama

Mafoo

ethnocentricity is the color shirt you are wearing today, isnt it.

the chinese have owned the united states for years because they tell their people what to do and when to do it, not because the united states has trade agreements with them. go look at where all your stuff is made... not the united states. thats why we are declining. weve moved out of the sphere of production/export and into our slovenly consumerist ideal. we want the cheapest shit [edit:] and without working for it; and those 1.5+ billion people are making the cheapest.

my opion.

__________________
PLUR
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return

SmokeaJoint

I blame this country's downswing on Capitolism. Make shit cheaper, charge more, and humanity be damned. Thats not my 2 cents, thats just what it is.

__________________
AMERICA: LAND OF THE FREE!
Some restrictions may apply. Void where prohibited

~1~

Corporatocracy killed the good old U.S. of A.

Well, that and unbridled greed coupled with an ego as large as the great out doors and you can see where we went wrong.

Grab all you can, give back as little as possible while you fuck shit up beyond belief without having to be responsible. I believe that is the corporate credo these days.


I do however take some solace in knowing that when it does come down in a huge pile, the ones who have all the money now, well that's all they're going to have.

All the rich will be good for is a food source. Pampered beef tastes pretty good, I imagine some Beverly Hills housecunt who has never worked a day in her life will be pretty succulent and tender...


Eat the rich.

__________________

Mafoo

you cant eat plastic, unfortuneately

while i might not agree with jfk, i think this is a good topic for discussion.

__________________
PLUR
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return

The Rev

I wouldn't put too much faith in the Chinese economy. They have been rolling on the same economic speedball of inflation that underlies every other " big economic success story". They've been increasing their money supply on the order of 30% a year; we, on the other hand, average about 5% a year, and look at all the havoc that's caused. That bubble is going to collapse just like Japan did back in the 80's. China is already playing with price controls to keep inflation under control, which tells you two things: there's nothing left to invest in, so the money is flooding into consumer markets, and their economic acumen is less sophisticated even than our blunt "spray it with the money hose, Bernie" system.

As for the end of our Empire, I say, "Good riddance!" We can save alot of money by not militarily occupying dozens of other countries, and waging war every time the middle east has a bad day.



The Rev

__________________

SmokeaJoint

I'm thinking more and more than Money and Economics are all a lie that we've been raised to see as truth. I know that human beings functioned just fine without them for centuries before some French fag decided to make up economic theory and before currency was established. Barter system anyone?

__________________
AMERICA: LAND OF THE FREE!
Some restrictions may apply. Void where prohibited

Grieves

yeah, i kick you in the balls and you give me everything....

__________________

SmokeaJoint

Add a facepunch and we have a deal sir.

__________________
AMERICA: LAND OF THE FREE!
Some restrictions may apply. Void where prohibited

zerodown

"u know why the "age of america" is ending ? because we iz good people "

No, its ending cause "we iz stoopid people".

__________________
"I've seen people so poor all they got is money."

We have to learn to unlearn
Its not contradiction, its amendment
Not everything we see is reality
Not everything we hear is the truth
Not everything we're taught helps us grow
~Cultura Profetica

"La locura se lleva en la cabeza y las drogas en los bolsillos"
~Roberto Iniesta

John F. Kerry

A smaller America could be a stronger America | Compass

good read. dont agree with everything, but this guy is on my wavelength

__________________
Nasa under Obama

DdC

__________________