Decline and fall of the American empire

China is the next big-wig. Lots of land, resources in America as well as here.

Take a look statistically at Asian paycheques compared to Aussie or US in our own countries.

We might not like it, but I think we need to face it....we've been beaten at our own game.

I love democracy.:)

Regards JO
 
Some additional data regarding the US and the coming retirement crisis

Source Link

16 Statistics About The Coming Retirement Crisis That Will Drop Your Jaw

1- Beginning January 1st, 2011, for the next 19 years, every day more than 10,000 Baby Boomers will reach the age of 65

2- According to one recent survey, 36 percent of Americans say that they don't contribute anything at all to retirement savings

3- Most Baby Boomers do not have a traditional pension plan because they have been going out of style over the past 30 years

4- Over 30% of U.S. investors in their sixties have more than 80 percent of their 401k invested in equities. So what happens if the stock market crashes again?

5- 35% of Americans over the age of 65 rely almost entirely on Social Security payments


6- According to another recent survey, 24% of U.S. workers admit that they have postponed their planned retirement age at least once during the past year

7- Approximately 3 out of 4 Americans start claiming Social Security benefits the moment they are eligible at age 62

8- Pension consultant Girard Miller told California's Little Hoover Commission that state and local government bodies California have $325 billion in unfunded pension liabilities

9- According to a recent report from Stanford University, California's three biggest pension funds are $500 billion short of meeting future retiree benefit obligations

10- It has been reported that the $33.7 billion Illinois Teachers Retirement System is 61% underfunded and is on the verge of complete collapse

11- The 50 states are collectively facing $5.17 trillion in pension obligations, but they only have $1.94 trillion set aside in state pension funds

12- According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security system will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes in 2010

13- By 2025, it is projected that there will be approximately two U.S. workers for each retiree

14- According to a recent U.S. government report, soaring interest costs on the U.S. national debt plus rapidly escalating spending on entitlement programs will absorb approximately 92 cents of every single dollar of federal revenue by the year 2019

15- After analyzing Congressional Budget Office data, Boston University economics professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff concluded that the U.S. government is facing a "fiscal gap" of $202 trillion

16- According to a recent AARP survey of Baby Boomers, 40 percent of them plan to work "until they drop"
 
Maybe we need a Logans Run style system where as soon as we hit 70yo were off to the glue factory.

That would reduce government pension burdens, people would want to retire early to enjoy their last years of life and so the retirement age would lower meaning more jobs in the workforce for the younger generation.

Reckon it would be accepted by the masses? :)
 
To those who think you can print money and 'print' your way out of a recession, let's just remember that you have $14 trillion of debt to repay. Divided by a population of 400m people that's printing $35k per person. That's the entire GDP of the country nearly haha...

Printing so much US$ will drive the currency in to oblivion and not only will Americans never be able to afford buying German cars, they won't even be able to afford Korean cars (like KIA) or Indian cars (like Tata) or Chinese cars (like Great Wall)...

Imagine the amount of wealth that would escape America before something like that happened, sending the country into a spiral of depreciating currency and hyper-inflation.
 
Robert K pointed out, around 10 years ago, that the USA government pension scheme/401k was already technically bankrupt ... seems that he was ignored by those that matter.
 
The more money the FED prints, the better it is for the USA.
Thats why they keep doing it.
USA dominance will most likely outlive anyone on this forum.

@ Redwing, it's not much different here.
 
Can it be called a "Double-Dip" if they didn't recover from the first one?
 

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.. I can see a huge stockmarket crash coming on this week. Aus dollar was nearly 1.10 (up from around 1.06) a few days ago after the US credit downgrade. now it's falling down around the 1.04 mark, I know from the past when the Aus dollar fluctuates rapidly then a crash occurs.... I think all hell will break loose on Monday and Tuesday like we have never seen before! ;)

lol, would have been good to hear this from you about two weeks ago.
Anyone can 'predict' increased uncertainty, alla a crash in your words, once we are actually in one.
 
I dont think much differently since the last thread (about a year ago) on this:

Debate? there is no debate.
It's ludicrous to think that that US is broke or going to go broke.
They are the conductor & marching band, the rest of the world marches to their tunes with Australia lost in the crowd.
That they are in recession make no difference.

I'll make the relevance clear for you.
The thread is about the US going broke, which is Bunkem.
Australia & the EU China & India will go broke before the US does.

They make the money, they the biggest guns, they have the most wealth, they own the most assets, they consume the most.
Unless a few of those change, chances are close to none.

That they are in recession doesnt really change this.
The obvious expenditure cuts are in defens but even if they cut new defense spending by 80% they have so much infrastructure that it would take anyone else 50 yrs just to get close.


It does'nt matter.

I'd argue the whole world is technically bankrupt, as the banking & insurance systems world wide are all insolvent.
And if the US, being the biggest Ponzi scheme goes broke, the rest of world would be even more bankrupt.
So how do you bankrupt and completely dominate the rest of the world?
1.Raise your foreign debt levels to 80% by 2015.
2.Default on the loans.
3.Anyone with any problems, just send your army and we'll negotiate.

Or devise a "restructure" that achieves a subtler result, though in the same direction.
There are a multitude of methods to achieve this.

.



My problem with Schiff is that he is not an independent voice.
He earns commissions on transactions, and speaks accordingly and however sensationally as it suits him.

That's exactly what many people were saying mid 07, then....
But what would really happen if the US defaulted, or just said "we're restructuring our debt payments and your all gonna be paid less and later as it's in our national interest".
Think about it WW, what would really happen?
How are you (or anyone else) going to go and demand payment from the US gov?
The simple answer is, there's no chance anyone could demand anything at this time.

---
That "debt clock" is a load of crap.
And with all due respect, modern history in this country is an endagered species. It's not taught in school.
Most G20 govts have large debts to the US, financial & political.
The US has a huge influence in the govts of most OECD nations.
Has nobody taught that we have US military bases in Australia to which the Australian govt has no access?
Ever ask yourself why? Maybe you should.
And it's the same all over the EU and many other countries.
How many US ICBM sites are there outside the US?
And how & why did they get there?

As someone pointed out here before, the US most common way of solving international problems (some of which never really existed) is bombs.

So watta you say people, since the US is broke why dont you go and take back our land at Pinegap from that bankrupt nation headed for extinction... you'll quickly see who the bankrupt nation really is.
 
Anarchy is pervading the middle east now Europe next will be the US. People are very unhappy with their governments.
 
Excellent post PB. From my POV US dominance hasn't gone anywhere. They have internal issues they need to resolve, such as how to make their population more productive (ie employed...) but they pale into insignificance compared to the same issues in China right now. When you are in debt in your own currency (unlike the PIIGS), it's difficult to see the long term problem for you. Easy to see the problem for your creditors though...

And everyone seems to be forgetting that a single party state, as per China, has distinct disadvantages compared to a functioning democracy where the war of ideas is played freely and openly every day. Just try googling information on "Tiananmen Square Massacre" from a computer within China... and ask yourself why are there no hits? Big Brother is always watching. And they make some stupid decisions as a result. The fact that it's difficult for us to see them doesn't mean they aren't there.

I predict the Chinese govt system will collapse sooner than America's. When they inevitably hit a speed bump on their development pathway all their old decisions will come home to roost. They can only hold back the tide of democratic development in the modern world for so long. The fact they have handled communism better than anyone else to date only slows down the inevitable - it doesn't stop it. The more educated their population inevitably becomes, the less sustainable their privileged position in society is.
 
With 50 states it's leading field of employment is......Government! Aprroximately 21.2 million people

Is that really true? I just looked it up and they have a workforce of 153 million. That means that 13.8% of all working people are employed in a government job, or that every 7 non-government workers have to support a government employee.

I wonder how this compares to other countries, especially Australia.
 
Excellent post PB. From my POV US dominance hasn't gone anywhere. They have internal issues they need to resolve, such as how to make their population more productive (ie employed...) but they pale into insignificance compared to the same issues in China right now. When you are in debt in your own currency (unlike the PIIGS), it's difficult to see the long term problem for you. Easy to see the problem for your creditors though...

And everyone seems to be forgetting that a single party state, as per China, has distinct disadvantages compared to a functioning democracy where the war of ideas is played freely and openly every day. Just try googling information on "Tiananmen Square Massacre" from a computer within China... and ask yourself why are there no hits? Big Brother is always watching. And they make some stupid decisions as a result. The fact that it's difficult for us to see them doesn't mean they aren't there.

I predict the Chinese govt system will collapse sooner than America's. When they inevitably hit a speed bump on their development pathway all their old decisions will come home to roost. They can only hold back the tide of democratic development in the modern world for so long. The fact they have handled communism better than anyone else to date only slows down the inevitable - it doesn't stop it. The more educated their population inevitably becomes, the less sustainable their privileged position in society is.

great post HiEquity.

Wow its amazing, we go loggerheads when it comes to the carbon tax, yet we agree on this 'macro' issue.
Maybe there is hope for mankind.:D
 
Maybe we need a Logans Run style system where as soon as we hit 70yo were off to the glue factory.

That would reduce government pension burdens, people would want to retire early to enjoy their last years of life and so the retirement age would lower meaning more jobs in the workforce for the younger generation.

Reckon it would be accepted by the masses? :)

Nowadays it would be more like The Hunger Games ;)

Robert K pointed out, around 10 years ago, that the USA government pension scheme/401k was already technically bankrupt ... seems that he was ignored by those that matter.

Australia implemented The Future Fund to take care of government pensions in the future
 
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