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jayeff · 05-02-2004, 01:48 PM

The US is certainly #1 in many respects, but by no means all. Regardless, I don't recognize the stereotypes that the guy who started this thread wrote about.

The main reason the US is wealthy (and most of its other claims to fame stem from that wealth) is simply that is a relatively young nation. The land and other natural resources produced riches there has not yet been time to dissipate. The impact has been all the greater because the rise of the US coincided with the decline of many other countries. And of course that wealth is still sloshing around now, so no-one needs to be a historian to be aware of it.

But inevitably the pendulum keeps swinging. Japanese companies now own around one-third of the big farming operations in the mid-West. A lot of prime real estate, especially in city areas such as Manhattan is foreign-owned. Billions of dollars of stocks belong to overseas owners. That apart, some of the biggest media corporations are Japanese, German and Australian. Only 24 of the top 50 manufacturing companies are US based. Perhaps most seriously, some analysts argue that the US banking system is technically bankrupt.

For all its success and glitter, the US is badly flawed. It has among the poorest healthcare and education systems of any first-world country. The equivalent of a large town lives homeless in its capital city alone. Crime is high. The roads are dangerous. The environment is increasingly polluted. And for reasons I wish I had the time and knowledge to research, the US at least seems to produce more crazies, especially dangerous crazies, than any other nation.

Someone wrote in a thread here a few days ago, something along the lines that Americans are not stupid, but they don't like to think too much. Perhaps rather than learning from the past, that is why the US is following the exact same path as every other formerly great nation: one that leads ultimately to decline.

05-02-2004, 01:48 PM
jayeff Confirmed User Join Date: May 2001 Posts: 2,944	The US is certainly #1 in many respects, but by no means all. Regardless, I don't recognize the stereotypes that the guy who started this thread wrote about. The main reason the US is wealthy (and most of its other claims to fame stem from that wealth) is simply that is a relatively young nation. The land and other natural resources produced riches there has not yet been time to dissipate. The impact has been all the greater because the rise of the US coincided with the decline of many other countries. And of course that wealth is still sloshing around now, so no-one needs to be a historian to be aware of it. But inevitably the pendulum keeps swinging. Japanese companies now own around one-third of the big farming operations in the mid-West. A lot of prime real estate, especially in city areas such as Manhattan is foreign-owned. Billions of dollars of stocks belong to overseas owners. That apart, some of the biggest media corporations are Japanese, German and Australian. Only 24 of the top 50 manufacturing companies are US based. Perhaps most seriously, some analysts argue that the US banking system is technically bankrupt. For all its success and glitter, the US is badly flawed. It has among the poorest healthcare and education systems of any first-world country. The equivalent of a large town lives homeless in its capital city alone. Crime is high. The roads are dangerous. The environment is increasingly polluted. And for reasons I wish I had the time and knowledge to research, the US at least seems to produce more crazies, especially dangerous crazies, than any other nation. Someone wrote in a thread here a few days ago, something along the lines that Americans are not stupid, but they don't like to think too much. Perhaps rather than learning from the past, that is why the US is following the exact same path as every other formerly great nation: one that leads ultimately to decline.