23 hours ago, Lacessit said:

IMO you need to look at trends. The trajectory of public debt is alarming. Reserve currency status is eroding. Not so long ago it was more than 70% , now it is less than 60%. Most countries with US treasuries are selling them, which means the Fed has to offer higher interest rates, which flows into domestic interest rates.

Alliances? ROFL, Between tariffs and slagging off just about every American ally on the planet? Are you for real?

The Romans had the world's most powerful military too. The rot came from within.

I don't disagree that debt is a concern. It is.

And I don't disagree that the percentage of global reserves held in dollars has declined over time.

What I disagree with is the leap from those facts to "America is impotent."

Those are warning signs and trends worth watching. They are not evidence that the U.S. is somehow powerless or irrelevant today.

The Rome comparison doesn't really work either. Rome was primarily a military empire. U.S. influence comes from a combination of economic power, military power, technology, finance, innovation, higher education and global business. It's not built on just one pillar.

And while people keep talking about America's decline, the U.S. is still the economy that largely drives the global economy. The dollar is still the dominant reserve currency. American companies still dominate many of the world's most important industries. Investors still run to U.S. dollars and Treasuries when things get scary.

Can the U.S. decline over time? Sure. Every country can. But that's a very different argument than claiming America is already impotent.

8 hours ago, ericthai said:

I don't disagree that debt is a concern. It is.

And I don't disagree that the percentage of global reserves held in dollars has declined over time.

What I disagree with is the leap from those facts to "America is impotent."

Those are warning signs and trends worth watching. They are not evidence that the U.S. is somehow powerless or irrelevant today.

The Rome comparison doesn't really work either. Rome was primarily a military empire. U.S. influence comes from a combination of economic power, military power, technology, finance, innovation, higher education and global business. It's not built on just one pillar.

And while people keep talking about America's decline, the U.S. is still the economy that largely drives the global economy. The dollar is still the dominant reserve currency. American companies still dominate many of the world's most important industries. Investors still run to U.S. dollars and Treasuries when things get scary.

Can the U.S. decline over time? Sure. Every country can. But that's a very different argument than claiming America is already impotent.

Higher education? Please, you are coming the raw prawn. The US ranks #12 in the science standings. True, it ranks highly at the elite level. South Korea is well ahead of the USA in STEM graduates per 100,000.

Noted you did not address my post re Trump alienating allies.

10 hours ago, ericthai said:

I don't disagree that debt is a concern. It is.

And I don't disagree that the percentage of global reserves held in dollars has declined over time.

What I disagree with is the leap from those facts to "America is impotent."

Those are warning signs and trends worth watching. They are not evidence that the U.S. is somehow powerless or irrelevant today.

The Rome comparison doesn't really work either. Rome was primarily a military empire. U.S. influence comes from a combination of economic power, military power, technology, finance, innovation, higher education and global business. It's not built on just one pillar.

And while people keep talking about America's decline, the U.S. is still the economy that largely drives the global economy. The dollar is still the dominant reserve currency. American companies still dominate many of the world's most important industries. Investors still run to U.S. dollars and Treasuries when things get scary.

Can the U.S. decline over time? Sure. Every country can. But that's a very different argument than claiming America is already impotent.

America is a country where democracy is rendered so dysfunctional, where Republican politicians mostly act as shameless cover-up artists, as well as deniers, aiders and abetters of corporate malfeasance, is really a nation that lives in the permanent state of impotence.

In such a nation, bringing about the common good — if it occurs — is a matter of happening purely accidentally, not the consequence of serious policymaking.

In such a nation, it is also no surprise that Donald Trump is getting away with so much. The 45th U.S. President is frantically working 24/7/365 at bringing out the basest of instincts in the American public. Congressional Republicans will see to it that nothing stops him. That’s just another sign of American impotence.