Monday, June 6, 2011
The Guardian: Decline and fall of the American Empire
Unemployment...
has not returned to Great Depression levels but at 9.1% of the workforce it is still at levels that will have nerves jangling in the White House. The last president to be re-elected with unemployment above 7.2% was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The US is a country with serious problems. Getting on for one in six depend on government food stamps to ensure they have enough to eat. The budget, which was in surplus little more than a decade ago, now has a deficit of Greek-style proportions. There is policy paralysis in Washington.
America...
in 2011 is Rome in 200AD or Britain on the eve of the first world war: an empire at the zenith of its power but with cracks beginning to show.
The experience of both Rome and Britain suggests that it is hard to stop the rot once it has set in, so here are the a few of the warning signs of trouble ahead: military overstretch, a widening gulf between rich and poor, a hollowed-out economy, citizens using debt to live beyond their means, and once-effective policies no longer working. The high levels of violent crime, epidemic of obesity, addiction to pornography and excessive use of energy may be telling us something: the US is in an advanced state of cultural decadence.
Tax Cuts for the Rich: A History of Failure
From Bigcorporationusa.blogspot.com:
Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower took office in 1953. The top tax rate stayed frozen at 91% his entire presidency and remained so throughout JFK's.
A Republican president taxed the rich 91%. Amazing huh? Things must have been horrible in the 50's, right?...President Eisenhower:
- Presided over one of the most prosperous and thriving economies in American history.
- Balanced the budget and created a moderate surplus (The last Republican President to do so)
- Kept inflation near zero and unemployment low
- Created nearly 4 million jobs (Factor in that the population in the 50's was less than half of what it is today)
- Witnessed steady job growth in all sectors
- Expanded Social Security
- Created the International Highway System & NASA
- Increased Minimum Wage
