The inevitable collapse of the American Empire is being prolonged by the two factors. One, as already noted by a previous commentator is that the US dollar is the world’s reserve currency and the other is that China and the other savings nations are (more or less involuntarily) financing the US’s deficit spending that enable it to continue with its military and interfering ventures all over the world.

An additional thought… The “poverterization” of America that has been building up due to the loss of much of its manufacturing capacity and the redistribution of income and wealth from the bottom to the top earners together with the curtailment of the ability to borrow and thus spend by the poor and middle class will probably mean that the US consumer imports that provided the savings that China etc then lends back to the US will dry up. If the US can no longer borrow from abroad how then will it continue to be able to finance its empire building activities?

For the sake of America and the rest of the world I hope the collapse doesn’t drag out too long and there is enough time left for the world to deal with the ecological problems like climate change that threaten our civilization.

Lucky we control the drug trade in Afghanistan or we’d never be able to afford all those snazzy black-ops programs. Yes sir, those poppies are a gold mine.

The expansion of debt and speculation that
characterized the US economy (and advanced capitalism
as a whole) since the 1960’s represented the main means
by which the system managed to avoid sinking into a
deep slump, while not enabling it to overcome the
stagnation of the ‘real’ economy.

Nothing has really change, and it won’t until we accept
the supporting truth of capitalism, we create wealth by
making things.

The “problems” with any established programs like Soc Sec or Medicare are that people AND businesses have planned entire lifetimes on their expected continuation. 

The business world successfully has transitioned an entire generation of workers from classic pensions over to 401(k) funds and the like - it was great for business to spend less on retirees.  Business is counting on the retirees to be relatively healthy with Medicare to keep them that way.

Businesses WANTED and WORKED toward the current set-up - they got exactly what they asked for.  If they now decry the situation, let them blame themselves. 

To the chagrine of younger workers, the elderly will only survive on what is available.  Take Soc Sec and Medicare away or cut them to the quick and suddenly there will be a generation of subsistence-level old timers clamoring the government for relief. 

And don’t forget:  For a while, the Boomers will be outnumbering younger voters - that makes it unlikely Boomers will cut their own throats in such programs. 

Rep. Grayson’s bill to bring down the funds for war is at least a reasonable first step.  Heaven knows neither way has netted us much payback. 

(Still waiting for the bouquets of flowere ..... still waiting for the oil bennies to come in.)

Picture this: 
W and OJ are out golfing on a pristine course.  W is still looking for WMDs and OJ is still looking for his wife’s murderer.

Deficit spending will work if the system as a whole has a basically healthy economic base.  I think it is questionable whether it will work in the case of the U.S., because the U.S. has been deindustrialized and has been living on savings and credit for decades.  I am afraid that today, deficit spending is another case of fighting the last war, as they say generals are prone to do.  After the next wave of cheap goods from China, what?

Happy days are not here again.

I wonder, if there is anyone with half brain left in our government?

At some point, someone in the military is going to realize, that economic warfare, is just as deadly as as bombing your enemy silly.

And that the United States has lost our economic war.

Do we have the industrial base to even make bulletts here, tanks? Or do they have to be imported from Turkey?

Do we have a healthy population of people from whom to draw on in time of war, people who aren’t drug addicted, or suffering from all sorts of mental illness needing to be on meds just to get through the day? All victims of grinding poverty and debt slavery, to the ruling class.

Do we have an educated population that can, think well enough to use advanced weapons sytems?

And do we have a population that has enough income to support a military through taxes? Or will further economic burdens result in decay, and loss of financial where-with-all, result in a populace that will eventually disintegrate, into homelessness and chaos.

Will, that population be completely overwhelmed by immigrants who don’t have a national identity yet, but owe allegience instead to dozens of other primarily third world countries?

We can no longer support our military through taxes, we just don’t have the money. Cutting the safety net further will only make the situation dire. It would amount to a complete and total surrender, and turn large segments of our country into a no mans land.

As I said, if the economy was war, we lost.

When you lose a big war, you don’t get to call the shots anymore.

Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz provide updated information on war costs on their blog: http://threetrilliondollarwar.org/

The Federal government spends millions of dollars for a budget process that
includes the President, both houses of Congress, the Congressional Budget
Office and the Office of Management and Budget.  There are several Federal
Laws that govern the budget process.

Why don’t they use the system that we have spent a lot of money to create?????

Having a bunch of EX Congress persons just provides political cover so that
Congress can say they HAD to vote for those cuts that adversely affect millions
of everyday Americans on Social Security and Medicare.

Everyone knows that the REAL waste, fraud and corruption is in the Defense
Dept, the Homeland Security Dept, the Agricultural Dept, the Commerce Dept
and the others where the big money donors have made an investment in
government that makes SUPER returns at our expense.

It should be a crime to violate the Federal laws that mandate the budget
process and the members of the Deficit Commission are guilty of breaking
them.  When the lowly break laws they go to jail.

President Obama’s Cat Food Commission has been lauded by the lofty likes of Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager, and arch foe of social security, Pete Peterson. 

That ought to tell you something.

The commission is actually re-visiting the idea of “investing”  social security funds in the stock market.  What a pretty sight that would be when the market crashes as it will inevitably do due to the fact that there is no there there when it comes to production that is supposed to underwrite the whole ponzi scheme.

What remains of the New Deal is under intense assault by the people who sold us on a candidate they thought an angry populace could believe in, largely based on the shiny wrapper.  Well, we’re starting to eat the shit, and it’s not so tasty.

Hold on folks, more cat food’s on it’s way….Who knows?  eventually, they may not even have to worry about feeding the “lesser people” Cat Food Commission Co-Chair, and former Republic Sen. Alan Simpson referred to. 

Maybe they can figure out some military unit for 80 year olds.  Get your K-rations, and when you’re starting to look like the end is near they’ll strap a suicide belt to your walker.