You're right, troll, that if the economic collapse suggested in that article occurs, it will be a disaster for ordinary Americans, and that is most unfortunate. I would prefer greatly if it were not so. However, I am not sure what anyone can do about it at this point. A country that exports most of its consumer product industry to the Orient, and basically deprives its own working class of their traditional job base and replaces it with high tech war industries and fast food outlets is on the fast track to nowhere.

That's a generalization, but I think you probably know what I mean. Much the same thing has happened in Canada in the last 30 or 40 years. It's not good.

I think Western Europe has the best chance of assuming top spot in the next few decades, providing they unite effectively (with or without the UK). Germany and Japan proved after WWII that the way to become successful economically is to concentrate on peacetime production, and not waste your resources constantly building and maintaining a huge war machine. The USA has not learned that lesson, but is doing the opposite, and spending 50% of the whole World's annual spending on weapons. That's the approach that destroyed the Russian economy between 1945 and 1989, and it is destroying the American economy as well.

- LH