64 year anniversary

[gilfan]

With respect, I don't think starting a fight then getting your butt kicked makes it "your century". Germany may have put major events into motion, but they did not determine the outcome of any of those events.

[Enigma_Nova]

American internal collapse isn't inevitable, and the nation will probably change policies before it happens.
Though, if they -do- continue at their current pace:

Rampant Consumerism in that country means they'll have to start importing more and more goods, goods that aren't being used to further their economy but instead used to take up space in a Living room.

They have the highest funded military in the world. This is a good thing until an economic downturn hits, and they'll have to choose whether to cut back military spending or spending on things like Education.

The Urban culture, and cost of education, are both on the rise. This leads to higher crime rates. Crime is becoming Crippling in parts of America, and since they seem to think a "War on Drugs" is more important than a "War on Poor Living Standards", crime will continue to rise.

Lawsuits and Credit Cards are pandemic. Money spent to lose money.
The average american is going into Debt, which means there's less money available to flow up the economy - and when it DOES flow, it's usally to MacDonald's instead of to somehow further the consumer in question (Efficient Car, Internet, Education, etc.)


I predict that when the next economic downturn hits, the Crime and lack of Education will spur the new government to drop military spending in order to kerb the problems on their home turf, and it will be 20 years before changes to the children of that era show their effects on the society.
China, in the meantime, is getting stronger.

[gilfan]

I don't think the eventual end of american dominance will be due to american collapse, but due to Chinese economic growth. I don't think it's a given, either... Communist government and economic systems certainly don't have a good track record.

[Shogun Gunner]

Originally posted by Enigma_Nova

The Urban culture, and cost of education, are both on the rise. This leads to higher crime rates. Crime is becoming Crippling in parts of America, and since they seem to think a "War on Drugs" is more important than a "War on Poor Living Standards", crime will continue to rise.

This isn't true. Most measurements of crime are down...even WAY down in some locales over the last ten to twenty years. "Rising crime" is a buzzword often used in contridiction of facts. Even good 'ole Washington DC -- just 30 miles from my house -- has experienced a serious reduction of homicides. That doesn't mean its safe in some neighborhoods, or that the problem has largely gone away, but the numbers are significantly down from the 80's and early 90's.

@Nikolai, you are absolutely right. Without Soviet military resistance and success against the Germans, WW2 would have gone much differently. I was not so much marginalizing them, rather explaning the American perspective. In no way did America single handily win WW2 - however, they were the decisive factor.

[Addled Platypus]

can anyone else remeber what this thread is about?

[Shogun Gunner]

You really surprised me with that attack Platypus. I was so bombed last night....how could I remember? It's not like my intelligence was bad - I'm just not paying attention.

[Enigma_Nova]

Originally posted by Shogun Gunner
This isn't true. Most measurements of crime are down...even WAY down in some locales over the last ten to twenty years.

I'll take your word for it.
I suppose I was incorrect to assume the recent trends in Culture in Australia would translate to America, even if they are carbon-copies most of the time.

[Dis]

The reason crime is down is because most of the criminals are in jail. We get critisized alot for having 2 million people incarcerated. But it has paid its dividend. The downside is the huge economic burden of supporting so many prisoners.

But just because crime is down, doesn't mean we have solved the conditions that have caused the crime. Economic hardship. These problems are still there. And this is why crime is not down to 0. Which you would think would happen with 2 million people in prison. The fact is we are still creating new criminals everyday with the nations youth. So far, we've been able to put them in jail as quickly as they turn to crime (hence the lowering crime rates).

[Enigma_Nova]

You guys should use Prison Labor to make storage facilities for dangerous military equipment, then on a day when the prison's staff are taking a holiday, you can have an "accident"