[laboratorymice]

Fully agree, and it's probably intentional. It's not entirely fair, but I suppose most countries would do the same given the chance. Clearly it's not how you want to get ahead as a country, since all it takes is for the world collectively to decide it no longer wants to bear that cost, and then you can only keep it through force. Inflation becoming a well-understood phenomenon with the general population also threatens it.

If China plays its cards right, the US is going to start having a bad time still this decade. The US should be aggressively trying to reach a more balanced economy. The distribution of not just wealth, but of the ability to generate wealth, leaves the US on very shaky ground.

[maroonblazer]

Despite its many problems, the U.S. still enjoys the largest consumption of any country. People are banging down the door/wall to move here; we don't see people clamoring to emigrate to China. China's demographics spell doom for the foreseeable future.

Not only would China need to play its cards right, it'd need to win the lottery to overtake the U.S.