"Russia will never catch up"
"We will never catch up," writes Alexey Melnikov, member of the bureau of Russia's liberal opposition party, Yabloko, in Gazeta.ru. "Twenty years of unsuccessful reforms, propaganda lies, theft, corruption, and brain drain have deprived Russia of the possibility to develop and compete with other nations. Our lot is to rot away, selling the only thing that anybody still buys from us: oil and gas," Mr Melnikov laments. http://finrosforum.fi/russia-will-never-catch-up
The deficit will undo the American empire
In a federal budget filled with mind-boggling statistics, two numbers stand out as particularly stunning, for the way they may change American politics and American power. The first is the projected deficit in 2011: nearly 11% of the country’s entire economic output. The second number is the one that really commands attention: American deficits will not return to what are widely considered sustainable levels over the next 10 years. In fact, President Obama's budget draws a picture of a nation that simply cannot get above water. Obama’s chief economic adviser, Lawrence H. Summers, used to ask: "How long can the world's biggest borrower remain the world's biggest power?" The US may end up like Japan: as debt grew more rapidly than income, Japan's global influence eroded.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/us/politics/02deficit.html?hp
The American Dream
Median male incomes today are the same as they were in 1974 in the US. No progress has been made despite a doubling of productivity and massive top line GDP growth. Worse, given that female incomes are not on par with male incomes yet, the typical American family makes much less per hour worked than in 1974. All of the requirements for entry into the middle class are now private expenses. From health care to a college education, if you cannot afford the minimum (let alone high quality versions), you are not allowed entry. Worse, those expenses are spiraling out of control at rates many times the rate of inflation. Nothing is being done to address this. The system is geared to make us fail. Not only has offshoring just started (everything that can be moved offshore will be), we are being laden with unrepayable debt. To wit: there has been no job growth in the last decade (despite tens of millions in population growth) and total debt from all sources is still near all-time historical highs.
http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2010/01/you-are-in-control.html
