No longer the richest

[Farnhamia]

We need to lower taxes, cut spending, minimize regulations, and end all taxes on businesses to save the middle class from being destroyed.

Get that libertardian garbage out of here.

*** Warned for trolling ***

If you had said just "garbage" it would have been rude but no more.

[Murkwood]

(Image)

"alternet.com"

There's your big problem.

[Arcadonisia]

(Image)

"alternet.com"

There's your big problem.

Just because it comes from a source you don't approve of doesn't mean there is no truth there.

[Nervium]

Don't think this is bad, it'll likely get worse.

[Delmonte]

"alternet.com"

There's your big problem.

Just because it comes from a source you don't approve of doesn't mean there is no truth there.

Seriously. I love when people on NS dismiss things from the Heritage Foundation "BECAUSE THEY HAVE AN AGENDA!" There's literally no goddamn thing as a think tank without an agenda or they would have no funding. But they still want to maintain credibility, so they're going to do their homework. And the Heritage Foundation is incredibly highly regarded even by more left think tanks. A debate between conservatives and liberals on NationStates is done before it starts because NS liberals rarely accept evidence contrary to their opinion. They'll either say that it's from an invalid source or it's a conspiracy. It's absurd.

[Farnhamia]

Just because it comes from a source you don't approve of doesn't mean there is no truth there.

Seriously. I love when people on NS dismiss things from the Heritage Foundation "BECAUSE THEY HAVE AN AGENDA!" There's literally no goddamn thing as a think tank without an agenda or they would have no funding. But they still want to maintain credibility, so they're going to do their homework. And the Heritage Foundation is incredibly highly regarded even by more left think tanks. A debate between conservatives and liberals on NationStates is done before it starts because NS liberals rarely accept evidence contrary to their opinion. They'll either say that it's from an invalid source or it's a conspiracy. It's absurd.

One might say the same about NS conservatives. Didn't Murkwood just do what you accuse liberals of doing?

[Arcadonisia]

Just because it comes from a source you don't approve of doesn't mean there is no truth there.

Seriously. I love when people on NS dismiss things from the Heritage Foundation "BECAUSE THEY HAVE AN AGENDA!" There's literally no goddamn thing as a think tank without an agenda or they would have no funding. But they still want to maintain credibility, so they're going to do their homework. And the Heritage Foundation is incredibly highly regarded even by more left think tanks. A debate between conservatives and liberals on NationStates is done before it starts because NS liberals rarely accept evidence contrary to their opinion. They'll either say that it's from an invalid source or it's a conspiracy. It's absurd.

Every single person and political entity has an Agenda. What matters is how you present your claims and what you are willing to do to prove its absolute validity and implement it.

[Delmonte]

Seriously. I love when people on NS dismiss things from the Heritage Foundation "BECAUSE THEY HAVE AN AGENDA!" There's literally no goddamn thing as a think tank without an agenda or they would have no funding. But they still want to maintain credibility, so they're going to do their homework. And the Heritage Foundation is incredibly highly regarded even by more left think tanks. A debate between conservatives and liberals on NationStates is done before it starts because NS liberals rarely accept evidence contrary to their opinion. They'll either say that it's from an invalid source or it's a conspiracy. It's absurd.

One might say the same about NS conservatives. Didn't Murkwood just do what you accuse liberals of doing?

Probably. I mean, alternet should be dismissed because it isn't a scholarly source. At all. It's not a source. It may as well be a blog. The Heritage Foundation (which, upon doing a simple search in the General Forum can be found to be dismissed as a source for being conservative numerous times) requires you to have a doctorate to get in the fucking door. There are plenty of liberal think tanks that actually have their shit together. Alternet is not a think tank. Quoting alternet would be like quoting... some fucking tea party site. It's just not a source. You wouldn't even contemplate defending someone for quoting teaparty.org or whatever. But alternet is somehow different? Please.

Seriously. I love when people on NS dismiss things from the Heritage Foundation "BECAUSE THEY HAVE AN AGENDA!" There's literally no goddamn thing as a think tank without an agenda or they would have no funding. But they still want to maintain credibility, so they're going to do their homework. And the Heritage Foundation is incredibly highly regarded even by more left think tanks. A debate between conservatives and liberals on NationStates is done before it starts because NS liberals rarely accept evidence contrary to their opinion. They'll either say that it's from an invalid source or it's a conspiracy. It's absurd.

Every single person and political entity has an Agenda. What matters is how you present your claims and what you are willing to do to prove its absolute validity and implement it.

Welcome to the town of Literally What I Just Said: Population You.

[Infected Mushroom]

It has massive flaws in quite fundamental areas. If it were a building it would be condemned

Not even close. A lot of the talk about "how bad America is" is greatly over-exaggerated. It has flaws, but it's a stable country with generally high standards of living and where many opportunities abound.

yeah i think america's generally a good country to live in. For the most part. It just gets a lot of bad press for some of the bad stuff because its always in the spotlight.

[Blekksprutia]

Canada <3

[Death Metal]

No, it hasn't been done in America, but it has been done in Hong Kong, and look where Hong Kong is at right now?

A corrupt* hedgemony** with rampant crime. Yes, totally what we want America to be.

*- Yes, I know about the Transparency International rating; it's a misleading statistic. The corruption that happens in Hong Kong is perpetrated not by the Hong Kong government itself but rather the Chinese government dealing with businessmen who set up shop in Hong Kong for tax purposes to give them trade incentives with mainland China. Furthermore Hong Kong's police record is very suspect given the influence of organized crime in the city, and Chinese higher-ups are in charge of police corruption. So while Hong Kong's government is (mostly) innocent in this, making the TI index technically accurate, it is highly misleading.

**- Hong Kong can afford to have near-nonexistant tax rates only because China pays for Hong Kong's bills, off of the backs of Chinese taxpayers. This is also artificially raising HK's GDP; If Hong Kong became independent of China their economy would literally collapse overnight.

[Death Metal]

It will work, as businesses would have more freedom to hire and do more things, which in turn helps the economy and generates wealth, while lowering taxes on the people will likely increase consumerism (pumps money in the economy) and make them richer overall (with less money given to the gov't)

It works so well, that it's the reason we're no longer the number one richest country, and slipping further behind every year.

GENIUS.

[Death Metal]

Your solution to catching up to the other nations.. is to do the opposite of what they're doing?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism

Ah, American Exceptionalism. The proof that America has learned nothing from the people we fought in WWII except how to brainwash people through nationalist doublethink propaganda.

[The Fascist American Empire]

1) Retitle the thread to something similar to the name of the article.

2) Get ready for America's descent into a second-class nation. We won't be a world economic power for long.

Maybe I'm wrong and we'll make a comeback, but bad things keep getting worse.
We need a middle class.

Two and the comment below it. I don't see how point 1 makes sense though. The name as it is is what got my attention.

We are no longer the technological world power, Japan, we won't be the economic world power for much longer, and if we downsize our military capabilities. Bye bye US, everybody who hates you will seize the opportunity.

[Ponderosa]

2) Get ready for America's descent into a second-class nation. We won't be a world economic power for long.

Well, this is just silly and short-sighted. People have been saying this for years, especially during the Cold War. And guess what happened? It gets better.

[Baader-Meinhof Gruppe]

It was beautiful, but I wish they wouldn't refer to neo-liberalism as "economics". It's really not. The basic law of supply and demand refutes it. Damn Harvard and their shitty economics department using their name to sound smart when in reality they don't have the slightest clue what they are talking about...

Neo-liberalism is just more centrist then modern liberalism. It can be used in an exclusive economic fashion, or in a economic, political, social, and cultural fashion. Or any mix of those.

Harvard, as it stands today, is a very shitty college for how good they're claimed to be. Harvard uses it's prestige, name, and history to get people into applying.

I understand this. I'm just really opposed to "neo-liberal" economics because I've studied economics for 5 years now and I have yet to find many of their ideas that work in even a theoretical situation. It's the Intelligent Design of economics, a religion(at the very least a very dogmatic political ideology) disguised as something that actually has facts behind it.

Ever since their paper on austerity was disproved I think they've lost a lot of face. It's been a long time coming for their econ department and their other departments have since been beaten by other schools. It's a good laugh that one of the prominent voices behind neo-liberal economics is having it's reputation destroyed by it.

[Geilinor]

2) Get ready for America's descent into a second-class nation. We won't be a world economic power for long.

Well, this is just silly and short-sighted. People have been saying this for years, especially during the Cold War. And guess what happened? It gets better.

The fact is that the standard of living is stagnating, it's clear to see in the article. When other wealthy countries are progressing faster than you are, it creates a problem.

[Pope Joan]

Is it any secret that our wealthiest citizens have been fattening themselves at the expense of the rest of us, including the (shrinking) middle class?

[Death Metal]

Is it any secret that our wealthiest citizens have been fattening themselves at the expense of the rest of us, including the (shrinking) middle class?

Only to those who believe Koch funded lie machines like Heritage and Mises.org.

[Viritica]

Damn Canadians.

Creeping up on us and shit with their higher-income middle class.

[Ponderosa]

Well, this is just silly and short-sighted. People have been saying this for years, especially during the Cold War. And guess what happened? It gets better.

The fact is that the standard of living is stagnating, it's clear to see in the article. When other wealthy countries are progressing faster than you are, it creates a problem.

Sure. But we're not slipping into obscurity.

[New Colorado Republic]

NUKE CANADIA!!

[Ixzara]

NUKE CANADIA!!

My spidey-senses are telling me that Freedom and Democracy are about to be brought to Canada.

[Nervium]

NUKE CANADIA!!

My spidey-senses are telling me that Freedom and Democracy are about to be brought to Canada.

That awkward moment when they find out Canadia doesn't exist.

[Ixzara]

My spidey-senses are telling me that Freedom and Democracy are about to be brought to Canada.

That awkward moment when they find out Canadia doesn't exist.

Hmm...in my brief time glancing at the post, I did not realize that it was indeed not Canada.