From The Ramparts

   

                                                   From the Ramparts

                                                Junious Ricardo Stanton

                                          America An Empire In Decline

            "The American Empire invaded, occupied or bombed 14 countries in less than 30 years – timeline The real reason for singling out these countries is the petrodollar system, a scheme that enables America to stay afloat despite being more than $17 trillion in debt. The existence of petrodollars is one of the pillars of America’s economic might, because it creates a significant external demand for the American dollar, allowing the United States to amass enormous debts without defaulting." The American Empire Is In Decline Like All Others Before http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/american-empire-decline/ri15586

            The American Empire like all empires before it,  will not last forever. Studies indicate an empire lasts about ten generations or two hundred years. The typical empire goes through several stages over a period of years, but because of the  massive technological advances that have occurred during its rise the lifespan and decline of America is being accelerated.

            The Europeans who came to these shores came not as explorers and seekers of freedom as their propaganda and myths tell us, but as conquerors, colonizers, plunderers and murderers. With that mindset is was inevitable they would initiate strife, conflict, and genocide everywhere they set foot. That was the first stage of empire, settlement.

            Once the Europeans established a toehold here they began their conquest in earnest which is the second phase of empire, expansion.  Next they exploited the natural resources, established commerce and attempted to universally subjugate and enslave the native inhabitants but in some cases like the Canary islands, Tasmania, North America and Australia the invading whites exterminated most of the indigenous peoples they encountered.

            Taking advantage of African free labor and the technology of the motherland the colonists and the new country of America became wealthy beyond measure. Their wealth was based upon war, land seizure, slavery and rapine. They cultivated a mentality of expansionist entitlement, greed and hubris which fueled further growth. They created myths about themselves to justify their immorality and hubris. This false identity and reality made it easy for them to up the ante on their system of pillage until they became a global empire. But their wealth led to crass materialism, hedonism, decadence and depravity which sowed the seeds of decline.

            Today after two hundred forty one years as a nation, America stands astride the world daring anyone to challenge its military supremacy, its predatory economic system or its dream of global hegemony, what they call "full spectrum domination".

            But in their gluttony, megalomania, and hubris they fail to recognize the symptoms of their imminent demise. Like all empires America thinks it will last forever. Not so. The stitching holding the empire together is rapidly unraveling as we speak. It is only a matter of time before internal decay and hubris cause it to implode and collapse.

            Like the Roman and British Empires before it, the American empire is going through many of the same stages. America is at the point of imperial overreach where its neocolonial outposts and conquest are draining it of resources as the  plutocrats rake in the spoils while domestic income inequality widens and socio-economic conditions for the ninety-nine per cent worsen.

            America is in a state of decline, the numbers reveal it for all willing to see beyond the propaganda and lies. America is awash in debt, national, corporate and personal. This debt will eventually drown the empire.  "On November 7, 2016, debt held by the public was $14.3 trillion or about 76% of the previous 12 months of GDP).[5][6][7][8] Intragovernmental holdings stood at $5.4 trillion, giving a combined total gross national debt of $19.8 trillion or about 106% of the previous 12 months of GDP.[7] $6.2 trillion or approximately 45% of the debt held by the public was owned by foreign investors, the largest of which were Japan and China at about $1.09 trillion for Japan and $1.06 trillion for China as of December 2016.[9]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States

            This is unsustainable over the long haul.  No amount of taxation or fiat money creation will be able to balance the books or prevent collapse. Much of this debt is fueled by war and imperial overreach. The US maintains over 800 known military bases in seventy countries around the world. The true cost is unknown due to the so called off book covert military and CIA sites but a conservative figures is $150 billion annually. In addition to the military bases the US in engaged in numerous wars, interventions and covert ops as we speak. The bogus War on Terror alone has cost $4.79 trillion with a T. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States and this doesn't include the $2.97 billion for research and development in the super secret Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) or the military  budget the Trump just raised!

            Another major indicator of decline is the corruption and malfeasance on all levels of US government. Whole federal departments like Defense, Medicare, Medicaid and Housing and Urban Development have been suborned and are ripe with corruption and fraud.

            This is also prevalent on the state and local levels. Go to https://thefailedsystem.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/corrupt-states/  to read a good synopsis of state corruption especially the part about the link between the level of corruption and the health of the residents in the state.

            The topic of America's decline is too extensive and too important to treat in one article so I will offer additional evidence in future articles.

                                                                  -30-