[quote=temeculaguy]Macro Economics 101, try to ignore the rhetoric and look at the big picture because there are a lot of myths out there. Here are some facts:
1. The U.S. is the largest economy in the world, it’s 2010 Nominal GDP was 14.7 trillion, representing 25% of the global GDP (with 4.5% of the population).
2. The U.S. purchasing power is the largest in the world, representing 20% of the global purchasing power (with 4.5% of the population).
3. It has the 6th highest output per capita (the first five are small countries with populations of less than Los Angeles and half are smaller than San Diego)
4. The U.S. is the world’s largest manufacturer, representing 19% of the worlds manufacturing (with 4.5% of the population).
5. 1/3 of the worlds millionaire and 1/3 of the world’s billionaires. The largest stock exchange, the largest gold reserves and 60% of the world’s reserves are in the dollar, it’s nearest competitor (the euro) has 24%. 139 of the 500 largest companies in the world are American, that’s just under a third. (with 4.5% of the population)
6. More foreign money is invested in the U.S. by far at 2.2 trillion, double the second largest, but this will shock you, Americans own more of the rest of the world than anyone, 3.3 trillion. So it might look like like other countries own our stuff, but we own theirs, and more of it.[/quote]
A good recitation of where we stand in an absolute sense. My worry is that the trend in each of these categories is deteriorating of late. Our wealth and power are the result of democratic capitalism and (relatively) free markets for a couple of centuries. The past decade has seen an erosion of the forces that made us great. We must rediscover the importance of incentives in every sphere: taxes and regulation, public spending, unions and labor policy, and the moral hazard of handouts to both individuals and corporations.
