I don't disagree with anything you said. I hope you are correct that the USA will be the FIRST to recover. I have some serious doubts though. Thankfully Obama is in power but can one man, who hopefully surrounds himself with capable individuals, actually do it? Goodness me, he didn't win by that much, yet the alternative, which so many Americans chose, was incomprehensible!
Education is the bottom line. And education for the majority of Americans has been sadly lacking in the past 20 years. Damn! Most Americans can't find Iraq on a map!!
Uneducated people are easily coercised into voting for the wrong politicians. Not only that, but they don't even recognise when they have elected Party's or individuals who do not have their best interests in mind. (in spite of overwhelming evidence)
Watch FOX news for a giggle sometime, but keep in mind that some people actually consider these viewpoints to be truthful. It isn't so funny when you consider that fact.
Once a nation sinks to a certain level, usually as a result of no longer supporting and promoting education, it is very difficult to return to past glory. Take the Romans and their moral decline for example. When a nation becomes too comfortable in their dominance ( say post Berlin wall falling?) they become complacent and they lose their edge.
History backs my viewpoint. I seriously doubt the USA will ever totally recover. One reason is that China basically controls the valuation of the USD, manufacturing, and possibly in the future (god i hope not) military supremacy.
Times are a changin' and the sooner everyone accepts that, then the sooner we can fix it for the better. I have said a million times.... in spite of the blatant and obvious faults of the leadership and the general population in the USA of late, I still prefer Democracy and Capitalism (provided it is based on a population with an education), as opposed to the tendencies of places like India, Russia or China.
Sorry to ramble, but aside from climate change, these issues are the biggest issues to face our generation.
I don't dislike Yanks at all. In fact I admire many things about them. They used to be innovative and intelligent... and damn it all, they had a vision of the world that was a good one. Unfortunately the politicians took advantage of this general attitude in the USA and now things have slid so far, it might not be recoverable.
My apologies for rambling and rambling and rambling, but I truly believe this is an incredibly important topic. It affects everything from JOBS to climate change to the general well being on many people on the planet.