Opinion -- U.S.’s political madness takes place against a backdrop of astonishing strength
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The United States’ debt ceiling crisis is, once again, provoking the usual commentary about the country’s presumed dysfunction. But the truth is that this unprovoked madness, causing self-inflicted wounds, is taking place against a backdrop of astonishing strength.
The facts cannot be disputed. The United States has recovered from the coronavirus pandemic faster than any major economy in the world. As Bloomberg’s Matthew A. Winkler recently pointed out , unemployment is stunningly low. Gross domestic product growth has grown at three times the average pace as under President Donald Trump, real incomes are rising, manufacturing is booming, and inflation has eased for 10 straight months . Even the budget deficit, which was at 15.6 percent of GDP at the end of the Trump presidency, has dropped to 5.5 percent of GDP at the end of last year.
The picture is even better when viewed more broadly. The United States remains the world’s leader in business, especially in cutting-edge technology. Scholars Sean Starrs and Stephen G. Brooks found that, looking at the globe’s top 2,000 companies, Chinese firms come first in shares of global profits in only 11 percent of sectors, but U.S. firms are ranked first in 74 percent of sectors.
Or look at artificial intelligence, which most agree is the bold new frontier of technology, likely to shape every industry. U.S. companies such as OpenAI, Microsoft and Google produce the best applications on the market, and a host of other new start-ups are surging forward. As Paul Scharre points out in a Foreign Affairs essay , “Of the top 15 institutions publishing deep learning research, 13 are American universities or corporate labs. Only one, Tsinghua University, is Chinese.” He notes that while China publishes much more AI research than the United States, American papers are cited 70 percent more often. These U.S. advantages are likely to grow dramatically now that China has been blocked from the advanced chips that are absolutely essential to developing and using AI.
Or consider finance. Despite the recent banking crisis, the biggest U.S. banks are now more dominant than they have ever been worldwide. They have passed rigorous stress tests and built up their capital reserves, and as a result they are now better positioned than their European and Japanese counterparts. China’s state-owned banks are saddled with huge government debt and cannot operate in the open global financial system because that would almost certainly trigger massive outflows of funds, as the Chinese people seek to move their money to safer locales. And despite many challenges and efforts to unseat it, the dollar remains the global reserve currency (as the International Monetary Fund’s managing director said recently ), which gives the United States a financial superpower. (It is one that I worry we are misusing, which will trigger even more efforts to replace it. But there is no denying that the dollar, for now, reigns supreme.)
A somewhat under-noticed development in recent years has been the United States’ rise as an energy powerhouse. Because of fracking and natural gas, the United States is now the world’s largest producer of liquid hydrocarbons. And as Columbia University’s Jason Bordoff has noted , America’s ability to ship liquefied natural gas has made it an energy superpower, able to provide or cut off energy to countries around the world. Add to these traditional energy sources the dramatic ramp-up of green energy, thanks to the vast tax credits and incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, and you have a picture of truly astonishing, comprehensive energy capacity.
The U.S. military remains in a league of its own, far superior to those of its rivals in Russia or China. China is catching up to the United States, but the lead remains vast across many dimensions of warfare. And in Ukraine, as the Republican foreign policy adviser Kori Schake has noted, the United States, at minimal cost and with no American troops, is inflicting ruinous damage on Russia’s army. Washington is also transforming the Ukrainian army into the most powerful fighting force in Europe — giving it another potent ally. The great force multiplier of U.S. power remains its alliances. The United States has more than 50 treaty allies; China has one (North Korea). And it has about 750 military bases of some kind around the world; China has one (in Djibouti).
I could go on. Unlike most rich countries, the United States has a strong working-age cohort that will not shrink, thanks to immigration . We still take in more than 1 million legal immigrants per year on average. China and Russia are both facing demographic declines that are almost impossible to reverse, and which will put a long-term damper on their growth.
Could it be that it is precisely this backdrop of strength that allows Washington’s politicians — and the Republican Party in particular — to indulge in this crazy political theater? For most countries, the price of playing games with one’s creditworthiness would be sharp and severe, and that would act as a disciplining mechanism. But in Washington, the country’s enduring strength has become a license for irresponsibility.
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Not exactly the misleading picture of America's strengths that we get from the far right, is it?
Biden is frittering away the strengths that Trump brought about
Since the country is doing so well then why does the Federal government need to spend so much money to support the country? The debt ceiling crisis doesn't support the idea that the country is doing well.
Much of U.S.domestic spending has to do with quality of life.
Federal, state, and local government spending is one third of the country's GDP. How does that contribute to quality of life?
You asked how we can both have the worlds best economy and spend a lot of money.
I dont see the problem. There are a lot of things private enterprise doesnt pay for.
Private enterprise has to pay its debt. That's why private enterprise doesn't create obligations it cannot pay for.
Private enterprise could provide everything government provides as long as private enterprise is allowed to run deficits and never has to pay its debt. If private enterprise was allowed to manage money the same way government does then we wouldn't need government.
For those that have no desire to increase their quality of life without the govment handouts.
Private enterprise provides things it can make money off, period. The government provides services that will never make money as a whole , public transportation for example. Free education for all would be another.
Deciding that all government spending is a "handout" is ludicrous.
Private enterprise doesn't benefit the public? You know there's a whole private transportation infrastructure; from fuel to mass transportation. And there are many for-profit schools; from pre-schools to colleges. The government isn't providing a lot of what the public needs. The government only spends money to subsidize private enterprise. Free education, as an example, won't be free. The government will either have to raise tax revenue or use debt to pay for education.
The government taxes the economy to give public money to private enterprise. So, why does the government need to be involved? Private enterprise will make money off all these things with or without government. As we saw during the pandemic, if private enterprise fails to provide things the country needs then the government can't do anything, except blame scapegoats.
The various teachers' unions are not government institutions; they're private enterprises. Teachers' unions force the government to raise taxes and spend more money for the benefit of that private enterprise. Doesn't that mean government is serving private enterprise before serving the public?
Political parties are not government institutions. All the political parties are private enterprises. Doesn't that mean private enterprise is running the government for the benefit of private enterprise? What's good for General Motors is good for the government.
The House passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling. No bill from the Democrat Senate or White House. Tell Democrats to stop holding the US hostage. Either pass the Republican House bill; or tell Schumer to get off his ass and get the Senate bill done so it can be negotiated with the House.
Artificial clock from Yellen is ticking. Until she extends it again to protect Democrats from not doing their damn jobs.
The press and politicians have been talking about the debt limit since last November. There were calls to invoke the 14th amendment months ago.
The spectacle of the Republican internecine fight to make Kevin McCarthy speaker convinced Democrats they didn't have to do anything about the debt limit. Democrats planned to sit on their hands and do nothing. But, surprise, the Republican controlled House led by McCarthy passed a bill to raise the debt limit.
McCarthy has been calling for negotiations to raise the debt limit for months. Biden chose to sit on his hands because Democrats thought Republicans couldn't come together and pass a bill through the House. Biden led Democrats into another quagmire. The debt limit is only a crisis because Democrats deliberately chose to sit on their hands. Democrats don't know what to do now because Democrats had only planned to do nothing.
It's nice to see an article that talks about the US's many strengths.
The following paragraph is interesting.
Quite true and it should be added that many of the NATO countries have dramatically increased their defense spending and have become much more aggressive in their support of NATO. Adding Finland, which even though a relatively small country has a very powerful armed force and also Sweden although not yet part of NATO is a huge addition to the group. It has even spread to the Pacific with Japan and Korea overcoming old grudges to starting to connect as a powerful force in Asia to offset China.
That cannot be overstated enough. We are shitting ourselves that we may not be able to defend Taiwan, an island like 6000 miles from the homeland, that we could cripple or destroy our adversaries navy by putting up a halfway defense.
Here is some news that almost everyone seems to have forgotten, island campaigns are fucking hard. They take a shit load of resources, and a shit load of manpower and leave your forces extremely vulnerable for an extended period opf time.
If China wants to invade Taiwan, the better be ready for Omaha beach x5.
There will be no surprises, their landing locations will be well known and heavily defended. They will be under fire from the second they head for Taiwan, and oh yeah, The US Pacific Fleet may be involved.
You take a look at a map? Taiwan is within spitting distance of China.
China isn't Russia. They will learn from the US/NATO and bomb the Taiwanese military into oblivion before the first ground forces hit the beach and start mop up duty.
As for the US Pacific Fleet- try again. Brandon is in Xi's back pocket. Given the choice between WWIII and Taiwan; Brandon will back down. He still needs someone to buy Hunter's butt ugly paintings for $75,000 plus a pop.