My apologies, spacepony, there is supposed to be a new paragraph after the word 'truth'. I didn't mean that you had said that, I just meant that you were right, and then I went on to voice my opinion. Once again, my apologies...

"That's two of the most stupid things I've ever read.

Regards the US economy being in a bad way... Just turn on the news! How about a bank going bankrupt and being bought for a pittance. Banks claiming back money at records rates, record mounts of losses, record amounts of repossessions, people aren't spending their money. WAKE UP!!"

You need to wake up! Ask any one of the various UPS or FedEx drivers that coast by your house numerous times a day, and I garauntee you that they will tell you that they are busier than ever. Banks are going bankrupt because no one is paying them, but that doesn't mean no one is buying anything! With the cost of gas rising, more people are buying off the internet, and if they do go out to shop, they are buying locally.

I would also like to point out that you are right though, people aren't spending money, they're spending credit, which is money that they don't have. Ergo they can't pay the banks, therefore the banks close.

Nequa,
People liken the Roman Empire to the US because Rome was the beginning of the Democracy. It is not implying that we enjoy conquering, have slaves, build huge walls (although the Mexican Border could be argued), or have a society completely run by men. It is only an analogy; a way to prove a point.

Good point. I don't recall the term "Superpower" ever being truly used to describe a country before WW2. And initially, the two superpowers were the first two countries to develop nuclear weapons.



Another good point. The economy is changing. How will everyone adapt to the changes remains to be seen though. Time will tell.

really, well nice to see they are not saying that america is Rome. May have been a great empire but it sure left a huge trail of bodies in its wake.

The I.R.S should do more tax audits, that would help with money.

That is because Americans are the only ones with the freedom to waste their time coasting up and down the internet replying to such posts as these. In China, if we were discussing this same topic, Stardock would have been raided, our names and addresses found, and all of our bodies thrown in jail (or worse) for either treason or conspiracy to commit treason.

Any refunds are just going to go towards gas or food, and ultimately end up benifiting foreign contries, not our economy.

The US is the worlds largest exporter of food, not just an importer.

The gas is about 50/50, you can blame congress for that. Forcing the oil companies to lose money on any new refineries they built just so they could build them in Mexico with even lower standards was real bright. Same deal with California making it impossible to operate a new power plant in California, so they buy their power from Mexico, again with even lower standards. The joys of environmentalism.

Still, you have to understand something about an import. Even if we all buy 100% imports, only a small fraction is actually leading to the foreigner that imported it. If the merchant ship that transported it here was American owned, there's a cut, the land based transport from the docks to wherever is American, the costs incurred during the trip all go to American infrastructure, the warehousers would be American owned, the store it's eventually sold in is American owned. At the least, you've got two different stages where a profit is made off that good in this country, and both profits are taxed. It would be quite reasonable for there to be four or five different companies taking a cut out of it. Then there are the operating costs, which are further income for other Americans. Most of the time, Americans make more money off imports than the actual importers do.

to act23456, I hope your comment on "Americans are the only ones with the freedom to waste their time coasting up and down the internet replying to such posts"
was meant for laughs. For those who do agree with that statement, it will do you well to remember that America is not the only "free" english speaking country, secondly most participants who post here are from english speaking countries so hence the lack of people from "unfree" countries like france . Thirdly, if you have taken the time to visit a chinese forum, you will find people doing pretty much the same thing, making posts about how China is great and all that, anyone who says otherwise is flamed. Just like how it is anywhere else. Their government understands that most people on the internet are just all talk and won't raise a finger in the real world (comment not directed at anyone, just an observation that there is a large discrepancy between the number of e-Insurgencies and real ones).

Turks are not Arabs.



Well, before the WWI they did control roughly 80% of the world, that makes them a Superpower in my eyes. Superpower is just another word for Empire.



Spain had lost it's power long before the Napoleonic wars, Germany was a strong country but had no influence outside Europe. And France, while still having colonies, they where actually only loosing money on them. Ottoman Empire? It was called the sick dog of Europe before WWI.

well theleif your wrong, superpower is not another way of saying a empire. Thats like saying 1+1=1. It's just wrong.

None of those Nation will exist after ARMAGEDDON which most people think it will happen in our life time all the nation you speak of will be no more.

THE BIBLE foretold the present moral breakdown long in advance and described it this way: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, . . . disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, . . . fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power.”—2 Timothy 3:1-5.

You may agree that this Bible prophecy is an accurate description of the world today. Yet, it was recorded nearly 2,000 years ago! The prophecy is introduced with the words: “In the last days.” What does that expression, “the last days,” mean?
“The Last Days” of What?

“The last days” has become a very common expression. In the English language alone, it has been part of the title of hundreds of books. Consider, for example, the recent book The Last Days of Innocence—America at War, 1917-1918. The prologue makes clear that when using the term “the last days,” the book refers to a specific time, one in which there has been a tremendous decay in morals.

“In 1914,” the prologue explains, “the country was changing more rapidly than at any time in its history.” Indeed, the year 1914 marked a plunge into war worldwide, which had not been experienced before. The book says: “This was total war, the conflict not of army against army but nation against nation.” This war, as we will see, occurred at the beginning of what the Bible terms “the last days.”

That this world would experience before its actual end a specific time called “the last days” is a teaching of the Bible. The Bible, in fact, says that a world once existed that has already passed away, or ended, explaining: “The world of that time suffered destruction when it was deluged with water.” What time was that, and what was the world that ended? It was the ancient “world of ungodly people” that existed in the days of the man Noah. Similarly, today’s world will end. Yet, those who serve God will survive the end, as did Noah and his family.—2 Peter 2:5; 3:6; Genesis 7:21-24; 1 John 2:17.
Wicked people drowning

What Jesus Said About the End

Jesus Christ also spoke of “the days of Noah,” when “the flood came and swept them all away.” He compared conditions that existed before the Flood—just prior to the end of that world—with those that would prevail during the time that he identified as “the conclusion of the system of things.” (Matthew 24:3, 37-39) Other Bible translations use the expression “the end of the world” or “the end of the age.”—The Jerusalem Bible, The New English Bible, and the New International Version.

Jesus foretold what life would be like on earth just before the world’s end. Regarding war, he said: “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.” Historians have noted that this occurred beginning in 1914. Thus, the prologue of the aforementioned book spoke of 1914 as marking the beginning of “total war, . . . not of army against army but nation against nation.”

In his prophecy, Jesus added: “There will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress.” He went on to say that among other things there would be an “increasing of lawlessness.” (Matthew 24:7-14) Surely we have seen this occur in our day. Today’s moral breakdown is so severe that it is fulfilling Bible prophecy!

When a world ended, there were God-fearing survivors

What should our lives be like during such a decadent time? Note what the apostle Paul wrote to Christians in Rome regarding moral decay. He pointed to the “disgraceful sexual appetites” of people, observing: “Both their females changed the natural use of themselves into one contrary to nature; and likewise even the males left the natural use of the female and became violently inflamed in their lust toward one another, males with males, working what is obscene.”—Romans 1:26, 27.

Historians say that while human society then sank ever deeper into moral decay, “the little Christian communities were troubling the pleasure-mad pagan world with their piety and their decency.” This should cause us to pause and ask: ‘What about me and those I choose for associates? Do we stand out as different, as morally upright, unlike those who carry on immorally?’—1 Peter 4:3, 4.
The Battle We Have

The Bible teaches us that despite the immorality surrounding us, we need to be “blameless and innocent, children of God without a blemish in among a crooked and twisted generation.” To do this, we need to keep “a tight grip on the word of life.” (Philippians 2:15, 16) This Bible statement provides the key to how Christians can remain untainted by moral corruption—they need to hold fast to the teachings of God’s Word and recognize that its moral standards represent the best way of living.

“The god of this system of things,” Satan the Devil, is trying to win over people’s hearts. (2 Corinthians 4:4) The Bible tells us that he “keeps transforming himself into an angel of light.” His ministers, those who serve him by acting like him, do too. (2 Corinthians 11:14, 15) They promise freedom and fun, but as the Bible says, “they themselves are existing as slaves of corruption.”—2 Peter 2:19.

Have no illusions about it. Those who ignore God’s moral standards will suffer dire consequences. The Bible psalmist wrote: “Salvation is far away from the wicked ones, for they have not searched for [God’s] own regulations.” (Psalm 119:155; Proverbs 5:22, 23) Are we convinced of that? If we are, let us protect our minds and hearts against permissive propaganda.

Many, however, unwisely reason, ‘If what I’m doing is not illegal, then it’s all right.’ But that is not so. Our heavenly Father lovingly provides moral guidance, not to make your life boring and restrictive, but to protect you. He is “teaching you to benefit yourself.” He wants you to avoid calamity and enjoy a happy life. Indeed, as the Bible teaches, serving God “holds promise of the life now and that which is to come.” That is “the real life,” eternal life in his promised new world!—Isaiah 48:17, 18; 1 Timothy 4:8; 6:19.
A couple listening to a woman play a guitar

So compare the benefits of following Bible teachings with the heartache that eventually comes to those who fail to do so. Winning God’s favor by listening to him is truly the best way of life! “As for the one listening to me,” God promises, “he will reside in security and be undisturbed from dread of calamity.”—Proverbs 1:33.
A Morally Upright Society

The Bible says that when this world passes away, “the wicked one will be no more.” It also says: “The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it.” (Psalm 37:10, 11; Proverbs 2:20-22) So the earth will be cleansed of all remnants of immorality, including all those who refuse to abide by the wholesome teachings of our Creator. An earthly paradise, similar to that in which God placed the first human pair, will then gradually be cultivated earth wide by lovers of God.—Genesis 2:7-9.

Consider the pleasure of living in such a cleansed earth of paradisaic beauty! Among those who will be privileged to see it will be the billions resurrected from the dead. Rejoice in God’s promises: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” “[God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”—Psalm 37:29; Revelation 21:3, 4.

Ok, I knew this would get political.

Democrats have had control of congress and the presidency far more than republicans since the Democratic "new deal" which is now bankrupting us in the form of "social security" which should just be shortened to socialism.

The fact is, in terms of times of success vs. poor economic times, the Republicans have it.

Sure the economy is slowing right now (as it always does in cycles,) and sure we took a 12 month hit after 9/11, but most of the last 7 years have been economically excellent.

Do you honestly think windfall profits taxes, and raking americans who are "rich" (i.e. make $150k/year, even in NJ) is going to help the country. Most of those additional taxes will get eaten up in a corrupt beauracry. Yet small business accounts for most jobs and GDP growth. Owners like myself with say, just screw it, and coast back since making another $1, will mean paying .60 or more in taxes with all the various layers.

That will result in an economy that is far worse than today.

EVERY TIME taxes are lowered, tax revenue increases, it's an unarguable fact. EVERY TIME taxes are raised, tax revenue decreases. It sounds wierd, but its true based on incentive or lack thereof to work hard.

Why do you think the Soviet's failed? No matter what your place (a Doctor or a factory worker) you all had about the same level of lifestyle...Miserable, so what was the incentive to work hard and be a doctor?

Europe is starting to lean conservative (look at France of all countries) and we are about to flip socialist, so now we can expect our next 10 to 20 years to look like Europes last 10 or so, ....Not pretty

The armageddon came and passed long ago. You ever heard of the fall of the Roman Empire and the dark ages?