Absolutely. I agree 110%, but there is so much intertia going into this that it seems irredeemable. It isn't. I keep telling myself that it isn't, but I see

Absolutely. I agree 110%, but there is so much intertia going into this that it seems irredeemable. It isn't. I keep telling myself that it isn't, but I see no way the US can pull out of this both personally and on a state level. The amount of retrenchment needed is inconceivable. I've lost the link, but someone posted on HN a few weeks back about the economy going double-dip, and the slideshow ended with a link to Niall Ferguson accepting an award. In that speech, he demonstrated that the US will soon need to spend more money to service its debt than it does on its military (which is a humongous percentage of the budget), and that is an historic sign of imperial decline. The current policies of both the US and the UK mean that by 2040, their debts will equal some 450% of their respective GDPs - they will out-Greece Greece.