Before I start this post, I must discuss the difference between prescriptive and descriptive statements. Prescriptive statements describe the way the speaker thinks things ought to be. Descriptive statements describe the way the speaker thinks things actually are..
To give an example, a person is horribly injured in an accident. His bones are crushed, he is bleeding all over the place, and little bits of his vital organs are splattered all over the pavement. His good friend says, "I hope he is alright." That is a prescriptive statement. The doctor that treats the person says, "the patient is going to die." This is a descriptive statement.
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USA is #2 or worse is a descriptive statement.
China is growing by leaps and bounds? Why, because they are like Clubber Lang in Rocky III...they have the eye of the tiger. The USA is like Rocky in the first Act of Rocky III...resting on its laurels, more interested in partying than putting in a hard day's work, and posing for the cameras..
China is doing what it takes to be the world superpower. Its people work harder and are smart. Furthermore, the Chinese do not fuck around.
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About two years ago a couple Chinese businessmen were put to death for putting melamine in food. Their crime was not poisoning people, but making people question the quality and integrity of Chinese goods. China had to send a message to its people that compromising the country's economic future by making the world question the safety and quality of Chinese goods would not be tolerated.
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About a year ago, America's financial system collapsed. People's 401(k)'s were split in half. People questioned the integrity of the American financial markets, American banks, and American securities. The bankers that created this massive fuck-up were not put to death, but received multi-million dollar bonuses.
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Is USA going to sink to #2 (or worse). I think so. Even though some people at Goldman Sachs are being charged with Securities fraud, nothing is going to happen to them. They will probably weasle their way out of a conviction. Even if they do get convicted, nothing bad will happen to them. If a Black kid steals $100 out of a cash register at a 7-11, he will go to a prison where he can get shanked, fucked in the ass, or at least beat up. The Goldman Sachs guys won't even get jail time for stealing billions of dollars.
