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2024 isn’t 2016. Iran has used the eight years to militarize and upgrade its technology levels. Russia was goaded into restoring its military undustrial might and constructing extra-$US financial arrangements by intellectually barren sanctions regimes. Funded by the great multi-national financial class, China’s technological and manufacturing capabilities flowered.
The US is now the 2nd largest economy in the world measured by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) GDP around 20% smaller than China’s. Russia surpassed Germany to become 4th behind India and Japan. The EU, in total, would be third, ahead of India but well short of the US or China.
Economic dominance has been lost. One might say frittered away. Another might say, overcome by reasonable expectations of economic growth as China’s population is so much larger than the US’s.
The remaining claim of superiority is that of military strength. The Russian reaction to Ukrainian aggression towards its Russian-speaking (native Russian?) population has shown its military and technological superiority over many of the NATO wonder-weapons. The West has taken care to avoid use of its “most advanced” capabilities. Hiding is not proof of superiority.
US GDP is propped up by military expenditures (the armaments industry). The funding for these non-productive expenses comes from the sale of US Treasury Bonds, a soaring debt to be repaid in the future. The growth of the debt is faster than the growth of the GDP. More is raised than spent into the metric. The net return to the country from the “investment” is a very deep loss in the moment and much deeper over the terms of the loans.
And yet, the reaction of the candidates (including Nikki H.) is to push for war with Iran over the attacks on our illegal bases in Syria.
The US is unable to supply the proxy war in Ukraine. It’s not the money. The US lacks the military industrial base to provide the armaments needed. And a conversion to a full wartime economy means a reversion of domestic industrial and financial policy to where the country was after WW II, the moment of our strongest nostalgic dominance.
It’s dead, Jim.