Where has the U.S. influence in the world gone

Many citizens are asking why is our federal government not working. Why are the two major parties always at logger heads? Why is the executive and legislative branches more often than not fighting rather than working together to identify and achieve the nations goals in this smaller and more complex world? Why has our leadership position in the world been reduced?

The reduction in our leadership position in the world was to be expected. After World War II we were the only industrialized country in the world standing. The infrastructure of every other country was destroyed and we made the decision to help rebuild the countries of not only our allies but also our enemies including Germany and Japan. We can be proud of this and sometimes they and even ourselves forget. As our allies and enemies rebuilt it was only natural they gained more confidence and less dependence on the United States.

During the same time period China begun to enter the modern world. By 2030 China will have 200 million college graduates -- a number that eclipses the total U.S. workforce -- and by 2020 India will be graduating four times as many students from college as the United States. In the year 2000 65% of worldwide middle class consumption was done by citizens living in Europe, United States and Japan. By the year 2030 the percentage of middle class consumption in these countries is expected to fall to approximately 15% of the total.

Over the same time period, the percentage of middle class consumption in the United States alone is expected to fall from 23% to around 5%. Per a research study completed by the National Intelligence Council, "By 2030 Asia will be well on its way to returning to being the world’s powerhouse, just as it was before 1500."

These outside forces provide some explanation for this country’s reduction of worldwide influence. However, why is the leadership of this country not working together to be the best it can be?

1. Our country lost credibility in the world when we attacked Iraq with no legitimate reason.
2. We are no longer a government of the people, by the people. Instead we are a government controlled by the dollar where one dollar converts to one vote. Big money has bought the influence of our politicians and others including much of the media and some economists. The people we elect to office no longer look at their positions as an avocation. They instead look at it as a personal money making opportunity.
3. The President lacked experience when he was elected and he miscalculated in introducing health care reform during the country’s worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930's.
4. The Democrats miscalculated when they decided to ram health care through congress with very little input from the Republicans.
Iraq and Oligarchs