The myth of America's decline

By Rob Asghar, Special to CNN
updated 11:16 AM EST, Thu November 17, 2011

Los Angeles (CNN) -- China is poised to become the world's largest economy within a decade, according to some economists. Rising giant India already has a middle-class population that is larger than the entire United States population, according to others.

Such nuggets fuel an industry of prophetic warnings of decline, exemplified by the phrase "How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented" in the subtitle of Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum's recent best-seller.

The rapid growth of China and India and other Asian tigers does not mean that the United States has "fallen behind," however. It takes a panicked perspective to even ponder the point.

China and India have immense economies, each with state-of-the-art technological centers that put others to shame. But they are also ranked 125th and 162nd, respectively, in GDP per capita (according to the CIA's World Factbook), lacking clean water and safe food for too many citizens.

that's about 75%: http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/17/opinio...ss_igoogle_cnn

Innovation? Motivation? Competition? Profit? Free Enterprise? Yeap, that's how the USA did it. And now the liberals want to limit the wealth gained from innovation in the name of social justice. Welcome to the NEW, PROGRESSIVE USA where your potential is LIMITED!!! The land of LIMITED opportunity - we'll only let you get so rich, because it is UNFAIR to all the rest (like those who made our roads.....). We will TAX you, not to operate the government, but for social justice.
All whilst which our government continues on with their inflationary policy that is squeezing the middle class.

Unbelievable that many, too many, actually think like this.