TGHusker Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-rise-and-fall-of-modern-empires-2014-9 Interesting chart. Shows that China will soon become the # 1 economy - probably no surprise. The quote by Napoleon at the end of the article is insightful. We replaced Britain as the # 1 economy at the time Britain was trying to finance and survive WW 1. The USA was at its economic zenith during the 1950s - which makes sense as the rest of the world was trying to rebuild and recover after WW 2. Question: How important is it for the USA to remain # 1? Is it more than 'bragging rights"? And does it matter to you what position we are in as long as we are towards the top of the list? Link to comment
Dr. Strangelove Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-rise-and-fall-of-modern-empires-2014-9 Interesting chart. Shows that China will soon become the # 1 economy - probably no surprise. The quote by Napoleon at the end of the article is insightful. We replaced Britain as the # 1 economy at the time Britain was trying to finance and survive WW 1. The USA was at its economic zenith during the 1950s - which makes sense as the rest of the world was trying to rebuild and recover after WW 2. Question: How important is it for the USA to remain # 1? Is it more than 'bragging rights"? And does it matter to you what position we are in as long as we are towards the top of the list? As far as economic GDP is concerned? It's simply mathematically difficult for the United States to remain number 1. China, in terms of population, is just over four times the size of the United States. They can have just 25% of our production per capita, but be equal in terms of overall GDP. America is still by far the world leader in technological innovation and academia. This is far more important than any GDP measure. Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 If our GDP continues to grow and especially economic statistics on a per capita basis remain strong or keep improving, I'm not sure it matters if we are #1 or #2. Now, I'm not an economics major so I'm not sure what all it means to us as individuals living in the #1 economy in the world. So, there is a part of it that makes me nervous. Does it affect the American dollar as the world currency? Does it decrease our ability to control the value of our dollar and our economy in general? I just don't know. Link to comment
Landlord Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 The American dollar as the world currency? wat Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 The American dollar as the world currency? wat http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_currency Link to comment
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