The Myth of America's Decline: Why the 'Declinists' Are Wrong (Again)

Click here to read the article By Aaron Task of Yahoo Finance. It discusses Stanford professor Josef Joffe's new book: The Myth of America's Decline. Excerpts:

"But just as "declinists" were wrong about Russia in the 1950s and Japan in the 1980s, current forecasts about America playing second fiddle to China will also prove wrong, he says."

"All the Asian dragons and tigers started out at double-digit speed, then came down like Japan to nothing, or South Korea to 4%" growth, Joffe notes. "The [export-driven] model runs out of steam" because it's based on investment at the cost of consumption, and features too much state interference leading to over-investment in certain sectors, leading to declining marginal returns, he explains.

"That is already happening to China"

"America's naysayers also underestimate our attributes"

"Immigration has been a hot-button issue throughout America's history, yet we continue to attract and absorb millions of people from around the world. The influx of immigrants helps keep America young -- certainly younger than rivals like Japan and Russia -- and provides "brute dynamism" to the U.S. economy that is unmatched globally"

"The Europeans, Chinese and Japanese cannot handle immigration [which] yields the most precious natural resource in the 21st century economy"
 
"the U.S. is home to 17 of the world's top 20 universities and 34 of the top 50, Joffe notes. This gives us a huge leg up in terms of attracting the world's best and brightest (see above). Joffe call the U.S. "the world's Ph.D. factory" -- as well as in R&D spending."
 
"As for President Obama's recent claim that America is suffering from "a dangerous and growing inequality and lack of upward mobility," Joffe is dubious".