My friend , Eric, pointed me to this neat little website.  I’d been here before, but I’d never thought to look at the information the CIA had on the U.S.  I mean, I know everything I need to know about it already, don’t I?

Not quite.  Check this out.  It probably won’t tell you anything new, but you might be surprised at what it says anyway.  The site is this: 

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html

You can go look at the rest of it later.  The part I’m interested is this right here:

The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $43,500. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. The rise in GDP in 2004-06 was undergirded by substantial gains in labor productivity. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage in the Gulf Coast region in August 2005, but had a small impact on overall GDP growth for the year. Soaring oil prices in 2005 and 2006 threatened inflation and unemployment, yet the economy continued to grow through year-end 2006. Imported oil accounts for about two-thirds of US consumption. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups.

(emphasis mine)

So, the CIA doesn’t seem to think that US corporations are overburdened by excessive legislation from OUR government.  Perhaps the protectionism of other countries, who put up barriers to our exports, but not by OUR GOVERNMENT, as regressivists demanding tax relief for them constantly insist. 

In fact, our society’s tendency to allow our companies to fire people whenever they want, and to not require them to provide security for their employees has greatly benefited them (but a comprehensive social safetynet is evil.  Only the part where you fire the guy and he can’t provide for his family is American.)

The regressive anti-science, anti-intellectual agenda from the extreme religious right and the extreme “spiritual” left have eroded our tremendous lead in technological and scientific advances, and the current surge in the promotion of anti-science such as Intelligent Design, immunization deniers, Global Climate Change deniers, HIV deniers, etc will only make it worse.

Since a disproportionate amount of our economy was ALREADY spent on the military (in the form of outrageous profits for the contractors), the massive amounts we have added to the bill seem ill-advised when you realize that we were already under investing in our country’s infrastructure.

Our companies can’t seem to be able to make enough money and compete despite the fact that they can screw over their employees whenever they choose, those employees are more productive than ever, and their wages have been held stagnant since 1975.  The same companies that expect workers to increase their profitability and productivity continuously, and don’t wish to pay them more for it, and don’t wish to provide for their employees basic human needs; ALSO don’t want to pay taxes to the government for their upkeep, on the grounds that people should be responsible for themselves.  Apparently, they are supposed to be able to pull food, clothing, shelter and medical care out of their asses, because if you can’t earn it in an average 50 hour work week, and if the government can’t help you out, where are you supposed to get it?  (But shhh…don’t tell anyone I said that.  I’ve heard that it’s COMMUNIST to even ask that question!)

But the worst part about it is, when the news media reports the occasional quarter when growth in productivity is surpassed by wage increases, giving a wholly unrealistic appearance.

But the good news is, that our economy is so big, and so powerful a juggernaut, that it keeps churning along.  Aided by it’s size and momentum, powered by the desperate squeekings of a few million hamsters on their wheels all chasing the same hope of being the ONE person who gets that raise/promotion/lucky break, it has managed to weather the neglect and bad management that it has suffered.

So well so, in fact, that our current managers have taken it as proof that their magic fairy stories about unrestrained capitalism, free-market economies, trickle-down economics, and tax breaks for the rich are true.