It's the war, stupid. Nobody wants to talk about, American politicians have to pretend it's not there, but it's the major government expense in the USA, and it contributes nothing to the economy. Furthermore, it's financed on borrowed money.
So what we have is a (minimum) $700 billion a year government expense that is accomplishing nothing except keeping certain parts of American industry in business, industries that contribute nothing to the American or world economy. The other key components of the American economy are Wall Street and Wall*Mart.
It's not a realistic basis for an economy. Particularly if nobody talks about it.
