[artplumber]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

What is killing the U.S.A.? What will kill the U.S.A.?

Greed and Narcissism.

Not corporate greed as Dottore suggests, but personal greed. Corporate greed is merely an outgrowth of the personal mantra of "more is better, because it is more". Everybody must have an iPhone (or whatever gadget you'd like to insert), or a McMansion or ..... the list goes on. It is further promoted by the media to encourage the "engine of economic growth" (the american consumer) by shows like "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" (now "Cribs").

Corporate greed is certainly a part of that. For instance, it is somewhat laughable (to me) that there is a large portion of economics devoted solely to maximizing profits by "price points". Establishing the cost of an item and marking it up a x% is no longer good enough. We must calculate cost/item vs predicted #'s sold to max the profit.

Personal responsibility has segued to "it's all about me". And entitlement expectations are once again driven by greed "politician x says that everyone should have 2.5 children, a house, 2 cars, and free healthcare......"