The 35 million Americans living below the poverty level is a post-Depression record both in total and as a percentage of the population. Many are maintained at these levels for generations by social entitlement programs like welfare, Medicaid, and public housing. Why get a job when it will ultimately cost you money? The bitter cynicism of the system destroys families, discourages education and creates crime.  The number of unreported and illegal residents is at an all time high. World wide there is resentment of America's superpower status and behavior.

The National Debt exceeds $8 trillion and more importantly has reached 66% of the GDP, the highest level since Truman after WWII. Interest on the debt is the third largest expense in the federal budget. Budget deficits continue to increase, reaching $427 billion in 2005. Deficits are projected to decrease over the next several years, however the projections never consider the unexpected like a war or disaster or the predictable like economic upheaval caused by oil price and supply instability. While Democrats are accused of being "tax and spend" liberals, it appears the Republicans are practicing "takes and spends" conservatism.

Social Security is currently generating more revenue than expense and would be adding to its trust fund each year. However those funds are being diverted to the general fund and used to finance the deficit. Social Security is projected to go broke by 2040 as the nation gets older, but I don't know whether this projection considers the diversion of trust fund income. Social Security is broke today. It's no wonder that government is trying to solve this problem (by taxing more now).

The US GDP reached $12.5 trillion in 2006 making it the largest economy in the world by far. Compare to Japan $4.5, Germany $3, China $2 and UK $2. The European Union reports a $13.5 trillion GDP from 25 member states. The US GDP is more than 25% of the world GDP of $44 trillion. Those values are in nominal dollar terms, however if you adjust for local purchasing power (cost of living) China fares much better with a $9 trillion equivalent dollar economy. In per capita terms adjusted for purchasing power the US ranks third behind only Luxembourg and Norway.

"We the people" are older, fatter and sicker than ever. Medical costs are overwhelming and for the first time in my memory, medical services are being reported as worse in the US than in other parts of the world. We still have the best doctors and can perform the most sophisticated procedures. Better than our counterparts around the globe, this has not translated into better health care, as we continue to deemphasize preventive care. 43 million people, 15% of Americans, don't have medical insurance. Many families expect to go broke shepherding a family member through a serious illness.

Primary education in America is not working well. On most international measures, Americans are falling behind the world in science and math education. Racial integration has failed and inner city public schools nationwide are troubled environments. Secondary education is the world standard. However the US graduate engineering and technology schools are populated by an ever increasing percentage of foreign nationals rather than US citizens.

The dollar is dropping against world currencies and commodities like oil and gold are at record levels. There is no energy policy other than a fairy tale about ethanol (remember two years ago the cure was hydrogen). Employment has been shifting to lower paying jobs even while labor efficiency has grown. There are problems with the distribution of wealth. Down the road this is bad for the consumer economy.

The number of incarcerated individuals is 2 million with another 4 million on probation, parole or otherwise under legal system surveillance. 9% of black males are in jail. The US incarceration rate of 486 per 100,000 is the highest it has ever been and the highest ever among countries with a heterogeneous population. England reports 129 per 100,000. The drug problem has contributed to incarceration but has also created an underground economy of disenfranchised individuals living outside the system.

The federal income tax system created by the 16th Amendment to the Constitution is under considerable fire for being unfair, unwieldy, obtrusive and for putting American business at a competitive disadvantage worldwide. Alternatives like the Flat Tax and the Fair Tax are gaining traction.

Americans are fearful of so many threats that for the first time in our history even conservatives are more than willing to grant powers to the government that trade freedom for security. the New Hampshire motto of "Live Free or Die" will have to be amended soon to "Live Safe or Die." There is widespread current concern about government surveillance. The NSA is monitoring phone calls and records. This has overshadowed concerns about the Patriot Act, which in turn overshadowed earlier concerns about things like applying RICO provisions to non-organized crime offenses and drug and tax enforcement practices. Just too many high profile cases are resulting in convictions on charges like "Lying to the FBI" when primary cases regarding fraud or insider trading can't be proved.

[Who knows, some say there might be a "planet killer" asteroid bearing down on us right now. (Don't you just love that phrase "some say?" It's meaningless and whenever I hear it I just disregard the rest of the sentence.)]