Empire Over Economy: 'US may follow in USSR footsteps'

[On the Road]

7. The US Certainly *Could* Overextend Itself

by empire building, but the most recent wave peaked under Bush. Now that burden is receding, and there is not much of an appetite for further military adventures.

Even at its peak, the military drain on the US is nothing like the drain that the late Soviet Union experienced. Not just because of total cost, but because the Soviet economy as a whole was bloated, dysfunctional, and did not modernize to keep up with the West. The whole central planning process didn't work in Russia any better than it did elsewhere. There was no homeless or unemployment problem, but at the cost of food lines and widespread shortages of very basic consumer products.

By contrast, the US is the world's leading manufacturer, third leading exporter, and probably the greatest driver of technological progress. The currency is strong, while the ruble was considered almost worthless. Despite the US deficits, the national debt is still below a lot of European countries.

The US and Soviet economies should really not even be in the same conversation. But it's kind of what I would expect from RT.