Did you know…

We are often pessimistic about the US and our future…Here’s some facts that should help realign your thinking

1. We are 4% of the world’s population but product 26% of its good and services
2. Our GDP is about $14 trillion, compared to the entire world’s GDP of $54 trillion
3. The next largest economy is about $4.4 trillion (Japan)
4. Ours is larger than the combined economies of Japan, Germany, China, and the UK.
5. We have industrial production of $2.8 trillion, (cars, machines, etc) – that’ s twice of our nearest competitor, Japan.
6. We produce 8.3 million barrels of oil a day, that’s 85% of what Saudi Arabia produces each day.
7. We produce more oil than Iran, Kuwait, or the UAE.
8. As for natural gas, we are second on earth with 18.7 trillion cubic feet, (Russia is first with 22.4 trillion.)
9. We are actually one of the earth’s greatest producers of energy.
10. We are still underpopulated by global standards. The average is 49 persons per square kilometer. Japan’s is 338, Germany is 230, the US is at 31. We have twice as much arable land – suitable for agriculture per person than Asia or Europe.

From “The Next 100 Years” by George Friedman.

This is an enthralling book. Friedman owns a company that advises Fortune 500 companies on how to plan for the future, 10, 25, 50 years out. His premise is that we are not entering the decline of the US, but are actually only entering the beginning of the era of the US. It began in 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union. We are simply so big and powerful, that even with all the screwups that politicians can and will do, we have a long and prosperous road ahead of us. You can get it on Amazon.

Oh, he says that this economic ‘crisis’ is simply a hiccup in historical terms and will be forgotten in five years.

JVH