We found a lovely shop with coffee, chocolate, lots of different jams, syrups and homemade items.  I bought a lovely new coffee and when I went to pay, I pulled out my CIBC Visa.  The store clerk commented that that was her bank. “I decided that I would open a US money account – I wanted a bank I could trust and the US banks have not been stable.  Our economy is in serious trouble.”

Yes we’ve read about it, haven’t we?  Like many governments, nations have been exceeding their incomes for years – decades.  And now the consequences are catching up to them.  If the US economy has a serious down turn – more than 2008-09 everyone will suffer.  No one will be exempt.  Greece, Italy, Spain…are all in trouble and Germany holds many of their debts.  For the USA their debt is owned mostly by China.  Foreclosure would bring serious pain to Americans…and the Chinese.

By the way – do you know where 25% of the world’s prisoners live?  It isn’t Iran or Pakistan, not even China with it’s huge population – that’s right in the USA.

Serious problems.

Empires have always collapsed morally, financially then militarily.  America the beautiful may be becoming America the burdened.