Hmmmm, the US is still a very young country, two hundred and thirty two years, may not seem young to some of you but to a European it is just the twinkling of an eye.
Like all youngsters it will go through a lot of changes, growing pains, adolescence etc. Nobody can expect the order of things to remain the same.

Over time the federal structure, the relationship between states and regions consisted of states who have similar interests will change, it's the very nature of democracy for some people to pull in one direction whilst others resist.

Certain ethnic groups may become more political like Aborigionals in Australia and perhaps native American tribes or "nations" within the country and they may get to exert political influence which brings changes. This could be simply democracy at work it does not have to be civil conflict and it does not make the Russian Proffesor's doom scenario right although he may base it on some truths. It's a bit like all those crackpot conspiracy theories ,  take an element of truth, juggle a few possibilities, some very unlikely stir in a bit of predjudice and presto - - - - - crackpot theory!

Oh, and if anyone does think a couple of hundred years is a long time, take a look at my Avatar, it dominates the town where I live, it's a thousand year old symbol of Norman conquest but there is also a Roman lighthouse and pre-christian fortifications within the walls. That's a long time.

This man speaks truth!

I've always wanted to go to Dover.  So jealous.     There's a cottage near the cliffs that I've wanted to buy for a very long time now. 

Quote from: wladziu on December 10, 2008, 04:05:38 AM

Does anybody remember the name of that rule?  I can't remember.  The one about things doubling every certain # of years?

Is it Moore's Law, you're thinking of?

Yeah, that's the one. 
That's a great law. 


A star does the same thing before supernova or collapse.  Radical expansion vs surface tension vs heat of fusion vs density, blah blah blah.
I wonder if the same thing might loosely apply to economics. 

Just a crackpot theory, as Cal Price so eloquently put it.   
A loose conglomeration of random facts.