Excellent post! It's not a pretty picture. We are witnessing the great Fall of the American Empire, just as it took over from the British Empire in 1918. The reasons are various but there are common themes: national degeneracy and bankrupting military imperialism (like the Roman and British Empires), debasement of the currency, unsustainable economic imperialism, and corporate fascism (like Nazi Germany). And I agree totally with the anarchy scenario: just wait till some big city can't pay its power bill and the lights go out, it won't be pretty...
