You know that sounds very alarmist, with a lot of loaded language. But there is a lot of truth there too. I'm gonna add some random thoughts.
I'd like to know what exactly you think is alarmist about what I said.
First of all I 100% support Ukraine and all its aid. Its an priority issue for me. You can ignore geopolitics but geopolitics wont ignore you and no matter how bad things are at home, an even more rapid decline of what Russian's would call 'American Hegemony" or what I might call... global order, aint gonna help. Btw I know Canada has pitifully low military spending and I apologize for that, isn't my decision. There's literally not even a politician to vote for who will increase it. The liberals just cut it, but it was at its lowest point during conversative rule in 00s. NDP and Greens certainly wouldn't increase it. Anyway getting off topic sorry.
I haven't ignored geopolitics. I follow them keenly. There's a simple way to solve the war in Ukraine, and that's to have open and fair elections in the disputed regions re: separation, under neutral supervision. This whole dispute is over regions that voted to leave but then the election was accused of interference by Russia. Russia is trying to make itself whole and Ukraine is refusing because it claims corruption.
This is a NATO proxy war that involves increasing incursions into Russia's buffer zone, creating further security dilemmas. It's also a money laundering scheme that is sending hundreds of billions of dollars to a war that Ukraine is effectually losing. Where is that money going? How is it accounted for? Some we know and a lot we don't. There is zero evidence that Russia would expand beyond the disputed regions. Putin himself has said he has no designs on Europe or even countries neighbouring Ukraine.
I really don't understand your demographic anymore. Liberals used to be anti-war and now they're the opposite because Dear Leader tells them so. They used to be pro-body autonomy, then during the pandemic they were the most likely to support vax mandates. They used to be anti-corporate, now they march with corporate slogans in parades. The new liberalism looks nothing like the liberalism of less than 10 years ago.
Anyway, I strongly suspect that Ukraine is another get-rich-quick scheme by neoliberals. A lot of these countries have leaders who are members of the WEF and the Council on Foreign Relations. It's incestuous, corporate, economically gamed, and people should not trust the face of politics they are being shown anymore.
Wealth distribution absolutely is a huge problem. Homes are unaffordable. I feel pretty much hopeless in the prospect of ever owning a house. The cheaper houses that do go up for sale get snatched up immediately by somebody with deep pockets and good credit, all done by some algorithm in seconds. Could have been an entry point into home ownership for a low income family, now another rental.
Canada's housing bubble is the one of the only things keeping our dollar afloat under this crony government. They have bankrupted us in most other ways, including sledgehammering out the legs of the natural resource sector, the only other sector propping up the dollar.
Just for perspective though, I think the direction is wrong... but breaking point aint quite here yet. US home ownership rate is 65%. Some cities are doing really bad, others aren't, and are keeping the country as a whole ticking, for now. But such a condition aint helping things like national unity.
You have to factor in new home ownership, not just "home ownership" because that includes 80 year olds who have owned their home from a different era. A lot of the new developments are corporate, and corporate investment firms are buying up the rental properties for sale. So we are looking at a future when globalist corporations own most of our housing supply, if something isn't done.
Public services disappearing. Yeah I think this one is more an American problem when the rest could be said to be western problems. Couple other places come to mind... like Greece.
The Commonwealth countries are for sure deteriorating fast. I can't speak to the rest of Europe. However, cost of living has gone up everywhere under neoliberalism. The people who own our countries are shifting gears and hitting the breaks on consumer capitalism. They've been sufficiently enriched and now we're going back to a two-tier society.
I do think America is slipping as THE superpower. I think it will continue to be A superpower for a while longer at least. Possible it might go isolationist. I hope not. A lot of your advantages are your allies and domineering position, if you ask me.
All superpowers fade eventually, that's just history. The US has become a corrupt crony nation at the highest level. Their government doesn't function as stated. Biden basically has dementia which shows us that it really doesn't matter who the President is, the machine just keeps turning. The US gov is currently run by its intelligence agencies, IMO, who are scarily autonomous.
The lack of healthcare and shit... its like a cultural problem. Too many people got that attitude where they hate when people get things they didn't work hard enough to earn... Even if its something needed to keep them alive.
In Canada at least, it's not a cultural problem, it's a neoliberal problem. They are currently systemically destroying our health care system with chronic underfunding and measures that target healthcare workers in a way that will make them want to quit their jobs or move overseas. ERs are starting to close regularly between certain hours, and people are dying waiting for care or can't get doctors at all. So once the breaking point is reached and the public is crying out for private care to avoid dying, then the gov will deliver the death blow and bring us private care.
