Is America in decline? That is a very provocative question. I have found that most people that hate the United States are very eager to agree that America is in decline, while a lot of those that love the United States are very hesitant to admit that America is in decline. Well, I am proud to be an American, but I cannot lie and tell you that America is doing just fine. The pieces of evidence compiled below are undeniable. Our economy is deathly ill and is rapidly getting worse. We were handed the keys to the greatest economic machine in the history of the world and we have wrecked it. But until we are willing to look in the mirror and admit how bad things have gotten, we won’t be ready for the solutions that are necessary. The truth is that there are things that we can do to reverse the decline. It does not have to be permanent. We have gotten away from the things that made America great, and we need to admit that we are on the wrong path and start fixing this country. But if we choose to continue down the road that we are currently on, it will lead us into the darkest chapters in American history.
The following are 40 undeniable pieces of evidence that show that America is in decline….
#1 Back in 1985, 11 million vehicles were sold in America. In 2009, only 5.4 million vehicles were sold in America.
#2 In 1990, the median age of a vehicle in the United States was just 6.5 years. Today, the median age of a vehicle in the United States is approximately 10 years.
#3 The average price of a gallon of gasoline in 2011 has been $3.50. That is a new all-time record. The previous record was $3.24 in 2008.
#4 The average American household will have spent an astounding $4,155 on gasoline by the time the year is over.
#5 The number of children in the United States without a permanent home has increased by 38 percent since 2007.
#6 A decade ago, the United States was ranked number one in average wealth per adult. By 2010, the United States had fallen to seventh.
#7 The U.S. tax code is now more than 50,000 pages longer than it used to be.
#8 American 15-year-olds do not even rank in the top half of all advanced nations when it comes to math or science literacy.
#9 The United States once had the highest proportion of young adults with post-secondary degrees in the world. Today, the U.S. has fallen to 12th.
#10 After adjusting for inflation, U.S. college students are borrowing about twice as much money as they did a decade ago.
#11 The student loan default rate has nearly doubled since 2005.
#12 Our economy is not producing nearly enough jobs for our college graduates. The percentage of mail carriers with a college degree is now 4 times higher than it was back in 1970.
#13 Our infrastructure was once the envy of the world. Today, U.S. infrastructure is ranked 23rd.
#14 Since December 2007, median household income in the United States has declined by a total of6.8% once you account for inflation.
#15 Since the year 2000, incomes for U.S. households led by someone between the ages of 25 and 34 have fallen by about 12 percent after you adjust for inflation.
#16 According to U.S. Representative Betty Sutton, America has lost an average of 15 manufacturing facilities a day over the last 10 years. During 2010 it got even worse. Last year, an average of 23 manufacturing facilities a day shut down in the United States.
#17 In all, more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities in the United States have shut down since 2001.
#18 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
#19 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry was actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.
#20 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of all U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented only 11.5 percent.