Before The Age of the Donald - Part Four: by Dave Jaffe

       Part Four of Before the Age of the Donald by Dave Jaffe
          


               There's a brighter side to the United States and that's one thing I haven't mentioned yet. There's the economy of the U.S. of A. and it  has turned America into the most powerful nation on earth.
 America's economy is still moving ahead despite the fact that China's G.N.P. now surpasses that of  the U.S. of A.'s. Now some big businesses  for instance may be going down the tubes.Yet older more traditional firms like General Electric, General Motors and the Ford Motor Company are still raking in the profits.
    In the late 20th century and the early 21st century, a host of new firms based on the   new information technology  have soared above the economic horizon. Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Twitter and other firms have changed the face of the economy and the world. Unbounded by feudal or socialist restraints,  American entrepreneurs have always been on the cutting edge of technology. They still are. And the CEO's of these new firms and older ones have become billionaires. Their super wealth has sometimes helped other Americans become modestly rich too.
     America invented the mass market and many people appreciate this. "I'm going to the States this afternoon," one of my neighbours told me recently. "I'm going on a shopping spree." This man and his wife aren't alone. Every weekend thousands of Canadians wait in endless car lines to then pour into border towns like Blaine in Washington State. There they load up on food, gas and even clothes.
      "Even with the lower Canadian dollar, I'll still save money on gas," my neighbour tells. me. The U.S. market still delivers many bargains. Two women I know go farther afield to seek out American bargains. Every few months they fly into San Francisco to buy clothes in the huge Bay Area malls. "The Americans have clothes that are awesome," one of the woman tells me.
    Of course in recent years, the American economy hasn't been a bonus for many Americans. Wages and salaries for most people have remained flat for the past thirty years. One study showed that in recent years,  two groups have gained in the world economy. That's the middle and rich groups in East Asia and the richest one per cent in the U.S. of A,. and around the world.  The rest of the world hasn't seen many gains at all.
    Yet America's economy still keeps it immensely powerful.