Banana Republic

Normally I like to do my own comparisons and analysis of data, but I recenetly was reading an article by an analysist named Marc Faber. It was so very interesting and sought to the very exact words I couldn't come up with myself. He was writing, comparing the current and future state of the United States of America. In a nutshell he said that we are drifting to the state of a Banana Republic. He goes on to point out the econmic and political characteristics that are constant among the Banana Republic countries. These just so happen to be the same characteristics that we are starting to see all to clearly here in the United States. Well, I'll let Mr. Faber speak for himself:

The prime identifying characteristics (of a Banana Republic) are a spoiled political system, corrupt wealthy elite in power, control exerted by foreign entities, huge wealth inequities and a shrinking middle class, decayed infrastructure, urban wastelands with filthy pockets, primitive segments of the economy, low capital expenditures, capital flight externally, reliance upon foreign capital, heavy monetary inflation, outsized federal budget deficits, excessive import dependence, elite accounts in foreign locations, lowly paid common working class, large police and security forces, enormous prison population, proliferation of gambling casinos, and a weak currency.

God bless America