“How long can the world’s biggest borrower remain the world’s biggest power?”

That question was asked by Obama's Chief Economic Adviser, Lawrence H. Summers, one year ago.  It's a question worth asking, because America's skyrocketing deficits will eventually have a global political impact. This is a chilling wake up call for those who believe arrogantly that the U.S is immune to the bankruptcies of empires in the pages of our history books.

The coming year's projected deficit (not the national debt -- just this year's deficit) is about 11% of the country's economic output. Meanwhile, deficits are not anticipated to return to sustainable levels over the next decade but to increase by 2019 or 2020 by about 5% of the gross domestic product.