Indago, you pretty much described the typical trend of every empire.

While the specifics of what happens might be somewhat different, the outcome is fairly routine.

Power corrupts.

I'll posit, not so much a theory, but at least something to think about.

When the ruling class of the WEST had the Soviets to worry about, they really and truly needed America strong , and its people to be reasonably comfortable and hence very loyal to the nation.

After all, we stood between our masters and the monsters who'd have taken their power and money away...the Soviet monsters.

But when the evil empire fell?

Well, guess what?

They don't really need us all that much anymore, do they?

So many are getting poorer so they can get even more stupidly weathy then they were to begin with.

Remember now, when the cold war first started out the super wealthy didn't really mind (remember, also that IKE was POTUS) being taxed at a rate of 90%.

That's the kind of taxation it took to create the superpower military we created in the 50s and 60s to hold off the Reds.

The rich didn't like it, but 10% of a whole lot is better than 0% of nothing -- which is what they would have had had the commies rolled over us.

I think the Neo-cons are now breaking the fiscal back of this nation and the spirit of the American people, now, simply as an excuse to end all social programs.

This will, in the not so long run, make the American people are as poor and as desperate, and as easily manipulatable as most third world people already are.

Once again, no secret sconspiracy is necessary for this trend to be taking place.

I didn't invent the term "starve the beast" and that has been on the agenda of the Neo cons for at least a decade that I know of.

The Chicago school of Econ. and the various "think tanks" which are spun off from that intellectual cabal (like the Hoover institute or the Heartland Institute) are fairly open about their plans to "starve the beast" to get their way.

This is, I think, their modus operandi for Atlas shugging, you see?

They really do imagine that they and they alone are responsible for the wealth of the world, and since they own the means of production, the government and the structures which we have all come to depend on, they may be metaphooically correct in that accessment, too.

Few of the objectivist libertraians I know have really given much thought to what happens when we drive the majority of people into real poverty.

They are so conceited that they really do think, because they are petty bougiouse businessmen and members of the local Rotary, they'll be invited to the John Galt compound.

Now I hope that I am just being paranoid.

Frankly, very little I see happening leads me to think I am, but hey! one can always hope.