Sure, the federal government has been largely dysfunctional since 2010, due mostly to vandalism caused by the GOP. Fortunately, our system of limited government at the federal level means that a vacuum can be filled by state and local authorities and by the private sector. Unlike nations with strong men, therefore, we can survive mediocre or worse leadership in Washington.
Otherwise, our future is bright, particularly relative to the other countries that I analyzed earlier this week. We have a looming demographic problem, but it is smaller than our competitors’. Our culture is vibrant. We have friendly neighbors (at least as long as Trump isn’t President). Our economy has consistently grown faster than the EU’s in the recent past. I doubt there is any world leader, including Xi, who wouldn’t gladly trade his problems for ours.
Our biggest challenge, in my opinion, is to maintain our position as the guarantor of a rules-based system of international relations without succumbing to imperial overstretch. That will be the subject of a post in the reasonably near future.