Morning Bell: Is the Age of America Coming to An End?

Mike Brownfield / April 26, 2011

A dire prediction hit the news yesterday: A date has been set for the end of the “Age of America,” — i.e., when China’s economy will overtake the United States. The news comes by way of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that shows China’s economy surpassing America’s by 2016. Though there are reasons to question the IMF’s conclusions, it is true that if the U.S. does not get its fiscal house in order, the era of American leadership will be over.

Columnist Brett Arends writes in MarketWatch that China’s evolution into an economic superpower will spell the end of America’s economic dominance on the global stage:

The actual date when China surpasses the U.S. might come even earlier than the IMF predicts, or somewhat later. If the great Chinese juggernaut blows a tire, as a growing number fear it might, it could even delay things by several years. But the outcome is scarcely in doubt. (more…)