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I don't think the problem is with the economic system in the U.S. (it's ingrained as a mixed economy, which is good). The problem stems from the world becoming a hell of a lot more competitive over the past 20 years or so. Combine that with a post–Cold War headache, a burgeoning debt, a global recession, and massive social change brought about by communication technology, and you get conservatives who freak out like Glenn Beck is.
Rather than playing on America's strengths, he would rather stick to the formula of cut taxes, cut spending, but without any real plan. Yes, you need to balance the books, but America is already paying low taxes compared to other nations, and cutting taxes at a time where debt is one of your worst problems doesn't sound like a good idea.
It's like telling an individual to request a pay cut and spend a bit less to help pay for his debt.
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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