Is The United States Of America's Economy Going to Crash?

The following information is essential if you are an investor or have assets such as a house, a business, stocks, or a pension fund. Not having a basic understanding of how an economy, a world reserve currency, or an empire works could cost you money.

We frequently hear that the USA's economy is going to fail due to rising government debt, along with challenges to the U.S. dollar's status as the world's reserve currency by the BRICS nations. The fear is that if the U.S. economy fails, it will trigger a major global recession. With most Western economies debt-ridden, this could be catastrophic. However, before we panic, let's review the history of why empires like the Spanish, British and Soviet collapsed. And look at what the USA is doing to counter this repeat of history. Once you understand why Empires fail, you can see why the U.S. administration has introduced trade tariffs, increased energy production, reduced regulation and is encouraging manufacturing to return to the U.S from countries like China.

On the contrary, European economies have shifted their manufacturing base to countries such as China. Ceased using cheap energy production in favour of windmills and solar, and have increased economic pressure on themselves due to unproductive immigration, putting pressure on the welfare and social systems. In addition, they have high government borrowing and extensive regulation. Europe's policies appear ideological rather than based on proven financial data.

As a rule of thumb, an economy that spends more than it earns will fail.

Let's look at what history tells us. On a positive note, if the Spanish, British, and Soviet governments had acted like the U.S. administration, the outcome might have been different.

The Seven Stages of Empire Collapse — and What They Tell Us About America

Every empire tells itself it's different — until it isn't.

Rome said it would last forever. Spain believed its gold would never run out. Britain ruled "the empire on which the sun never sets." The Soviet Union promised to reshape the world.
And now, the United States insists it's immune to the same gravity that pulled down all those powers.

But history has a rhythm, a seven-beat pattern that every great power seems to follow on its way up and down.
The Spanish, British, and Soviet empires all walked this path. The U.S. is now deep into the later stages.

Here's how empires collapse and what the slow unravelling of the dollar might mean for America's future.

1. The Rise: Ambition and Energy

Every empire begins with hunger:

• Spain launched into the unknown seas, powered by faith and conquest.

• Britain harnessed coal and commerce to dominate the globe.

• The Soviet Union rose from revolution, promising equality and progress.

• The U.S. emerged from World War II as the world's unchallenged industrial giant. It rebuilt Europe, built highways at home, and created the dollar system that would define global finance for decades.

Empires rise when they believe in something bigger than themselves. That belief is their rocket fuel. But rockets eventually run out of fuel.

2. The Golden Age: Confidence Turns to Complacency

Every empire hits its high note, the moment when everything seems effortless. Spain's galleons returned bursting with treasure. Britain's merchants and monarchs lived off global trade. The USSR flew into space. And America built suburbs, freeways, and the middle class. But prosperity breeds complacency. Productivity turns to consumption. Success feels guaranteed. The empire stops reinventing itself and starts managing its decline, though no one admits it yet.

3. Overreach: The Price of Power

Power is addictive. Once an empire dominates, it wants more markets, more allies, more control.

• Spain fought endless wars.

• Britain tried to rule everywhere.

• The Soviets poured resources into controlling Eastern Europe and arming the world.

• America followed suit: military bases in 70+ countries, trillion-dollar wars, and a foreign policy that tries to shape every corner of the map.

The problem? Every dollar spent maintaining global order is one not spent fixing the home.

Overreach is the tipping point. It's when pride becomes vulnerability.

4. Corruption and Division

The next stage comes quietly: the elite stop leading and start looting.

• In Spain, the aristocracy choked off innovation.

• In Britain, the upper class defended its privileges long after they had ceased to make sense.

• The Soviet nomenklatura became a corrupt club.

• In the U.S., lobbyists write the laws.

Billionaires dodge taxes. Institutions feel captured. Citizens grow cynical. The system still functions, but trust in the invisible currency of democracy is starting to evaporate.

5. Loss of Faith — At Home and Abroad

Then comes the emotional break: people stop believing.

• When Spain's Armada sank, its myth of divine destiny sank with it.

• The Suez Crisis showed Britain it was no longer in charge.

• The Soviet collapse was less about tanks than about exhaustion; no one believed anymore.

For America, the turning points have been slower but steady: Vietnam, Iraq, the financial crisis, and the polarisation of politics. Abroad, allies hedge their bets. At home, citizens talk more about "collapse" than "opportunity."

Empires don't fall because they're conquered. They fall because they stop believing in themselves.

6. The Dollar Question: The Last Privilege

The final privilege of empire is the status as a reserve currency.

Spain's silver real gave way to the Dutch guilder. The guilder gave way to the British pound. After 1945, the pound yielded to the American dollar backed by U.S. industry, oil, and global trust.

But cracks are forming. Nations are trading in yuan, rupees, and rubles. Central banks are diversifying. BRICS countries are openly talking about "de-dollarisation."

If confidence in the dollar truly falters, the shift could be swift. America's ability to print its way out of problems would vanish. Borrowing costs would soar. And the U.S. would discover what it feels like to live under someone else's financial rules.

The end of reserve currency status isn't just an economic event; it's the moment an empire wakes up to find the world has moved on.

7. Collapse or Reinvention

When the spell finally breaks, empires face two choices.

• Spain faded into irrelevance.

• The Soviet Union shattered.

• But Britain adapted, shedding its empire while keeping its democracy and thriving in a smaller form.

America still has a chance to do the same. It could restore fiscal sanity, rebuild its industry, and lead by example rather than force. But that requires something in short supply: humility.

Every empire insists it's exceptional. The real test of greatness isn't avoiding decline, it's surviving it with dignity and vision.

The Lesson

Empires rise because they're bold. They fall because they forget why they rose.

• Spain had silver.

• Britain had industry.

• The Soviets had an ideology.

• America has the dollar and the illusion that it can print its way out of gravity.

But history isn't cruel. It's just consistent. When one empire fades, another form of order always takes its place. The story doesn't end it evolves. The only question is whether America will write its next chapter before someone else writes it for them.

Final Thoughts

The Western world has been living beyond its means for decades, spending and borrowing vast sums while failing to invest in projects that would grow wealth. It's like taking out a loan for a holiday and paying it back over 20-30 years. A costly holiday!

Along with a shift from fossil fuels to sustainable energy production, which has driven record-high energy costs and left remaining industries struggling to compete with countries like China, Vietnam, and India that still use fossil fuels. As the Spanish empire found, if you produce nothing, your wealth slowly transfers to another country or empire.

The U.S. administration is making corrections in the right areas, as history shows: addressing trade deficits with other countries through tariffs, reducing regulation, encouraging manufacturing to return to the U.S., ending the forever wars, making other countries pay for their defence, and increasing energy production to reduce energy costs.

U.S. dollar dominance is likely to remain, as most of the world's economies need to sell goods and services to the U.S. market to maintain their own economies. The dollar as we know it is likely to change and be backed by something of value other than thin air. And like the British adapted, I'm sure the U.S. will too only bigger and better.