Something that crossed my mind is we should really stop comparing ourselves to the USA in all regards. Its not a very apt comparison imo. Our comparables are the UK, France, Italy, S Korea, etc. Thats not to say we shouldnt aspire to rise to the economic prowess of the global hegemon, but there are serious global structural impediments to compete 1-for-1. The biggest one that comes to mind atm being the Americans basically have the infinite money glitch on by being the global reserve currency for nigh a century. That is catching up to them now but it has served them well since the 40s.