I think nobody can deny the fact that the United States is the most powerful nation in the world. Ever since the 2nd World War, Uncle Sam has been steadily taking the place of Number one and played the role of world leader, or as some people prefer to call him, the international police. We seem to have this feeling that he is kind of always ready to “help” baby brothers and sisters and you have to listen to this big brother. Actually he is always busy fighting wars against this or that.

Besides the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he is now demanding China appreciate the Chinese money RMB. A currency war is about to break out unless China does what he demands! Anyway, you can always find some excuses to occupy this country or attack that one in the name of democracy, world peace or protecting his national interests, you name it.

The strange thing is that, no matter how many people hate him and whatever those people might do to him, whether Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Uncle Sam seems to be energetic for ever, and that there’s no possibility that the country will collapse as the former Soviet Union did or the government will be overthrown as many others were. On the contrary, his economy seems to get more vigorous, the more wars he is involved in. Furthermore, he is still one of the most desired countries for many people to live in. Isn’t it something that sets us thinking?

You may say that he made a big fortune in World War II, or you would say there is a good social system which guarantees healthy development. Money can run short or even out. And every social system has its advantages and disadvantages. The USA is not the only nation that has the tripartite political system. To tell the truth, this has been puzzling me for a long time. Not until the recent world financial crisis, which started from the Wall Street, did I come to realize what really makes the US stay powerful.

First of all, we have to acknowledge that the so-called democratic system does play a very important role in maintaining the momentum of development. However, it is absolutely not the key factor! The secret lies in the currency, the US dollar, which is used not only in the US, but the whole world as well. Once the national currency becomes international, you will never get poor, let alone go bankrupt. Just look at what the US did when he felt short on cash: ①He sold large amounts of national debt, that is, he will borrow money from others. ②He simply started his money-printing machine to print more money.

You may wonder about the feasibility. The money you borrowed will have to be returned. Yes, Uncle Sam also knows about it, but he just doesn’t care how much he owes to others. Just imagine if the majority of nations like China and Japan keep so much US money as foreign exchange reserve, do you need to worry about returning the money? Then why do people choose to keep the US dollar as their first choice? The answer: it is a hard currency. People tend to believe it will not lose value and can be used almost everywhere. That’s why Uncle Sam does something great such as launching a war at regular intervals to remind you that he IS the only superpower in the world.

As for the second solution, if we print more money than we need, we will have to face inflation pressure and risk the possible economic collapse. However, the US is once again an exception. With so much money in other people’s pockets, the money, which should not be printed in the eyes of economists, is nothing but diluting a little the currency in circulation. In other words, Uncle Sam’s economic burden is shared by everybody. Your American money, whether it is held nationally or individually, has shrunk a little and you may not notice this small change.

With such advantages, the US will never have to worry about the shortage of money. With such an endless supply of money, what can’t he do in the world?