It's very obvious that 
is circling the drain now, but clearly this didn't just happen in a vacuum. It must've started crumbling at some point... but when?
Some people might say it started after 9/11, others might say it goes back to the Raegan administration. A few might even say it started after losing the Vietnam War, or when they went off the gold standard. Or maybe even earlier...
What do you think? 
Begining in the 70s, the switch from a production based economy that drove consumption to a finance based economy that drove consumption. Then sealing the deal with industrial offshoring in the 80s and especially 90s.