The passage of the health care law shows that the US empire is declining because it illustrates the fact that people expect the state to take care of them, David Murrin, the co-founder of Emergent Asset Management hedge fund manager, told CNBC.
On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama signed into law health care legislation that expands health coverage for the poor, imposes new taxes on the rich and forbids insurance practices such as refusing coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.
In their expansionary phase, empires force people to go out, seek risks and fend for themselves, Murrin said, reminding of the dismantling of the British empire after the war, when the National Health Service, which ensures universal health coverage in Britain, was created.
"This (empire decline) is actually a dead-set course that societies get into and it will happen very quickly I'm afraid," he told "Squawk Box Europe."
"As you start to build a system it becomes cohesive because of its success… the fractures in the American system I think are more apparent than ever," Murrin added.
The man has a point. While most people do not like the healthcare bill, there are many that do, and many of those that don't believe it doesn't go far enough.
We have gotten comfortable.
Perhaps we need a new challenge. What about South America? The moon? Mars?
I'm not quite ready to bet we're going down just yet - what up and coming scrapper is going to overtake us?
Murrin is betting on China. I'm not so sure (how do you say bubble in Mandarin?). But they are as good a bet as anybody.
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