I have read that the standard of living in Argentina was higher than in the USA back at the turn of the 20th century. In the 1930's, like a lot of other countries during the Great Depression, Argentina elected a fascist government. The same thing happened in the USA, but the Supreme Court scuttled FDR's fascism. Argentina had no such Constitutional and Supreme Court protection so fascism took hold, and things went bad for Argentina. Now we are faced with the threat of a fascist government again, but things don't look good this time. The Supreme Court is questionable, and will no doubt support collectivism after Obama makes two appointments. Obama himself, unlike FDR, appears to be unconcerned with the rule of law. The net result: the USA is in for some rough times.Victor Davis Hanson has an analysis of the Obama Presidency here.