If someone had told me 20 years ago that Venezuela would fall this far even under socialism I don't think I'd have believed them. This was no natural disaster, world economic catastrophe, or warfare, this was pure local political arrogance, corruption, and incompetence. Fortunately for the citizens of that country the natural resources are still there. Unfortunately, so is the government.
Unfortunately, most in the US are too ignorant to see this.
If someone had told me seven and one half years ago that the United States would fall this far even under Obama I don't think I'd have believed them. If they told me four years ago that the people would be stupid enough to reelect him I would have laughed when I should have cried.