Written by michael payne   

Most Americans quite likely have never heard of BRICS and don't realize that this alliance of five nations has this very ambitious objective; to become the world's next economic superpower. And, by all the evidence at hand, it would seem that this economic juggernaut is proceeding directly on that path as it gains more and more momentum.

What exactly is BRICS? It's a consortium of nations that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa; it's clearly an emerging economic powerhouse. These nations, together, total almost 3 billion people, or about 43% of the world's population, with a combined GDP of $16.346 trillion, almost identical to that of the U.S. which is reported to be $16.244 trillion. The bad news for America is that these countries' combined GDP will continue to steadily grow in the future and that of the U.S. is projected to grow slowly at best.

Critics say that these countries don't have a lot in common and that the alliance may not have the strength to sustain itself. Well, the counterargument is that the cornerstone of this alliance is China, which world economic observers have predicted will, by itself, surpass America as the #1 economic power within the next two decades. So add Russia with its massive petroleum reserves, plus India, a rapidly growing Brazil, throw in South Africa, and what you have is a very formidable group. Just as America is, in reality, the United States, a grouping of 50 states, BRICS is also a group of "united" states that combines various elements of power into one entity.

It's not only economic growth that's of major impact in this matter, but also the following significant factors: The BRICS group has $4.4 trillion in currency reserves while the U.S. possesses only $136 billion (ranks 15th out of 30 nations in the world). Take annual exports in 2012: China was at $2.057 trillion, Russia, India & Brazil combined had about $1.2 trillion, for a combined BRICS total of over $3 trillion while the U.S. was at $1.564 trillion. In a 2012 report of "The Ten Nations in Deepest Debt", a measurement based on a nation's total debt to GDP, the U.S. ranked #7 worst and none of the nations of BRICS was even on this debtors list. While this debt to GDP ratio doesn't tell the whole story of economic stability it certainly is a major indicator.

Some day before long the U.S. government will wish that it had done far more to pressure corporations to slow down or discontinue outsourcing jobs to China, that country whose GDP is largely growing because it now has the manufacturing industries that were once located in America. Nothing like giving your chief competitor the wherewithal to beat you at your own game by transferring a massive portion of your manufacturing to it, is there? Not a very smart move but, then again, the masters of corporatism are most concerned about accumulating more profits, not following any agenda designed to strengthen America.

Here is America's biggest overall problem in a nutshell; the U.S. imports far more than it exports, it is a country that consumes a great deal more than it produces, and it spends far more than it earns. If that is not a recipe for an eventual financial collapse then I don't know what is. BRICS is an emerging economic giant and if it continues on its current path it has the power to control the economic functions of the world.

Here's where this really becomes a mounting problem for America. These BRICS nations, in their quest to become #1, know that, in order to do so, they must have a strong currency of their own to compete with and eventually replace the U.S. dollar as the main reserve currency in the world. Therefore, they are using their own currencies more and more in trade agreements between themselves and other nations. BRICS, together with Iran and Venezuela, is also in the process of establishing a new global central bank that will launch a new currency, called the Bricso, to go up against the dollar. This is a very ominous development and a direct threat to the dollar's future.


To ignore or dismiss this new consortium as not being in the same league as the U.S. would be a monumental mistake. As this alliance continues to grow that economic power will be almost invincible. At the same time these nations are pouring money and resources into their own countries and economies, the U.S. continues to pour its resources into a world empire and has thrown its manufacturing sector under the bus. America is both printing fiat money and borrowing billions upon billions of dollars while these countries are doing nothing of the sort. Which strategy do we think makes the most sense and which one will prevail in the longer term?

Project what is happening now for the next one or two decades and the handwriting is on the wall. And it will not be a pretty picture because this government of ours is simply ignoring the enormity of the situation and simply continues on a path leading to its own demise. And all the while this potential transfer of power is developing the American people are seemingly in the dark. Most just don't fathom what's really going on; they don't see this massive tsunami racing straight for America.

Russia and China, certainly not friends of America, are well aware of the military might of the U.S. and have no intention of trying to confront that power if they can possibly prevent it; they are far too smart for that; they want to meet their objective of economic dominance in two ways. First by ending the reign of the U.S. dollar as the world's main reserved currency; and then if need be, China will lead the way by slowly but surely pulling the plug on its huge investments in U.S. securities, stop loaning America billions more, and watch as America's financial foundations crumble. They, evidently, are quite confident that, in the greater scheme of things, economic power will prevail over military power.

BRICS is the economic elephant in the room with the potential to relegate America to #2. Those nations watch as America continues to be saddled with an inept, visionless government; a government that has been warned time and time again to: drastically reduce military spending, scale back the massive military empire; curtail the non-stop printing of fiat money; stop the hemorrhaging of the U.S. manufacturing sector; and begin the process of ending America's dependence on borrowed dollars from China, Japan and other nations. But these thick-headed Washington bureaucrats refuse to listen and they can't see the financial train wreck that they are heading into.

It's time to heed those many warnings; BRICS is a massive economic tsunami looming on America's horizon and, as it gains power and momentum, there will be no stopping it.

Michael Payne