[BillyBoy]

>> America was prosperous and vital before the federal government existed <<

The federal government has existed ever since the Continental Congress created one in 1777. Life in the American colonies under George III, those were the good ol' days?

>> and it will be again after it is gone <<

There won't be an America after its gone (I haven't heard a nation yet that exists without a national government, unless you're describing "transitional" states like Somalia) Perhaps you're describing "successor" post-America states, like the American southwest becoming Aztlan.

[Psalm 144]

America at that time consisted of colonies and later sovereign states, and did just fine. We’ll do well after shedding the Pustule on the Potomac too. It will happen too, just as it did to the Politburo.