“The republic may not be quite dead, but it is fading fast.”
I think life support is too late...I think we’ll have to kill it and bring it back...maybe reconstruction will be better this time...
I tend to agree, but I think this time we will fragment upon reaching some level of bankruptcy and regulatory strangulation. Killing will be unneccessary, the death will be natural.
Regional cultures have grown too disparate to be held together without incentives which are lacking, or a level of force which will be too expensive to maintain.
I can see dissolution along lines similar to the former Soviet Union. Not an optimal outcome, but better than some.