There are measures as “ecological footprint” and thr alike, maybe somewhat “constructed” measures but still something to indicate e.g. how much non-renewable resources we are consuming.
One of those figures is how many globes would be required if all the world’s population consumed as much as a certain country’s population does.

That figure for USA is 5.3 for USA and 3.4 for Sweden.
Even if we used all latent resources from the sea and other places so we could lower those figures a bit, it is still clearly beyond what the world could stand in the long run, especially if everybody would be given equal standards of living.

At one time, we (generalized we for the citizens of USA)lived with Just Enough and they were happy.

Unfortunately, for many decades, there has been abuse at every level of the economic structure:

Lower class - many live off the easy to manipulate government aid - medicaid, Social security disability benefits, and local programs like WIC, which provides basic food needs to the poor, and food stamps as well.

Middle Class - failure to live within their means - over extended on credit, mortgages for MacMansions, and car loans for vehicles that are too big, use too much fuel, and contribute to the ‘throw away’ vs. fix it society.

Upper class - also tend to live above their means (these are not the superrich) with too big houses, gas guzzlers, and the need to have better than the next. A very wasteful society, never happy unless they have the next big thing.

The superrich - prey on the above classes out of greed, offering credit that is beyond their means under the guise of helping them, excessive use of natural resources ie: private jets to go short distances.

Now of course this does not apply to every person in every class, but over time there has been sufficient strain at every level which has lead us to the overall mess we are now in.

As such, not one man President Bush caused this economic failure and not one man President Obama, can fix this quagmire we are in. It will take a country as a whole, every citizen to contribute to the cause of returning our great county to the bountiful and resourceful wise land which we once celebrated and enjoyed.

The fix is not just a matter of taking from the rich and giving to the less fortunate, nor is it a matter of taxes, but it is a matter of millions of people accepting that we can no longer abuse each other or our resources, and we must start acknowledging that we must work together to pull up our boot straps, roll up our sleeves, and tighten some belts. To end the handouts, to put an end to the abuse of credit, and for our government to expand and create programs which encourage the rebuilding and growth of America. We must work with other countries to improve our import and export business, we must become again a country which develops, creates, and builds not a country which services (even that we have found is cheaper to have done in other countries), we must return our focus to technology to improve our use of natural resources and to find alternatives, find cures for diseases which tap into our healthcare, and we must take a long look at the litigous and greedy society we have become, it truly is a disgrace to the morale core of the human race.

I think of the farmers I knew growing up and what they did in times of draught and even if they yielded bumper crops - they still planned ahead, knowing that not every year would be as fruitful. They also knew that too many bumper crops affected the supply vs. demand, and that too required balance.

A farmer maintained his farm, he repaired his equipment that he had for decades, and he was grateful to live with just enough for he realized that ’stuff’ does not make a life. Family, Friends and Honor, Love and Laughter - those were the important things.