> A robust powerful US economy and workforce

The US had a robust economy and workforce and look where it got us. More people building and buying shit is not the answer. Significantly fewer people is the best shot we have.

Did it get us to the most powerful nation-state in history, with the ability to exert global control, if not militarily, or economically, but from the bully pulpit?

No the economy and workforce didn’t do those things.

Taking over global finance from the U.K. did and that definitely didn’t happen through our economy or workforce, but because we stayed out of WWII allowing Germany to bomb London daily until the U.K. was willing to turn over control of the global finance to us if we assisted them.

What our economy and workforce did once we got that power was single handedly create the single most indebted nation-state in history, $21T national debt $19T personal.

Indeed. Sure, the US helped Britain, France, etc defeat Germany, Japan, etc in WWII. But also, Germany, Japan, etc allowed the US to defeat Britain, France, etc. Speaking broadly, it was mainly Russia and China that maintained their independence.