Zerohedge reports that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has indicated to the United States, “Canada will continue to work to diversify its energy exports.”

History books study catastrophic events such as wars or the collapse of empires and try to determine what were the causes and factors that led up to the disaster.  What will the future history books say about the collapse of the American hegemony in the global economy?  Here are four possible factors:

(1) The leadership did not secure cheap and safe energy from Canada, starving the nation of the resources that they needed to secure the economy.

(2) The leadership refused to reign in spending at all levels of government, leading to a debt-death spiral and to default of the nation finances and the collapse of the dollar.

(3) The leadership overextended itself militarily around the globe, which had at best a dubious, if not a negative, return on investment.

(4) The leadership refused to change arcane tax laws that made it impossible for Americans to set up shop in foreign countries to foster exports and trade of made-in-America products.

Future history books may see Stephen Harper’s statement to the United States as indeed a pivotal moment.  Harper is saying, Fine!  If you don’t want our energy, we can find other buyers.