United States in 2016
By 2016, Obama's policies had taken their toll in the United States. Medical companies' stocks had sharply declined, the cost of healthcare went up by 200%, and terrorist attacks both domestic and international happened in Boston, Seattle and Miami. In Afghanistan, the Taliban retook power after the American withdrawal and implanted Sharia Law, and threatened Pakistan and even Russia. Social Security had collapsed, as well as Medicare; however, Medicaid stayed afloat. With their collective mood lower than it had been since the Carter years, Americans were ready for some fresh leadership.
2016 Elections
In 2016, Republicans pitted Senator Marco Rubio against Vice President Joe Biden for the presidency. The eldery, Whites and business interests voted heavily Republican, as well as Asians, Hispaics, college students and professionals.In the end, Marco Rubio was elected president, with Jeb Bush as vice president. The United States resounded with hope. Main article: 2016 Election (Scenario: Rubio America)
Red= Republicans and Blue= Democrats DC is blue
2017
In January Rubio was sworn in as President and Bush was sworn in as Vice President. Immediately President Rubio and the Republican congress went to work reforming the United States. Obamacare was repealed and replaced with measures that made insurance companies more transparent, so consumers could decide which was the best with more information. Taxes were simplified and lowered- the IRS official handbook went to below 800 pages. Foreign aid was cut minus for Israel, Taiwan and South Korea. Spending cuts were implemented, and innovative new techniques were allowed used to lower the cost of Special Education. expenditures were cut in other places, too. Immigration was reformed, making illegal immigration harder and legal immigration easier. Soon the US would begin paying off its debt to China . However, war clouds gathered on the horizon.
2018
Budget cuts and reforms kept on going on throughout the early months. However, 2018 was mostly remembered for being the start of one event. Around March, the government had cut expenditures enough to start paying back the national debt. China realized that a major source of revenue might disappear, and in an attempt to destabilize the dollar and force more US debt, demanded to be repaid immediately. The United states refused, stating that that ability was never in the terms of the debt. China ragingly invaded Guam,The Northern Mariana Islands and The Aleutian Islands. The Sino-American War had begun.
The midterm elections were also held in 2018. The Republicans held the House and won a super-majority in the Senate.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg retired, and was replaced with a Hispanic judge, Juan Telles, one of the youngest justices ever. The court now had a conservative majority. On April 4, Planned Parenthood vs. Idaho, the court declared abortion and the Roe vs. Wade decision unconstitutional since they did not provide equal protection to unborn infants. Pro-lifers celebrated, but pro-choicers threatened revenge. This happened less than a month before the war.
2019
The war galvinized American spirit to unprecedented levels. American innovation rose to the occasion with advanced lasers, more efficent and effective 3-D printing, and many other inventions. However, the United States suffered a series of embarrassing defeats in the Pacific, seeing South Korea, Mongolia and others fall to the EA. The Democrat party began growing again later in the year. The debt went up this year, but instead of going to foreign purchasers, it was mainly bought up by domestic buyers.
2020
Fighting continued in the Pacific. Most Americans were caught up in patriotic spirit with the war, but some were
Logo of the Peace-Socialist party (formerly Socialist party, logo unchanged)
already calling for peace. In fact, while Republicans won the elections, the Peace-Socialist Party of America (formerly just the Socialist party) which was against the war had the most votes ever got since The Great Depression.
In other places, unemployment dropped below 3%. The wartime economy was booming, and there was speculation about new military technology being released for civil use eventually. But discontent was ever-growing in The Northeast, where the populace had not yet grown adapted to the new conservative face of the United States.
2021
In 2021, the war turned around for the United States and the WC. The Peace-Socialist party dramatically shrunk, as more and more (Almost 90%) of Americans supported the war. The stock market also soared and unemployment dropped to below 1%.
Congress also passed the Modified Seeds Act, which limited patents on genetically modified seeds to one-and-a-half years, despite intense lobbying by Monsanto. The measure passed with bipartisan support.
2022
Overseas, the Sino-American War was being won by the WC. As horrific stories emerged from Korea, Kyushu, Thailand and other countries about China's invasion, Americans were even more convinced that the war was necessary.
Unemployment dropped below half a percent. As the nation went into labor shortage, immigration regulations were relaxed. Talk was raised about adding Puerto Rico statehood, but nothing was accomplished.
2023
America had won the Chinese-American war! Shortly after the Higgs Bomb was dropped on Shanghai, the Chinese leadership promptly surrendered. Although there were some demonstrations in the Northeast against the use of WMDs, there were mostly happy celebrations across the United States.
Some of the laser technologies developed by the military during the war were released to the public. Within months, Winchester released the cyclops laser rifle. Research also began towards using Higgs Boson technology for peaceful energy purposes.
As the labor shortage grew worse, wages began to shoot up. The economy was still growing, but slowed by the lack of labor. President Rubio directed the Department of Justice to stop enforcing immigration laws.
2024