Changes

1. USA/West have republic/democracy and populaces often resist fiscal responsibility and engage in excess spending and having aging populations and increasing populism/nativism (Talented immigrants and/or immigrants with proven work ethic are less likely to have well-designed merit-based legal immigration). Democracies are less apt to initiate expensive wars, but once wars are started rulers often don't want to lose face to the public by withdrawing from wars they are losing.  Western liberals/Western want to spend more, but increasing can't do so due to financial restrictions have less appeal to public via "goodies".  

1. USA/West have republic/democracy and populaces often resist fiscal responsibility and engage in excess spending and having aging populations and increasing populism/nativism (Talented immigrants and/or immigrants with proven work ethic are less likely to have well-designed merit-based legal immigration). Democracies are less apt to initiate expensive wars, but once wars are started rulers often don't want to lose face to the public by withdrawing from wars they are losing.  Western liberals/Western want to spend more, but increasing can't do so due to financial restrictions have less appeal to public via "goodies".  

However, USA/Europe paid off WWII debt.  

However, USA/Europe paid off WWII debt. And now the USA is going to have a Department of Government Efficiency lead by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in the new Trump administration.  

2. Autocracies: Top down leadership is less self-correcting and less apt to be responsive/dynamic in relation populace. If imperialistic, more apt to start wars.  If "spin dictators", able to start wars more easily, but with some accountability (But with fake/weak elections where competitors are kept out, strong state media and suppression of much of the press) find it harder to end wars than more authoritarian regimes like communist regimes.  

2. Autocracies: Top down leadership is less self-correcting and less apt to be responsive/dynamic in relation populace. If imperialistic, more apt to start wars.  If "spin dictators", able to start wars more easily, but with some accountability (But with fake/weak elections where competitors are kept out, strong state media and suppression of much of the press) find it harder to end wars than more authoritarian regimes like communist regimes.