Why do people talk about the decline of American power? Where is the evidence?

[Reasonable]

GameOver22 said:

Reasonable said:
Not saying it's true, but there have been lots of reports charting the balance of power shifting with US power declining. There was a report a few years back from US intelligence agency itself stating this.

To use an apt metaphor its inevitable it will wane a bit currently. US is like Sony with PS2 and China is like MS releasing 360. They only result can be loss of market share (or power) to the new entrant. With the BRIC countries rise in importance this requires a trade off somewhere else and the US is taking the brunt of that.

So with US position globally weakening you get lots of references to that fact everywhere.

This is what I think most people mean when they talk about the decline of US power. Its not really a decline of US power per se. Its just that other countries are gaining more power and are gaining it faster. Just think of it like a pie graph where the accumulated power adds up to 100%. Emerging nations have just increased their share of the slices, and this has been at the expense of the United States.

That's basically it.  The US itself hasn't suddenly lost half its military power or whatever, but its global influence and power has changed via growing economies, etc.  If you read any of the reports its more about a world where the US has less influence and less power to dictate than in the past rather than any inward decline as such.