Politics

United States is the oldest federation in the world. It is a constitutional, democratic and representative republic, "in which majority rule is regulated by minority rights protected by law." The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Constitution, which serves as the supreme legal document of the country.49 In the American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government: federal, state and local ; local government duties are commonly split between county governments and municipalities. In almost all cases, officials of the executive and legislature are elected by direct vote of the citizens of the district.

Economy

The US economy is a capitalist mixed economy, which is characterized by abundant natural resources, developed infrastructure and high productivity. According to the International Monetary Fund, GDP of US $ 14.4 trillion constitutes 24% of the Gross World Product and about 21% of it in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP.

This is the largest in the world GDP, while in 2008 it was 5% lower than GDP (PPP) of the European Union. The country has a nominal GDP per capita seventeenth and sixth GDP (PPP) per capita highest in the world.

The country is second Global Competitiveness Index.

United States is the largest importer of goods internationally and the third in terms of exports, though exports per capita are relatively low for a developed country. In 2008, the total US trade balance was 696 billion dollars.

In 2009, automobiles were the main products exported and imported. Canada, China, Mexico, Germany and Japan are its main trading partners. That last is the one with the largest public debt to the United States since early 2010 exceeded the debt of China with 34,200 million dollars