Updated

By Bill O'Reilly

While stories like the Zimmerman trial, the IRS scandal and ObamaCare are important, they do not define the nation.

But the economy does. By far the most important story in America today is our declining economic power. Yesterday, I said that on the CBS morning program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLIE ROSE, CBS NEWS: Do you believe we have moved in the last five, six years to a nanny state?

O'REILLY: Do you live in Romania? Of course we have.

ROSE: Well what's your best example of that?

O'REILLY: Food stamps. Look at the explosion -- the explosion of people receiving benefits from the government -- more than 50 percent of American homes doing it, compared to 20 years ago. We have got a $17 trillion debt. Ok? I mean, if we continue this, I'm going to have to move to Switzerland because this thing is going to collapse. You can't continue to do this. That's the most important issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: America's outstanding debt and the fact that we cannot provide jobs for millions of people who want to work is a direct threat to our power. And all over the world folks know it. According to a new Pew Research Survey which polled 38,000 people in 39 different countries, 23 of those nations say China has either replaced or eventually will oust the USA as the world's top super power.

Overall it broke down like this: Will China replace the U.S. as the leading super power... "already has," 13 percent; eventually 33 percent; never 33 percent; don't know 21 percent.

There's no question American power is decline. The Russian tyrant Putin has no problem jabbing us over the NSA leaker Snowden. Putin is not afraid of what the USA might do to Russia. The same thing with Iran, that country doesn't fear us. And China certainly does pretty much what it wants although it's beneficial to the Chinese to have a good economic relationship with the USA.

There is no way that America will remain the most powerful nation in the world if we continue to promote weakness. The nanny state mentality embraced by the Democratic Party is a direct and dire threat. And the reason that the Democrats have been able to do so much damage to the economy is because the Republican Party didn't solve key problems when it was in power. Illegal immigration, one of the big examples of that; dangerous speculative bank investments, another; the GOP failed to deal with those situations.

So the country elected Barack Obama and his liberal philosophy has taken deep root. The result as I told the CBS crew, economic chaos and a change in the most important mind set this country once had: self-reliance.

And that's "The Memo."