[toyg]

The Soviet Union was actually so wealthy, in the early 1960s, to make these bankruptcy-based conspiracies look really silly. I mean, the West perceived it as a threat largely because their economic system appeared superior for a pretty long time. It wasn't until the late '70s that the Soviets really started to sputter.

[mywittyname]

Americans really don't appreciate the Soviet Union at the height of its power.

[OGWhales]

Americans themselves benefited greatly from it as our government felt it needed to do more to compete against socialism. Granted, much of that was undone/tapered off after the threat was gone, but it’s an interesting piece of history.