Will the Chinese Yuan overtake the U.S. Dollar? China moves to displace dollar as world's reserve currency

The United States can be great again, but not at our current pace.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is about to give China a major economic boost, adding the Yuan to its basket of reserve currencies. This is a major economic milestone for China which has been working towards this goal for several years. Over the long term, China hopes to displace the dollar as the world's primary reserve currency.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - The Yuan will now take a place beside the yen euro, pound sterling and the dollar as a reserve currency. The IMF is voting to add the yuan to the basket of currencies following years of Chinese lobbying. The decision will take effect in the fall of 2016.

The elevation of the yuan will help soothe investor concerns about the stability of the currency and Chinese markets and it will have an immediate positive effect on the economy there. This will come as a relief as the Chinese economy has had significant ups and down over the past year.

While the move is great for China, it is bad news for the U.S. as the American economy continues to stagger along. While Wall Street does brisk business, Main Street remains in the grip of a long-lasting recession. Of course, most economists will dispute this characterization of Main Street's status, but wages have been flat, or have actually declined. Real unemployment is at least 10 percent.

At the same time, baby boomers are beginning to retire and the latest generation of workers is barely able to make ends meet. At some point, a confluence of these challenges could overwhelm the economy and crash the U.S. economy.  By providing investors with another form of cash with which to trade, they can move money out of dollars and into the Chinese yuan.

After World War II, America was a great country. As a paragon of freedom and democracy, the United States led the world in almost every major index. Unemployment was low, wages were good, productivity was high. Consumption and quality of life increased.

Today, the United States has slipped across the board. Our nation remains competitive, but it feels like we are struggling to remain so. The vote by the Washington-based IMF, is another blow to that struggle.

This is what makes the 2016 election so important. The United States is suffering competitively in the international market, which has serious consequences here at home. Unless we improve our own economy and keep China at bay, the U.S.A. will become an economic has-been on the world stage.