The US accounted for half the world economy and had no competition. It was doing just fine. Of course, part of the reason for the Marshall Plan was to help Western Europe resist the USSR. However, answer the basic question: name one other great power in history who did what the US did? Did the Netherlands? Ancient Persia? How about the Arab imperialists who Pakistanis love, such as Mohammad Bin Qasim?
The US could not have taken over Western Europe? The USSR, a far weaker country than the US, did take over Eastern Europe so it was clearly possible (and Hitler took over much of Western and Eastern Europe with far less power than the US). The US did occupy Japan for a decade and could have stayed there if it wished.
The US is not close to being bankrupt. Its debt level is still lower than that of places like the UK.
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Economicly USA is a giant but waging wars will always destroy any powerful nation.
In history most big empires lost their kingdom and empire because they are war mongering idiots.
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I agree that overstretch, too much spending on the military plays a role in the fall of great powers but that does not mean they cannot get away with it for even centuries. Look at the great powers of the past, including the Arabs (who went from Arabia to stretching from India to France. How did that happen?). They were actually involved in far more wars than the US and these powers remained.
The US spends 4% of its GDP on the military, and this is with the increased costs from Iraq and Afghanistan. During the Cold War it spend about 6% and did fine. The US demise that so many are fantasizing about is not coming, although China may overtake America in a few decades as the dominant superpower. The US will not go the way of the USSR. It will remain a superpower for at least the rest of this century.
Now the US spends 4% of its GDP on the military. It is a very rich country. Pakistan spends 3%. Why? Even with that it is still outspent 4:1 on defense by India so what is it achieving?