The end is near for the USA....

and what? I've been saying the rich are richer than ever and the poor are struggling more than ever....what's your point? We all knew this. Obama has helped those he despised the most, utterly hilarious if you ask me.

Has black income risen?

Are more people employed with good jobs?

O but stocks are at all time highs and real estate is soaring, clearly those things affect the average american

lol at anyone who thought obama would help anyone. The rich are richer bc companies are leaner and making more with less workers.

 

I've been to enough countries where I have seen tents and shacks next to 2/3 story houses and mansions.

 

Heard yesterday that 110 people own 35% of the total wealth of Russia.

Things could be worse.

 

Odd report. Not sure the rich Japanese feel any poorer just because they are supposedly "poorer" when measured in U.S. Dollar terms.

The day of reckoning will come when the world move off of U.S. Dollar as the de facto reserve currency. Nowhere else do people pay less and get more than in the U.S.

 

need to note the Japanese may not have the highest income, but things like a stable health care system sure do help

How do you, for example, price 4 average years of longer life expectancy?

cue RFK GDP isn't everything quote

 

OT musing from gut reaction that U.S. Dollar is used as standard unit of measurement in the report. I probably should read it instead of basing any comment from one sentence that the Dollar/Yen exchange rate is responsible for wiping out $5.8 trillion of wealth in Japan.

Here's the riddle. Wal-Mart is having a tough time competing in China, supposedly. But if you go into the Wal-Mart in Beijing, you'd know why - the goods are all dollar store quality at department store prices (but it's not as if the other competitors are any different). If Wal-Mart would just sell the same wares at the same price level as in the U.S., they would totally obliterate the competition. But they don't. Why? Especially when those same wares are all made here in China? Why does China export its best in exchange for less than what they would get here?

There are a ton of factors, but what happens when you take away the factor that "wealth" is generally measured in U.S. Dollars?

But again, all off-topic.

 

Not sure if this deserves its own thread.

http://behindthewall.nbcnews.com/_n...a-de-americanized-world?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=1

China state media blasts US shutdown, calls for a ‘de-Americanized’ world

BEIJING –With days to go before the United States debt default deadline, Beijing aired its frustrations with the shutdown Sunday, saying it was time to consider a “de-Americanized” world order.

With $1.28 trillion in U.S. Treasuries, China is easily the biggest foreign holder of American debt.

China has also funneled billions of dollars into private American investments – to the tune of an estimated $54 billion in 2012 alone.

“As U.S. politicians of both political parties are still shuffling back and forth between the White House and the Capitol Hill without striking a viable deal to bring normality to the body politic they brag about, it is perhaps a good time for the befuddled world to start considering building a de-Americanized world,” according to a stinging op-ed article by state news agency, Xinhua.

The article, published Sunday, conveyed Beijing’s frustration with the spending and debt impasse that has paralyzed Washington for more than two weeks.

"Days when the destinies of others are in the hands of a hypocritical nation have to be terminated, and a new world order should be put in place, according to which all nations, big or small, poor or rich, can have their key interests respected and protected on an equal footing,” the piece added.

Should Congress not come to an agreement by Thursday’s deadline on a new raised debt ceiling – the upper limit set by Congress on the amount of money the Federal government may borrow – China’s potential losses stand to be devastating.

Prior to Sunday’s commentary article, Chinese officials had been more measured in their analysis of the U.S. budget impasse. Last week, Vice-Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao noted only that “we have to see that the clock is ticking.”

To many in China, the restraint on the part of China’s ruling Communist Party over its second-largest trade partner’s government problems was perhaps based in the belief that neither party, Democrat or Republican, would allow the U.S. to not honor its financial obligations.

“If we are really rational, I cannot imagine why someone would dare to bear this kind of responsibility because any real default will have a huge impact not only on the U.S. and China, but on the global economy,” said Professor Zhao Longkai, a dean at the Guanghua School of Management at Beijing University. “It’s hard for us to imagine anyone can be that crazy to push the limit to that level.”

Zhao said the patience China had shown until recently was rooted not only in Beijing’s confidence in America’s ability to deal with the budgetary crisis, but also its own burgeoning self-confidence.

“For average Chinese people [the budget crisis] is a show there and we’ve seen it before… we also know that it's not only the United States that we are relying on, we have a lot of other investments,” Zhao said.

The Xinhua commentary may raise eyebrows in Washington, but Beijing’s frustration underscores a key point: Despite a desire to diversify its holdings, the Chinese government continues to buy U.S. Treasury bonds out of political and economic necessity.

As long as China’s domestic growth and stability are boosted by American debt, the deep ties between the two countries will likely endure.

 

China will have more room to talk about America's monetary and fiscal policy when it de-pegs its currency and allows it to float on the open market like everyone else.

 

^^^ That sounds like a loaded article, from the get-go, rocketsjudoka. First, China is not easily the largest foreign holder of US debt. Japan holds nearly $1.1 trillion and China only recently usurped Japan. Beyond that, China's problems >>> America's problems, both political and economical.

Here is a less impartial, more rational article by Beijing based economist and Peking University professor, Michael Pettis:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-24/party-will-pay-the-price-for-china-s-rebalancing.html

The US has seen many of the economic gains since the financial panic. The US is an innovation hub and many economies, such as the European Union, have shot themselves in the foot...repeatedly, which distorts the US gains even further. In fact, I would blame most of the disparity on European malaise.

As Gladiator pointed out, the Chinese don't have much room to speak. And as Pettis pointed out, they really have no options other than appeasing the rich land owners, which is a failure of a policy. The US government partial shutdown shows just how much more free Americans are both politically and economically than the rest of the world.

 

I'm not saying I agree with the Chinese take on things which is why I didn't start a new thread on it but just posting that to point out as signs of impending problems for the US. I fully agree that the PRC has some big problems, some bigger than the US, and am not going to defend them.

I've actually known for awhile that the PRC and much of Asia has wanted to not be so dependent on the US. This latest crisis just gives them more impetus to do so even though realistically it will still be years before that happens.

 

I went to China in April and again in June..... they are having serious problems. There are entire cities literally abandoned. Their economy is built on cheap labor, but as the country gets wealthier, their employees demand high wages... which causes companies to go to places such as India.

China has serious issues and as much as they try to mask their issues, they are obvious if you visit.

 

"#LOLCheapLaborgoingfromChinatoIndia,NOT!!!!!" JT & JF

 

Pakistan..... better?........ same damn difference.....

 

There needs to be disincentive for individuals to become exorbitantly wealthy. A more strict progressive tax rate is really needed.

 

Pakistan? That's funny. Your assumption is so wrong like everything else in your post. You need to read some books, going to a country is not an education.

 

Actually if you did any research you would know that Pakistan is one of the most attractive places for manufacturing.... a long with Vietnam and Bangladesh...... but you keep your head up your ass and keep making assumptions.

 

Those cities aren't abandoned since no one lived in them originally. They are relatively new developments that were built because of speculation in property. There potentially is a far larger mortgage bubble in the PRC than the US and many people consider that the biggest problem to face them in the near term. The government though has been aware of it and has been taking steps to address it. What those steps are exactly I haven't heard a good answer.

As far as the cheap labor the PRC has known that couldn't last for years now and has been building up their infrastructure as a ways to keep a competitive advantage of countries like India.