Is the US moving backwards as fast as China advances forwards?
Whether asking Democrats or Republicans, Conservatives or Liberals, Independents or RINOs (or any other pejorative you can think of), multiple polls ranging from the New York Times to New Media sites show that over 75% of Americans agree on one thing: we are going in the wrong direction.
Which is not surprising: Sarah Palin places cross-hairs on a Democratic congresswoman's district and she is later shot by a kook. The President, no less, threatens that if the opposition brings a knife, he would bring a gun. The poor middle-class voter finds that no one is truly working on the issues: the financial crisis, unemployment and general sense of unease are still there, two years after the last election.
Not surprising, after all. We vote for who is going outdo the other in rhetoric and who is going the attack the illegal farm worker harder. After all, stock market swaps and financial bailouts are just too hard for us to understand.
Keep this going and all we are left with is an unkempt yard, neck-deep in foreclosure while JP Morgan laughs all the way to their own bank.
All this while, the real competitor, the Chinese juggernaut, moves further and moves faster. America should applaud and leverage China's economic rise but oppose its military growth that threatens all of Asia. The question is: do we have any strength left to do so?
To get back in the right direction, we need to go back to the principles that made this country great:
Small government--our government is huge--and still cannot fix the economy!
Low taxes--we pay through our noses--and still cannot stop corruption and bailouts
Strong Defense--if we still cannot beat a bunch of guys in the Afghan caves, what will we overcome? The Chinese stealth fighter?
What are we doing wrong?
1. Fighting with civilian farmhands rather than dangerous terrorists over illegal immigration--there is a difference. As a corollary, we are also keeping out legal skilled immigrants--for the first time in many years, the H1 quota went unfilled showing that skilled Indians, Russians and Chinese scientists would rather stay home or go to other countries than America. To clarify again--we need talented Chinese (and other) people in America--our concern is the Chinese government, not the Chinese people.
2. Not holding the big banks accountable--that won't happen because too many politicians are beholden to their funds.
3. Not holding the politicians accountable for making us the first generation whose standard of living is lower than that of our parents. But that is our own fault, because we don't vote that way.
Aah, then, it looks like we have met the enemy and it is We, the People. Maybe we deserve what we get. Whether the Chicago machine wins or the Wall Street machine wins, one thing is clear: the American people lose.
3 comments:
Yes, on China & the US moving in opposite directions.
China:
a)invested in manufacturing & infrastructure, particularly over the last couple of decades.
b) they recognised foreign policy -in today's world- is almost completely influenced by economics. I believe they made a conscious decision a couple of decades ago that to be viewed as a super power, they would need to influence US foreign policy. They did so by purchasing over a trillion dollars of US Treasury Bonds & flooding the US retail market with their goods, at a price they knew the domestic manufacturer could not match....& despite our public political outcry; every politician here knows that the average consumer is only interested in price.
c) They were able to foresee that their own demand for oil would increase substantially over the years so they negotiated agreements with countries such as Venezuela, Cuba & some of the African oil producing nations to create infrastructure in exchange for oil rights.
As far as the US is concerned:
a) Our domestic manufacturing is in shambles.
b) Some of the jobs that were lost in the last few years are never coming back.
c) The nature of the work force has changed forever, in my judgement....no longer are people from India or China jumping at the prospect of an H1 Visa sponsorship
Having said all this, I am bullish 'long term' on the US. Our economy is still the tail that wags the dog & historically the US has always managed to start something new, that will change the world. I suspect that will happen again but the road to it will be ridden with pain!
However, if my theory on China's strategy- vis a vis the US - being a conscious one is right; then I think their next target is India. It is India because in my judgement the Chinese government has to do what local hoodlum's (I am not calling them hoodlum's but merely making an analogy) do when they move into a new neighborhood i.e. to 'defang' the existing power base in the neigborhood. I think economically, psychologically, politically & militarily it is not in China's interest to have a stable India; especially because of our physical proximity.
Very interesting. Hope you are right on the US rising again, quickly. Certainly, our culture of innovation makes it more likely than not. However, we also need something to enable the American middle class to survive--and these big banks with one hand stretched out for bailouts while the other hand sends out jobs overseas are not helping!
Some states of India are growing faster than China, as a matter of fact. The state of Gujarat, which is already amongst the richest in India and far richer than China, is growing at over 12.5%:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/7244604.cms?prtpage=1
Post a Comment