Tolstoy Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 An article in the New York Times this morning (on line) details the economic rise of China. One figure said it all to me: Workers at a Honda factory in China receive the equivalent of $1.50 per hour, while his American counterpart gets an average of $55 per hour (I assume this figure includes health care, pension, and other benefits). I do not begrudge my fellow Americans a decent wage. I am just worried that we are going to get our asses kicked in the world markets. Wait a minute, what am I saying...we already have gotten our asses kicked by the Chinese in the world markets. ( When is the last time you have bought something made in America?) What really worries me is that with economic power comes political and military power: how long can we Americans hold our position in the world given our loss of industry, the enormous trade deficit to China, and the meteoric rise of China in economic clout? Are we getting spoiled? Is this the inevitable decay that occurs with wealth and affluence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keuka Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 The flat world concept. I like the Basketball analogy. The rest of the world copied our coaching and training techniques and now we are a bronze medal country. We are fat, dumb and lazy. Hungry, poor people in China and India will be eliminating us from the competion. The only hope we have of keeping up with them is that the citizens of these countries will demand the kind of social change that will jack up their wages. An article in the New York Times this morning (on line) details the economic rise of China. One figure said it all to me: Workers at a Honda factory in China receive the equivalent of $1.50 per hour, while his American counterpart gets an average of $55 per hour (I assume this figure includes health care, pension, and other benefits). I do not begrudge my fellow Americans a decent wage. I am just worried that we are going to get our asses kicked in the world markets. Wait a minute, what am I saying...we already have gotten our asses kicked by the Chinese in the world markets. ( When is the last time you have bought something made in America?) What really worries me is that with economic power comes political and military power: how long can we Americans hold our position in the world given our loss of industry, the enormous trade deficit to China, and the meteoric rise of China in economic clout? Are we getting spoiled? Is this the inevitable decay that occurs with wealth and affluence? 369443[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark VI Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Quick. Load up the planes with Union reps ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavin in Va Beach Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Quick. Load up the planes with Union reps ! 369454[/snapback] Are you suggesting we send Union reps over there to try and organize India and China's workers in turn making them inefficent and lazy, or that we should drop them like bombs as we fly over those countries? Personally, I kinda like the latter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 I *AM* worried about China. They're stealing our "lunch money" economically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 What can you say? They make tangible products. We shuffle papers and have a circle-jerk services and 'Everyone Can Be An American Idol' economy. I think the big blow to the American psyche has been that most of us can't point to something and say "I made that." At the end of the workday, what we do amounts to nothing. Ross Perot and (as much as you hate them) the labor union Democrats were entirely right about NAFTA and other trade agreements that gutted our industries. Sure, it reduced prices a little but what is that when there are no productive jobs to replace the ones that were lost? This is a great country to live in if you make $100,000 a year, but.... The work ethic is there, and for people who have to work 60 hours a week just to keep the checkbook balanced, I wouldn't say Lazy. And I wouldn't say Spoiled either, just, we've been conditioned to expect too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 The work ethic is there, and for people who have to work 60 hours a week just to keep the checkbook balanced, I wouldn't say Lazy. And I wouldn't say Spoiled either, just, we've been conditioned to expect too much. 369498[/snapback] Better check with our boy Spikes about that little statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
udonkey Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Make them laugh and their productivity diminishes. They can't work when they can't see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Are you suggesting we send Union reps over there to try and organize India and China's workers in turn making them inefficent and lazy, or that we should drop them like bombs as we fly over those countries? Personally, I kinda like the latter... 369458[/snapback] Yes but the former would do far more damage to our competitors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Better check with our boy Spikes about that little statement. 369506[/snapback] Takeo? I'm not sure what you're referencing, Mr. Khan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Takeo? I'm not sure what you're referencing, Mr. Khan. 369532[/snapback] Spikes16, the "I wouldn't get out of bed for $28 an hour" guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheRocks Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Are you suggesting we send Union reps over there to try and organize India and China's workers in turn making them inefficent and lazy, or that we should drop them like bombs as we fly over those countries? Personally, I kinda like the latter... 369458[/snapback] i agree...i think the former might take a couple of generations before there is any actual affect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 What can you say? They make tangible products. We shuffle papers and have a circle-jerk services and 'Everyone Can Be An American Idol' economy. I think the big blow to the American psyche has been that most of us can't point to something and say "I made that." At the end of the workday, what we do amounts to nothing. Ross Perot and (as much as you hate them) the labor union Democrats were entirely right about NAFTA and other trade agreements that gutted our industries. Sure, it reduced prices a little but what is that when there are no productive jobs to replace the ones that were lost? This is a great country to live in if you make $100,000 a year, but.... The work ethic is there, and for people who have to work 60 hours a week just to keep the checkbook balanced, I wouldn't say Lazy. And I wouldn't say Spoiled either, just, we've been conditioned to expect too much. 369498[/snapback] And if you don't embrace NAFTAs, you'll end up running an economy that looks eerily like France's & Germany's. Fine and dandy is you like double digit unemployment and continuing decay of industries you're supposed to be helping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheRocks Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 I have posted from Chuck Missler's site in the past with little response from anyone; but here again is another article from back in 1997 that tells how the US President at the time, began to help China. Feeding the Dragon Other articles from Missler on China Does China worry me? You bet your ass they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet baboo Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Does China worry me? You bet your ass they do. 369590[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 An article in the New York Times this morning (on line) details the economic rise of China. One figure said it all to me: Workers at a Honda factory in China receive the equivalent of $1.50 per hour, while his American counterpart gets an average of $55 per hour (I assume this figure includes health care, pension, and other benefits). I do not begrudge my fellow Americans a decent wage. I am just worried that we are going to get our asses kicked in the world markets. Wait a minute, what am I saying...we already have gotten our asses kicked by the Chinese in the world markets. ( When is the last time you have bought something made in America?) What really worries me is that with economic power comes political and military power: how long can we Americans hold our position in the world given our loss of industry, the enormous trade deficit to China, and the meteoric rise of China in economic clout? Are we getting spoiled? Is this the inevitable decay that occurs with wealth and affluence? 369443[/snapback] Where things get manufactured is of little importance to me. However, if we continue with the decline in our educational system, that is when we lose our edge in the world economy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Where things get manufactured is of little importance to me. However, if we continue with the decline in our educational system, that is when we lose our edge in the world economy 369706[/snapback] The only way that changes is getting the government out of the education "industry." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemur King Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Where things get manufactured is of little importance to me. However, if we continue with the decline in our educational system, that is when we lose our edge in the world economy 369706[/snapback] Here's a nugget from a paper I wrote on outsourcing. American ingenuity, long thought second to none, as measured by science education, is no longer under assault; it is being routed. American universities rank sixth world-wide in the number of people graduating with bachelor degrees in engineering. Meanwhile, China is graduating four times as many engineers as the U.S., and Japan - with less than half of the population, graduates twice as many engineers. In India, which has many native English speakers, the trends are similar: according to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, “In the decade from 1990 to 2000, India increased its number of students enrolled in college by 92 percent.” This is a trend that isn’t getting better, because American children are not interested- or at least incompetent in- science. U.S. high school students rank last among twenty-one industrial countries in science. And in what Newsweek refers to as a “dazzling” statistic, in an Intel sponsored world science contest drew 65,000 American students compared to 6 million Chinese students. It’s no wonder that Bill Gates bemoans the government imposed cap on visas for scientists: Americans need help with their science homework. I'm with AD. I'll happily pay to avoid letting the government educate my kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PastaJoe Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 I have posted from Chuck Missler's site in the past with little response from anyone; but here again is another article from back in 1997 that tells how the US President at the time, began to help China. Feeding the Dragon Other articles from Missler on China Does China worry me? You bet your ass they do. 369590[/snapback] Fortunately we now have a strong President and Congress who are willing to stand up to the Chinese on economic issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachChuckDickerson Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Didn't they say the same thing about Japan about 10 years ago? yawn... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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