Wednesday Analysis
(d'alerte mercredi)
If one dollar personal gain/loss is at stake, you will surely almost perfectly observe laws, social moral, and religious teaching.
If ten thousand dollar personal gain/loss is at stake, you will surely almost perfectly observe laws and social moral.
If one million dollar personal gain/loss is at stake, you will surely almost perfectly observe laws.
As one million dollar and more personal gain/loss is at stake, they will surely almost perfectly not observe laws, social moral, and religious teaching.
If you think life in observing laws, social moral, and religious teaching is more important than life for earning one million dollar and more, you will surely try to elect by ballot someone that has the same belief.
In conclusion, it is you that are responsible for the outcome of the 2010 Midterm Election.
SECTION I: American Election in 2010
A Chinese(?) reporter for Fortune wrote that China is great, China is respected, China is helpful, and China bashing is an act of fools.
But, most of American voters do not think so, since they have Japan as a contrast example. Or otherwise, they think that China is in fact a too low-tier manufacturer with only a merit of scale, while India is deploying more sophisticated business.
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Parsing the short-sighted, China-bashing midterm ads
Posted by Nin-Hai Tseng, reporter
October 29, 2010 12:38 pm
...The study also found that 58% of respondents felt the U.S. is not the strongest economy in the world, while 36% think that China holds that title.
...Since 2000, when China was required to significantly reduce trade barriers, American-made goods sold to the country have surged 330%, while exports to the rest of the world rose only 29%. The remarkable increase is partly due to the fact there was so little U.S. exports to China prior.
Still, China remains the third-largest export market for American-made products. In 2009, the U.S. exported $69.6 billion worth of goods to China, chiefly in computers and electronics. This is behind Canada ($204.7 billion) and Mexico ($129 billion), according to the U.S.-China Business Council, a nonprofit comprised of about 220 American companies that do business with the country.
Also, during the 2009 global economic recession, U.S. exports to China stayed roughly the same from 2008 levels. Exports to the rest of the world fell by about 19% during the same period, according to the Council, which based its analysis in a 2009 report on U.S. government trade statistics.
... As the China bashing continues on the campaign trail, Fortune takes a look at targeted states of anti-China ads highlighted recently in The New York Times.
...And during the economic recession when Ohio exports to the rest of the world dropped by 26% between 2008 and 2009, sales to China actually rose 3%, according to the Council.
...True, California's unemployment rate of 12.4% in September is higher than the national rate of 9.6%.
What's not mentioned in the ad is that California remains the largest exporter of goods and commodities to China, followed by Washington, Texas, Louisiana and Oregon, according to the U.S.-China Business Council. In 2009, California sold $9.7 billion worth of goods to China, mostly computers and electronics.
...It's true the U.S. imports from China way more than it sell to the country. But it's hard to ignore that while still relatively small Colorado and Pennsylvania see China as a key export market. Between 2000 and 2009, exports in Pennsylvania to China rose 458% compared with a 44% rise of exports to the rest of the world during the same period.
It may be shortsighted for politicians to disregard China as a trading partner. Even if only to get elected.
44 Comments
Yes. Japan is a good ally. Just reminds me the pearl harbor attack and the only country that got nuclear bombs. What makes you think that they don't hate us? I thought china is the only country who is willing to sacrifice its environment and resources in order to produce things at low cost and supply the world. All other country would do this. Look at the pollutions and its impacts to Chinese people. Are you willing to reopen all the heavily polluting factories back in the USA?
Posted By DC, USA: October 30, 2010 7:22 pm
I am not sure that this journalist could be objective. She is Chinese so of course she is going to say how good China is for the US. I don't believe any of her lies.
Posted By Alan Smith, Redwood City, CA: October 30, 2010 1:59 am
The truth of the matter with respect to China is very simple. The country can't stand America and would love to see us fall on our face. This is the big difference between China and Japan. WHo would you rahter, as a country, do business with? Someone who cares about you and what you care about, or someone who would just assume stick a knife in your back.
The author of the article is a partison joke. She gives piecemeal examples of states that export to China, but the bottom line is this. The US transfers approx $1T (thats right, $1 Trillion) per year in net wealth to China. As a whole, we import much, much more from China than we export to the country. If it were even, China wouldn't have to cheat and artificially hold the value of its currency down. I say we hit every Chinese product/component with a 30% tarriff. If China wants to retaliate, fine. Pull the plug on their most favored nation trading status and watch their bubble burst. Don't believe this author for a minute. Millions of US jobs are lost to China. Millions.
Posted By Rick, St. Petersburg, FL: October 30, 2010 12:33 am
Americans need to realize that manufacturing jobs that went to China was back in the 80's. Those were factory jobs that required less than a high school degree. Today all our Technology, Account, pharmaceutical jobs are being outsourced to India. That's why 80% of our College graduates are moving back home with mom and dad. Which one do you think will have more impact on Americans?
Posted By D Chicago, IL: October 30, 2010 1:59 am
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/29/parsing-the-short-sighted-china-bashing-in-midterm-ads/
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But, the most significant comment is:
There is no more important economic support of a peaceful 21 st century, than a quantum rise in the standard of living for the average Chinese. Fat people do not push for war. China is to be congratulated for her achievements over the last generation, since Mao's stupidities. However real problems exist, on both sides. The US is ruled by "post industrialist environmentalists" who despise industry and purposefully destroyed our heavy manufacturing. Since we need the products, we now buy them from China. China is still ruled by war lords, by the gun. Until her people are truly free, she will always be shackled, and in turmoil. Tuesday, we will throw out our bad leaders; China must do the same.
Posted By R. L. Hails Sr. P. E. SS Maryland: November 1, 2010 8:49 am
Yes, some rich Americans "despise industry and purposefully destroyed our heavy manufacturing."
But, rich Chinese have their own China in China. Rich Chinese who "despise industry" would still have poor Chinese in rural and farming areas to be engaged in manufacturing goods for rich Chinese and Americans as well as Japanese at low labor costs.
In this context, more reasonable than China bashing is the bashing of rich Americans who "despise industry and purposefully destroyed our heavy manufacturing."
Yet, more and more rich Chinese and elites in China have come to send their sons and daughters to the U.S. to study, take up jobs, marry, get citizenship, and have a baby with American nationality. When the time has come that no China bashing is allowed in America, everybody will longingly recall the 2010 midterm election.
SECTION II: Review of Yen and Yuan Appreciation
The fact is that the Japanese yen gets higher against the U.S. dollar, but the Chinese Yuan maintains its weak position against the U.S. dollar.
(Original source: FRB)The pale blue curve is for value of yen per dollar, as measured along with the right vertical axis. Also take note of a note in the figure pointing to the Lehman Shock that happened on September 15, 2008.
The red curve is for value of yuan per dollar, as measured along with the left vertical axis.
If the U.S. dollar gets weaker, each curve will swing upward.
So, in the wake of the Lehman Shock, China clearly changed its policy. It stopped free fluctuation of the exchange rate between their currency yuan and the U.S. dollar; the Obama Administration could not work on to have it taken back.
So, who are behind the Obama Administration that allows China since 2009 to set the yuan value at a lower level than it should be? Who are behind the Obama Administration without a care for poor and ordinary Americans? Who are behind the Obama Administration without worrying about a rise of irresponsible China?
So, who were behind the W.Bush/Clinton Administrations that allowed China since 1992 to set the yuan value at a lower level than it should have been? Who were behind the W.Bush/Clinton Administrations without a care for poor and ordinary Americans? Who were behind W.Bush/Clinton Administrations without worrying about a rise of irresponsible China?
SECTION III: What is Crystal-Clear
The U.S. financial sector centering around Wall Street, the high-tech industry, multinational large-scale enterprises, and major investors do not mind fall of American manufacturing companies, which helps economic growth of China who in return financially or economically help the U.S. financial sector centering around Wall Street, the high-tech industry, multinational large-scale enterprises, and major investors.
As one example, let's confirm how the American financial sector has established their influence on Washington D.C.:
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Too Big for Us to Fail
We need counterweights not just to Wall Street's toxic products but to its malign influence.
Simon Johnson and James Kwak | April 26, 2010
...The growth of the megabanks, the rapid spread of financial "innovation," the excessive risk-taking of the past decade, and the financial crisis were not purely economic phenomena. They had deeply political roots, in the deregulatory philosophy of the Reagan Revolution and the ideology of finance spawned by free-market economists. And the big profits on Wall Street were made possible in the halls of power in Washington.
...The failure was that Wall Street was able to gain sufficient influence in Washington to win favorable policies from Congress, regulators, and both Democratic and Republican administrations. The banks earned their political power the old-fashioned way, through campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures; the financial sector was the primary source of campaign money for the past two decades, and its contributions grew disproportionately rapidly over the period. More important, the popularization and spread of the ideology of finance meant that politicians and government officials increasingly came to sincerely believe that what was good for Wall Street was good for America.
...At the same time, lobbying by the financial sector has reached record levels. According to data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics, the finance, insurance, and real-estate sector spent over $463 million on lobbying in 2009, the most ever. (The banking and securities industries were responsible for $144 million of that total, also a record.) Even Citigroup spent over $5 million on lobbying -- although the government was its largest shareholder.
In sum, though the financial crisis hurt the megabanks' profits (for a quarter or two, at least), it did nothing to weaken their political power. If anything, increased concentration only increased the stature and influence of the survivors, and the Supreme Court's 2009 decision in Citizens United put politicians on notice that corporate influence over politics is likely only to grow.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=too_big_for_us_to_fail
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So, Mr. Clinton and Mr. George. W. Bush must have thought that what is good for China is good for Wall Street; what is good for Wall Street is good for arrogant, rich, and succesful Americans.
As I wrote several days ago, FRB has supplied a huge amount of money to the market so as to restore a level of assets American households have to the one before the Lehman Shock. And, those households that have any large amount of financial assets are of those working in or related to U.S. financial sector centering around Wall Street, high-tech industry, multinational large-scale enterprises, and major investors.
So, as the Obama Administration cannot function well to restore situations of households of ordinary/poor American workers, they have to expect the U.S. financial sector centering around Wall Street, the high-tech industry, multinational large-scale enterprises, and major investors to expand economy, invigorate economic activities, and promote innovation in America, which might expand a chance of employment for ordinary/poor American workers.
In recap, players in order of a scale of profits in the current regime are as follows:
1) China
2) Financial sector centering around Wall Street, high-tech industry, multinational large-scale enterprises, and major investors
3) American politicians
4) Ordinary/poor American workers and voters
What lacks here is a hero and a saint to save America and the world.
In the coming 2012 Presidential Election, American voters must carefully elect a new president who thinks what is good for arrogant, rich, and successful Americans is not good for ordinary/poor Americans.
*** *** *** ***
As for Japan, in terms of economic policy, only two agendas are at stake.
1) A 4% annual growth in economy
2) Government note introduction into government budget
Other issues are all minor and derivative ones.
Japanese voters have to elect politicians who will try to address this challenge by sacrificing their own 1 dollar, ten thousand dollars, one million dollars and more.
...
Now let's think about why Christ Jesus used a colt only for the occasion of entering Jerusalem. Was it because the owner of the animal had been a bad guy? Was it an arranged sign for somebody waiting for timing for a certain action? Was it to fulfill an old prophecy?
I think it is for his word: a lamp must be put on a candle stand.
Then, even Judas would realize that the lamp was to face the strong wind, no matter how courageous it was.
In addition, Christ Jesus must have been surely elected to the presidency of Israel, if an election had been conducted at the time, since He was in a kind of campaign car...
(http://www.fukuchan.ac/music/j-folk3/daitokai.html
This Japanese song is titled a Metropolis.
It implies that there are many pooy young people in a big city, dreaming of their impossible success...while neglecting the poorer, the weaker, and the more foolish...
Even such people raised their eyes to see who Barack Obama was in 2008...)
Mar 11:3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.
Mar 11:4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
Mar 11:5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?
Mar 11:6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.