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That's exactly correct. There is this notion that the American economy is larger than the Chinese economy, when in fact this is only a product of the strategic

That's exactly correct. There is this notion that the American economy is larger than the Chinese economy, when in fact this is only a product of the strategic and constant devaluation of the Yuan with respect to the dollar. This has only been allowed by the Chinese because they haven't completed the process of moving their surplus to their own economy. In this decade we have already seen the Chinese moving their surplus to create a strong internal economy and when this process is complete they will have every incentive to stop supporting the US dollar and to stop devaluing the Yuan.

Theodores 7y ago
There are different ways of measuring how large an economy is. How much of the US economy is Wall Street and real estate? Does that really deserve to be 'GDP' as nothing is actually made? Some say that a large finance sector and a rentier class is a burden to the main economy. It is hard to deny even if there is the 'trickledown' effect from the 1%. What about militarism? The trillions spent on war is supposed to be good for the economy but I don't see it myself. If all those bullets had been batteries for electric cars then the USA could have sold those electric cars to places like Libya, Iraq and elsewhere blown off the map or crippled with sanctions. In China, regardless of whether they have stolen IP or not, they do actually make stuff. Making stuff definitely counts as GDP. Chinese folk are industrious and 'lazy' is not a word uttered in the context of China, even by the haters. I don't get the feeling that the Chinese economy has developed to the late capitalist stage where everyone who works is paying off rentseekers, monopolists and usurers. For this reason I think the Chinese economy is a lot stronger than the American one even if the GDP metric would lead one to believe otherwise. I also think China are leapfrogging the USA when it comes to education. STEM subjects rule in China, they don't in the USA. When it comes to the fundamentals China is on to something. I am not sure USA Inc has a plan for the future.
- coliveira 7y ago
  Exactly. The main point is that the groups that control the US have steered the country towards doing things that are great for the elites but terrible for the population. Banking is excellent for the wealthy portion of the country, but works as a drag on the population elsewhere because banks live off interest and fees, i.e., they subtract from the real economy. Healthcare is now a big portion of the US economy, but it is in fact another big drag on the living standards of its population. Real estate is the sister industry of banking, and as real estate costs escalate this means a reduction of wealth from poorer people to the wealthy and the banks.
cristiancavalli 7y ago
Any sources? Any numbers? How about their completely fallacious gdp numbers built off a (literally) crumbling housing bubble? (Edit added another source) https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/02/china-vacant-apartments-housing-market-bubble-ghost-cities/583528/ https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/02/china-vacant-apartmen... https://www.afr.com/news/world/asia/chinas-ghost-cities-and-their-multibilliondollar-debt-20180404-h0ybjz https://www.afr.com/news/world/asia/chinas-ghost-cities-and-... (Edit 2 there are a variety of articles from different institutions which claim the exact opposite of your point. Searching “China currency manipulation” will bring up a wealth of articles actually claiming that they are propping up their currency. Here’s one: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/b6a93d28-60b9-3643-b13a-13df38dd5035 https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/b6a93d28-60b... https://www.google.com/amp/s/markets.businessinsider.com/amp/news/china-raises-reserve-requirement-ratio-amid-yuan-losing-streak-2018-8-1027429904 https://www.google.com/amp/s/markets.businessinsider.com/amp...)

Theodores 7y ago

There are different ways of measuring how large an economy is. How much of the US economy is Wall Street and real estate? Does that really deserve to be 'GDP' as nothing is actually made? Some say that a large finance sector and a rentier class is a burden to the main economy. It is hard to deny even if there is the 'trickledown' effect from the 1%. What about militarism? The trillions spent on war is supposed to be good for the economy but I don't see it myself. If all those bullets had been batteries for electric cars then the USA could have sold those electric cars to places like Libya, Iraq and elsewhere blown off the map or crippled with sanctions. In China, regardless of whether they have stolen IP or not, they do actually make stuff. Making stuff definitely counts as GDP. Chinese folk are industrious and 'lazy' is not a word uttered in the context of China, even by the haters. I don't get the feeling that the Chinese economy has developed to the late capitalist stage where everyone who works is paying off rentseekers, monopolists and usurers. For this reason I think the Chinese economy is a lot stronger than the American one even if the GDP metric would lead one to believe otherwise. I also think China are leapfrogging the USA when it comes to education. STEM subjects rule in China, they don't in the USA. When it comes to the fundamentals China is on to something. I am not sure USA Inc has a plan for the future.

coliveira 7y ago
Exactly. The main point is that the groups that control the US have steered the country towards doing things that are great for the elites but terrible for the population. Banking is excellent for the wealthy portion of the country, but works as a drag on the population elsewhere because banks live off interest and fees, i.e., they subtract from the real economy. Healthcare is now a big portion of the US economy, but it is in fact another big drag on the living standards of its population. Real estate is the sister industry of banking, and as real estate costs escalate this means a reduction of wealth from poorer people to the wealthy and the banks.

cristiancavalli 7y ago

Any sources? Any numbers? How about their completely fallacious gdp numbers built off a (literally) crumbling housing bubble? (Edit added another source) https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/02/china-vacant-apartments-housing-market-bubble-ghost-cities/583528/ https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/02/china-vacant-apartmen... https://www.afr.com/news/world/asia/chinas-ghost-cities-and-their-multibilliondollar-debt-20180404-h0ybjz https://www.afr.com/news/world/asia/chinas-ghost-cities-and-... (Edit 2 there are a variety of articles from different institutions which claim the exact opposite of your point. Searching “China currency manipulation” will bring up a wealth of articles actually claiming that they are propping up their currency. Here’s one: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/b6a93d28-60b9-3643-b13a-13df38dd5035 https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/b6a93d28-60b... https://www.google.com/amp/s/markets.businessinsider.com/amp/news/china-raises-reserve-requirement-ratio-amid-yuan-losing-streak-2018-8-1027429904 https://www.google.com/amp/s/markets.businessinsider.com/amp...)