Well, folks, that's it. According to the International Monetary Fund, the era of America will end in just five years when the economy of China becomes the most dominant player on the world stage. American politicians will tell us that we are still #1, economists will tell us where we went wrong, even though we already know what the problem is, and the percentage of Americans who pay no taxes won't care as long as they still get what society owes them.
We can already see cracks forming in the once respected U.S. dollar and U.S. treasuries markets, but when we slide to #2 behind China, the world economy and the world's international security system will have a very different landscape than what we all have known through our lifetime.
According to the IMF, whoever wins the Presidential election in 2012 will be the last U.S. President to preside over the largest economy in the world. How are most Americans handling the news? The way that we always do. Instead of buckling down, making real changes, and addressing the problem, most of us will put our heads in the sand and tell ourselves that it won't make a difference in our lives, and the so-called experts are going to fuel that view by saying that the IMF figures are inaccurate and that we have at least a decade until this is going to happen.
According to a MarketWatch article, "Under PPP, the Chinese economy will expand from $11.2 trillion this year to $19 trillion in 2016. Meanwhile the U.S. economy will rise from $15.2 trillion to $18.8 trillion. That would take America’s share of the world output down to 17.7%, the lowest in modern times. China’s would reach 18%, and is rising."
While this is just a prediction, all signs point to the fact that the U.S. economy will no longer be #1 within our lifetime. America took over as top economic power in the world in the 1890s and unless you're pushing 120 years old right now, you have lived in a time when our nation was the #1 power on the world stage. Imagine what the world will be like when this is not the case. While we may have our ills, we have led the world with the very best of intentions. Do you think that China will do the same?
也許是時候開始學中文
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
"Viva La Revolucion, Raul!"
To quote Fidel Castro when he made an unofficial appearance on The Simpsons, "It's full of what?!"
Communists, Fidel. Cuba's government is filled with communists. And that is why the nation is failing. It is why the Soviet Union failed and why all the communist block countries failed. China? Without China's capitalism, it would be failing also. But maybe, just maybe, Cuba's government will not be filled with communists much longer.
We all know there was no way Fidel could have gone back on his word and dismantled the Cuba's communist regime himself, but now that 79-year-old little brother Raul is the "President", things may be looking up for Cuba.
In an unprecedented step towards joining the modern world, Raul proposed term limits for "the current president of the Council of State and his ministers". That would mean no more 52 year-long, family-based ruling, and according to Raul, would be replaced by no more than two consecutive 5-year terms in office for everyone, including himself.
Raul is also proposing, based on suggestions he has received from the Cuban people, the eventual elimination of rationing, the decentralization of the economy, and reliance upon supply and demand to set prices in some areas. The reforms stop short of people actually being able to own property, but this is a big step in the right direction.
Raul states that a lack of young Cubans interested in politics and carrying on the regime is also a prime reason behind the proposed changes. Most of the original Cuban communist revolutionaries are already deceased and none of the oppressed following generations of Cubans are wanting to step in to replace them. Raul says he will fix this through reform and a "systematic rejuvenation" of the Cuban government.
These reforms still need to be made law by the government, but political experts believe Raul will move quickly to ensure his reforms are put in place. Let's hope so.
Communists, Fidel. Cuba's government is filled with communists. And that is why the nation is failing. It is why the Soviet Union failed and why all the communist block countries failed. China? Without China's capitalism, it would be failing also. But maybe, just maybe, Cuba's government will not be filled with communists much longer.
We all know there was no way Fidel could have gone back on his word and dismantled the Cuba's communist regime himself, but now that 79-year-old little brother Raul is the "President", things may be looking up for Cuba.
In an unprecedented step towards joining the modern world, Raul proposed term limits for "the current president of the Council of State and his ministers". That would mean no more 52 year-long, family-based ruling, and according to Raul, would be replaced by no more than two consecutive 5-year terms in office for everyone, including himself.
Raul is also proposing, based on suggestions he has received from the Cuban people, the eventual elimination of rationing, the decentralization of the economy, and reliance upon supply and demand to set prices in some areas. The reforms stop short of people actually being able to own property, but this is a big step in the right direction.
Raul states that a lack of young Cubans interested in politics and carrying on the regime is also a prime reason behind the proposed changes. Most of the original Cuban communist revolutionaries are already deceased and none of the oppressed following generations of Cubans are wanting to step in to replace them. Raul says he will fix this through reform and a "systematic rejuvenation" of the Cuban government.
These reforms still need to be made law by the government, but political experts believe Raul will move quickly to ensure his reforms are put in place. Let's hope so.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Mercedes-Benz Sees 15.3% Growth In 2010
According to an official statement from Stuttgart, relayed to me through BenzInsider.com, Mercedes-Benz has reportedly managed a year-on-year worldwide sales growth of 15.3 percent. This figure is due largely to the demand from the Chinese market as well as in the United States.
Over the past year, Mercedes-Benz totaled 1.16 million vehicles sold, which subsequently allowed Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, to exceed its projections that involved a 10-percent growth across the board from Mercedes-Benz to Maybach, the uber-luxury vehicle brand, to Smart, with its compact urban cars. Overall, Daimler was able to sell 1.26 million vehicles from the three makes—a 12 percent increase from 2009′s numbers.
“Last year was a complete success for us,” stated Dieter Zetsche, Daimler AG chairman and the head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “We have grown stronger as the world-wide market for passenger cars and as a result can win market share.”
While the annual increase is very impressive on its own, the consistency by which this growth was achieved is also quite amazing. Globally, Mercedes-Benz was able to experience double-digit growth on a monthly basis. In China, Mercedes-Benz experienced exceeded double of their annual sales from 2009. In the US, sales increased by 14 percent over the year.
Aside from the numbers showing Mercedes-Benz’s strong year, the sales growth is a reflection of the global automotive market’s recovery, particularly the premium or luxury car segment. These figures are clear indicators of the rebounding market. Zetsche says the brand can start 2011 with confidence, thanks to a competitive product range and numerous new products.”.
Over the past year, Mercedes-Benz totaled 1.16 million vehicles sold, which subsequently allowed Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, to exceed its projections that involved a 10-percent growth across the board from Mercedes-Benz to Maybach, the uber-luxury vehicle brand, to Smart, with its compact urban cars. Overall, Daimler was able to sell 1.26 million vehicles from the three makes—a 12 percent increase from 2009′s numbers.
“Last year was a complete success for us,” stated Dieter Zetsche, Daimler AG chairman and the head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “We have grown stronger as the world-wide market for passenger cars and as a result can win market share.”
While the annual increase is very impressive on its own, the consistency by which this growth was achieved is also quite amazing. Globally, Mercedes-Benz was able to experience double-digit growth on a monthly basis. In China, Mercedes-Benz experienced exceeded double of their annual sales from 2009. In the US, sales increased by 14 percent over the year.
Aside from the numbers showing Mercedes-Benz’s strong year, the sales growth is a reflection of the global automotive market’s recovery, particularly the premium or luxury car segment. These figures are clear indicators of the rebounding market. Zetsche says the brand can start 2011 with confidence, thanks to a competitive product range and numerous new products.”.
Monday, May 10, 2010
How Faux Is Your Faux Fur? Chances Are It's Not 100% Fake...
In 2000, the U.S. Congress passed a law that banned the sale of dog and cat fur in the United States.
This law was designed to stop Chinese manufacturers from a practice of sneaking in cheaper dog and cat fur into garments labeled as "faux fur".
While commendable, the problem is that the U.S. Congress, as it usually does, left a bit of a loophole. Any garment trimmed with $150 or less worth of real fur can be sold without any label, therefore, giving manufacturers in China the ability to substitute faux fur with real dog and cat fur and not have to put a label on the garment stating that they had done so. Without a label stating that a garment was made using real animal fur, American consumers just assume that the garment was made with faux fur.
Both the House and the Senate are currently working on bills that will close this loophole, stating that garments with ANY amount of animal fur must be labeled. Over 75 million animals are killed around the world for their fur each year, with 2 million dogs and cats being killed in China alone.
Hopefully, this legislation will help to reduce those numbers.
This law was designed to stop Chinese manufacturers from a practice of sneaking in cheaper dog and cat fur into garments labeled as "faux fur".
While commendable, the problem is that the U.S. Congress, as it usually does, left a bit of a loophole. Any garment trimmed with $150 or less worth of real fur can be sold without any label, therefore, giving manufacturers in China the ability to substitute faux fur with real dog and cat fur and not have to put a label on the garment stating that they had done so. Without a label stating that a garment was made using real animal fur, American consumers just assume that the garment was made with faux fur.
Both the House and the Senate are currently working on bills that will close this loophole, stating that garments with ANY amount of animal fur must be labeled. Over 75 million animals are killed around the world for their fur each year, with 2 million dogs and cats being killed in China alone.
Hopefully, this legislation will help to reduce those numbers.
Monday, January 5, 2009
The Coming Second Civil War?
According to Igor Panarin, a popular Russian academic and former KGB agent that currently serves as the dean of the Russian Foreign Ministry's academy for future diplomats, by the fall of this year, the United States will be beginning its slide into a bitter, yet much speedier, Second Civil War that will see the United States split into six separate, smaller nations, heavily influenced by foreign governments.
In my lifetime, everything from Red Dawn down to Jericho has depicted that the United States would eventually disband into roughly a handful of separate nations, but according to Panarin, not only is this really in the cards for us, but it is right around the corner.
So, how is this all supposed to come about? According to Panarin, our economic slide will eventually result in a total economic collapse, with extremely hard times quickly resulting in a moral collapse. With their economies in trouble, and their populations on a slippery slope, the wealthier, yet more economically troubled states will be forced to halt the delivery of state dollars to the federal government, essentially financially seceding from the U.S.
In these hard economic times, with loyalty to the federal government quickly waning, social unrest and upheaval will not be far behind, according to Panarin. The U.S. will split along ethnic lines and shortly, thereafter, officially break up.
Not long after the break up, foreign powers will move in an exert their influence. Get ready to learn Chinese, because according to Panarin, the western states will form under the banner "The California Republic" and come under Chinese influence or even Chinese rule. The southern states from New Mexico to Florida will form "The Texas Republic" and come under Mexico's influence, or rule.
The northeastern states from Tennessee and South Carolina on up to Maine will form "Atlantic America" and successfully maintain their independence from foreign powers until they are allowed to join the European Union. The northern central states from Montana to Colorado on over to Ohio will become "The Central North-American Republic" and will align themselves with the great Canadian power to the north.
Alaska is going to quickly come under Russian rule and Hawaii will quickly come under Japanese or Chinese rule. According to Panarin, all of this will be solidified and new maps will be going to press by June or July of 2010.
I already have my application in for Supreme Dictator of The California Republic, though that application also petitions for a more catchy name. In the event my application is denied, we already have the little Bavarian town we're moving to picked out.
Panarin's views are gaining ground in a very anti-American Russia and he counters critics by citing the wall of skepticism that French economist Emmanuel Todd received when he predicted the economically-driven fall of the Soviet Union in 1976.
In my lifetime, everything from Red Dawn down to Jericho has depicted that the United States would eventually disband into roughly a handful of separate nations, but according to Panarin, not only is this really in the cards for us, but it is right around the corner.
So, how is this all supposed to come about? According to Panarin, our economic slide will eventually result in a total economic collapse, with extremely hard times quickly resulting in a moral collapse. With their economies in trouble, and their populations on a slippery slope, the wealthier, yet more economically troubled states will be forced to halt the delivery of state dollars to the federal government, essentially financially seceding from the U.S.
In these hard economic times, with loyalty to the federal government quickly waning, social unrest and upheaval will not be far behind, according to Panarin. The U.S. will split along ethnic lines and shortly, thereafter, officially break up.
Not long after the break up, foreign powers will move in an exert their influence. Get ready to learn Chinese, because according to Panarin, the western states will form under the banner "The California Republic" and come under Chinese influence or even Chinese rule. The southern states from New Mexico to Florida will form "The Texas Republic" and come under Mexico's influence, or rule.
The northeastern states from Tennessee and South Carolina on up to Maine will form "Atlantic America" and successfully maintain their independence from foreign powers until they are allowed to join the European Union. The northern central states from Montana to Colorado on over to Ohio will become "The Central North-American Republic" and will align themselves with the great Canadian power to the north.
Alaska is going to quickly come under Russian rule and Hawaii will quickly come under Japanese or Chinese rule. According to Panarin, all of this will be solidified and new maps will be going to press by June or July of 2010.
I already have my application in for Supreme Dictator of The California Republic, though that application also petitions for a more catchy name. In the event my application is denied, we already have the little Bavarian town we're moving to picked out.
Panarin's views are gaining ground in a very anti-American Russia and he counters critics by citing the wall of skepticism that French economist Emmanuel Todd received when he predicted the economically-driven fall of the Soviet Union in 1976.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Tallest Man Saves Dolphins
The long arms of the world’s tallest man reached in and saved two dolphins by pulling out plastic from their stomachs.
The dolphins got sick after nibbling on plastic from the edge of their pool at an aquarium in Liaoning province, China.
Attempts to use surgical instruments to remove the plastic failed because the dolphins’ stomachs contracted in response to the instruments, the China Daily newspaper reported.
Veterinarians then decided to ask for help from Bao Xishun, a 7-foot-9 herdsman from Inner Mongolia with 41.7-inch arms, state media said. Bao, 54, was confirmed last year by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s tallest living man.
Chen Lujun, the manager of the Royal Jidi Ocean World Aquarium, told The Associated Press that the shape of the dolphins’ stomachs made it difficult to push an instrument very far in without hurting the animals.
People with shorter arms could not reach the plastic, he said. When we failed to get the objects out we sought the help of Bao Xishun from Inner Mongolia and he did it successfully yesterday,” Chen said. “The two dolphins are in very good condition now.”
Photographs showed the jaws of one of the dolphins being held back by towels so Bao could reach inside the animal without being bitten.
“Some very small plastic pieces are still left in the dolphins’ stomachs,” Zhu Xiaoling, a local doctor, told Xinhua. “However the dolphins will be able to digest these and are expected to recover soon.”
The dolphins got sick after nibbling on plastic from the edge of their pool at an aquarium in Liaoning province, China.
Attempts to use surgical instruments to remove the plastic failed because the dolphins’ stomachs contracted in response to the instruments, the China Daily newspaper reported.
Veterinarians then decided to ask for help from Bao Xishun, a 7-foot-9 herdsman from Inner Mongolia with 41.7-inch arms, state media said. Bao, 54, was confirmed last year by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s tallest living man.
Chen Lujun, the manager of the Royal Jidi Ocean World Aquarium, told The Associated Press that the shape of the dolphins’ stomachs made it difficult to push an instrument very far in without hurting the animals.
People with shorter arms could not reach the plastic, he said. When we failed to get the objects out we sought the help of Bao Xishun from Inner Mongolia and he did it successfully yesterday,” Chen said. “The two dolphins are in very good condition now.”
Photographs showed the jaws of one of the dolphins being held back by towels so Bao could reach inside the animal without being bitten.
“Some very small plastic pieces are still left in the dolphins’ stomachs,” Zhu Xiaoling, a local doctor, told Xinhua. “However the dolphins will be able to digest these and are expected to recover soon.”
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
When It's 2010, 2015, & 2050...
When it’s 2010, the average life expectancy of men turning 65 will be 81.4 years, while women turning 65 in 2010 will live to 84.1 years.
Mean household income, which is $92,553 today, will get up to $113,361 in 2010 and $133,831 in 2015.
Americans’ taxable payroll which is at $4.7 trillion today will go up to $5.4 trillion in 2010 and $6.1 trillion in 2015.
The U.S. GDP which is at $12.1 trillion today will shoot up to $13.9 trillion in 2010 and $15.7 trillion in 2015.
Today, Social Security revenue is 12.73 cents per $1 of taxable payroll with 11.05 cents of revenue being paid out and 1.68 cents of revenue being put into the surplus fund. In 2010, Social Security revenue will go up to 12.83 cents per $1 of taxable payroll with 11.34 cents being paid out and only 1.49 cents being put away. By 2015, Social Security revenue will reach 12.95 cents per $1 of taxable income with 12.26 being paid out and only 0.69 cents being put away.
Today, U.S. unemployment is at 5.25% and is expected to go down to 5.21% in 2010 and 5.20% in 2015.
The U.S. population, at 288 million people today, will go up to 309 million in 2010, 323 million in 2015, and reach 421 million in 2050.
Within the U.S. population, people over the age of 65 make up 12.4% today, will make up 13.0% in 2010, make up 14.5% in 2015 and make up 20.7% in 2050.
So what else is in store for 2050?
According to Elizabeth Gardner from Financial Planning Magazine:
Mean household income, which is $92,553 today, will get up to $113,361 in 2010 and $133,831 in 2015.
Americans’ taxable payroll which is at $4.7 trillion today will go up to $5.4 trillion in 2010 and $6.1 trillion in 2015.
The U.S. GDP which is at $12.1 trillion today will shoot up to $13.9 trillion in 2010 and $15.7 trillion in 2015.
Today, Social Security revenue is 12.73 cents per $1 of taxable payroll with 11.05 cents of revenue being paid out and 1.68 cents of revenue being put into the surplus fund. In 2010, Social Security revenue will go up to 12.83 cents per $1 of taxable payroll with 11.34 cents being paid out and only 1.49 cents being put away. By 2015, Social Security revenue will reach 12.95 cents per $1 of taxable income with 12.26 being paid out and only 0.69 cents being put away.
Today, U.S. unemployment is at 5.25% and is expected to go down to 5.21% in 2010 and 5.20% in 2015.
The U.S. population, at 288 million people today, will go up to 309 million in 2010, 323 million in 2015, and reach 421 million in 2050.
Within the U.S. population, people over the age of 65 make up 12.4% today, will make up 13.0% in 2010, make up 14.5% in 2015 and make up 20.7% in 2050.
So what else is in store for 2050?
According to Elizabeth Gardner from Financial Planning Magazine:
- There will be "solar" paint with embedded semiconductor particles that can power the electronic devices that are painted with it
- Wearable electronic devices will run on power generated by the wearer’s skin (a process patented by Microsoft in 2004 that will help the company reach $1.4 trillion in market value by 2050)
- People of two or more races will be so common in the U.S. that the Census Bureau will consider dropping the "race" question from the census (the CB will actually drop the question sometime after 2100)
- Printable transistors will be woven into clothing so that people can sell commercial time on their clothing to advertisers
- Distance learning will replace institutions of learning like Harvard for the most part (where annual tuition will be $320,000 in 2050) and individual instructors who teach students all over the world remotely will become the new icons of learning
- California will be forced to institute once again an English-only policy for official city and state signage as ethnically-centered populations have resulted in entire cities having official signs in only that city’s most popular language
- Human tissue, bones and organs will be custom-made using devices that build three-dimensional structures of living cells, revolutionizing prosthetics and the plastic and restorative surgery industries
- The penny will finally be officially eliminated by congress, but other cash and coin in the U.S. will still be around for private, in-person transactions, while a new form of currency that is worldly universal for use over the Internet and electronic shopping methods will have been popularized and replace the U.S. dollar as the defacto standard for the world’s currency
- Land-fill mining companies will be becoming popular, mining old landfills for metals, minerals and other materials whose natural resources have been exhausted
- The youngest baby boomer will be 86, the oldest 104
- Books will be a retro luxury much like vinyl records are today with some pretty common books by today’s standards being displayed in museums while book-binding will become a well-to-do hobby like home wine-making or beer-brewing is today
- To deal with seething social unrest caused by an excess of single men, China will offer attractive financial packages to Chinese girls adopted buy U.S. families to get them to come back to China
- There are 800 million cars on the world’s roads today, but there will be 3.25 billion by 2050
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