AMERICA VS CHINA…
By ATWadmin On February 29th, 2008I wonder if you would agree with Ilana Mercer when she argues that from an economic point of view, China is becoming more free and America less free….
"While Ben Bernanke continues to cut interest rates to spur easy credit and artificial economic growth– and to make his political masters look good – China raised interest rates six times last year. The late free market economist Milton Friedman, whose books are wildly popular in the Republic of China, would have probably sided with the actions of the People’s Bank. If Chairman Ben were a friend of the American people, rather than pal (and chief counterfeiter) to politicians, he’d raise interest rates and tighten credit too. China may be experiencing economic jitters, but it is still "running giant surpluses" and, as a crop of new books confirms, is "on the brink of becoming the world’s leading trading nation." The Chinese are ditching Mao for Milton, as Americans trust Oprah to pick their literature and leaders. Indeed China is changing. It is "out of the red" in more ways than one. The U.S. is changing too: It’s in the red and getting redder."
No, I would not agree.
Interesting link David. The actions of Bernanke in cutting US interest rates so aggressively sends the wrong signal to the banks – namely that the state will do its best to minimise their losses from irresponsible lending.
Political cowardice, but heh, it’s an election year! One thing the Chinese don’t need to worry about.
Mahons,
Ilana is quite an independent thinker – and I enjoy the challenges she throws down. She’s a libertarian first and foremost and an interesting read.
Interesting read, I just don’t agree with her conclusion. However, China as the sleeping giant has in fact been in a period of waking up. That will be the challenge of future generations.
I don’t agree either.
On a side note – China wouldn’t be running surpluses if America didn’t have such an open Chinese trade policy for all of their substandard goods.
If that’s her in the picture then I hate to argue. But becoming less free and more free depend a lot on where you start if they are to mean much.
In which country would you rather be if the police were at your door in the middle of the night?
In America it is unlikely to be about something you wrote.
The hope for China remains that economic freedom will lead to political freedom. Otherwise the people will remain slaves no matter how rich they get.
It is interesting to note that the US approved of the secession of Kosovo from Serbia and supported it. This means that the principle that a component of a larger nation can secede if the population within the statelet is sufficiently different from the wider nation and they in the statelet demand to secede. Did Mexico support the Kosovo independence from Serbia?
The US is running such enormous trade deficits that the vaults of the major trading partners are stuffed with them. As the value of their currency plummets, and the population becomes increasingly ‘diverse’, the decomposition of the US will draw nearer. The south-west will break away and join Mexico as soon as the Mexicans achieve majority status – how can Congress deny to the Mexicans what the granted the Kosovans? Of course, the Hollywood ‘liberals’ who did so much to destroy the US will flee because they only live in white areas.
I’ll give the US twenty years.
Allan: I’d give you less, but the Norwegians are a tolerant people.
Allan
It’s so amusing to see Rightists like you get their knickers in such a twist over Kosovo. Normally, you would die in the last ditch for the concept of the nation state, but unfortunately the Kossovans happen to be muslim, so obviously that rules out their right to self-determination. So speaketh Rightworld, as personified by John Bolton and Melanie Phillips.
Now if the Kossovans were christians, you wouldn’t hear a peep of protest from these bigots. Right or wrong?
2008 is the Chinese year of the ‘Rat’. (Wu Zi)
To the Chinese this means a cunning little critter, destined to spread across the world and adapting to whatever environ it finds itself.
Sorry Mahons, your country’s economy is going to be "deader that a dead dingo’s donger". As Hu Jintao put it.