There are those who are cheerleaders for Communist China, and the "Chinese Economic Miracle".
Me? Not so much.
I'm not wild about the acid rain they're sending out of their country, and the massive pollution that China spews into the air and water (lung cancer is the primary cause of death in China these days, I hear).
Mostly I don't like it that so many U.S. jobs have been exported to Red China, and that the United States feels comfortable borrowing from a country that has frequently made policy statements about the destruction of the United States.
And I suppose the easy-going, humorous attitude about trademarks and patents shown by Chinese manufacturers also makes me a little uneasy.
But China has its own problems.
As trade slows down, unemployment is skyrocketing in China. You don't hear about it much because the statistical measures of unemployment in China don't count employees who voluntarily quit; and employees are pressured to quit, rather than be fired.
So the numbers coming out of China are cooked to a remarkable level.
Then there are the loans to businesses made by the Chinese banks.
The bubble associated with those loans will make the bubble in the United States look like...a bubble!
And inflation in China is now running at breakneck speeds, particularly in key areas like food.
But one of the upcoming comeuppances for China is going to be the sort of early-warning signal that we've seen in the United States: a credit downgrade for China is in the works!
Now, I don't wish the Chinese any harm. As long as they send back the jobs they swiped from the U.S., and clean up their country so that the rivers don't run black with sewage and their cities are no longer invisible under a cloud of coal smoke, all is forgiven.
Actually, I guess that I have a Challenge for China.
Go Green, Guys!
We'll be happy to send you our EPA to help you out!
And, actually, that might be the fastest way to build jobs here in the United States.
p.s. the Chinese Economic Miracle is coming to an end, some experts believe. I tend to agree, even without a Doctorate in Economics. There's one simple reason: governments can't run businesses, and when they try, they fail. Every single time. See the country formerly known as the USSR. And the U.S. Post Office.
