China has replaced Japan as the second most powerful economic force, according to this article at Yahoo. As China gets better at producing more high tech stuff that the world consumes a at furious pace, it’s growth will only continue. How long before it becomes the #1 economic world power?
I still hear many people talk about “cheap labor” in China. Although it is true that the lower labor cost makes it easy to create stuff cheaply, this is a dwindling advantage. As more and more stuff is created by machine, labor cost becomes less and less important.
What does the future hold?
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Success, US Economy
america, buy american, china, competition, debt, economy, Japan, oldsters, population, Success
Recently I have written a bunch of posts about America’s worsening financial situation, and the economic chaos that could ensue. I believe that it is important to manage our finances in a responsible way, and that it will serve Americans as well as the rest of the world to clean up our financial mess. However, that doesn’t change the fact that America is the best country to live in.
Everyone wants to come to America. Nobody is sneaking into Cuba. Nobody is sneaking into Iran. Everyone wants to come to America. We have the most opportunity, the best government system, a good legal system and, most importantly, freedom.
America is so great because anyone can come here and succeed. Millions of people have come without any money or even knowing the language. However, our free economic system allows anyone to work, build a business, and become wealthy. That’s why America is the land of opportunity.
In fact, the desirability of America has been its greatest asset. Smart, hard working people from every country in the world have come here because it offers them the most. As they grew and succeeded, so did the country. In just a few hundred years, America became the most powerful economic power in the world because of the hard working people who came here.
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Success, US Economy
america, business, countries, immigration, india, legal system, Success, Uruguay, Vietnam, work, world
As the effects of the government stimulus plan are seen, there are more and more signs that the recession is ending. The media is quick to pick up on any changes and report that the economy is recovering. This article at Yahoo Finances is all about the improving housing market. Yet I think that all the positive news is only one side of the story.
The other side is that the fundamentals have not really changed. Unemployment is high, and is rising. There is no evidence that it will improve. All of the improvements in the economy are from government spending: Cash for Clunkers, First Time Home Buyers Plan, etc. These measures are good at getting people who aren’t financially responsible to spend money. It is a short term improvement but will have a longer term negative effect.
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Investing, Success, US Economy
america, cars, Cash for Clunkers, debt, deficit, economy, housing, spending
America is the best country in the world. For the last 200 years, everyone wanted to come to America. In America, we have freedom and opportunity available on an unlimited basis. Unfortunately, I fear the end is near.
What could bring down such a great country?
Fiscal Mismanagement
Over the last 50 years America has racked up an incredible amount of debt. And, it is predicted to double in the next 10 years. Since those are government statistics, they are probably not very accurate. Let’s say 5 – 10 years. Don’t believe me? Check this.
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Investing, Money, Success, US Economy
america, crisis, debt, debt clock, default, finances, financial turmoil, government, national debt
Did you have a great 4th of July weekend? Fireworks? BBQ? Nice cold beer? Living in LA, I saw a marked change in activity. Everyone seemed to take off on Friday morning, and even today (Monday) a lot of people are gone. Despite the constant bad economic news, there seems to be no shortage of money to get away for vacation.
And, I saw a similar phenomenon online. Many blogs stopped posting. One site that we use to track blogs, Tip’d, had virtually no usage whatsoever! This is a site that attracts 440,000 visitors a month. And on the Independence Day weekend almost nobody visited. Wow.
Where did they go?
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Dreams Come True, Internet, Money, Success
4th of July, america, financial freedom, independence, job, Money, Success, wage slavery
is one of my favorite financial books of all time. It's an allegory about a guy who has a terrible job, and how he overcomes challenges to achieve his dreams.
