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From: SMS on 16 Apr 2010 06:36
On 16/04/10 1:00 AM, Zombywoof wrote:

<snip>

> Wal-Mart used to pride themselves with the American Flag Price
> Stickers.

"http://i39.tinypic.com/xaw8k6.png"
From: larry moe 'n curly on 16 Apr 2010 07:10


Wexford wrote:
>
> The Chinese have enormous debt problems and an economy that is driven
> by construction -- a lot of government projects. The 11% statistic is
> probably a gamed number, unreliable and useless. Real growth, if any,
> if probably a lot lower.

A pretty good indicator of economic growth is the growth of
electricity consumption, and the latter seems to confirm 11% overall
annual growth. I'm not saying China won't crash and burn badly from a
bubble, but I don't think anything will knock the wind out of it so
badly to make it stall permanently, as happened with Japan. Instead I
expect China to recover quickly from any bubbles and keep growing at a
fast pace until it runs out of slack and can no longer expand industry
westward into the poorer parts of the country.
From: Ron Peterson on 16 Apr 2010 12:08
On Apr 16, 8:27 am, Beam Me Up Scotty <Then-Destroy-
Everyth...(a)blackhole.NebulaX.com> wrote:
> On 4/16/2010 6:26 AM, SMS wrote:

> > Communism died in China a long time ago. It's even more capitalistic
> > that the U.S., it's just a dictatorship rather than a representative

> The model is that Socialism steals your freedoms and then a totalitarian
> leader or group takes a few more of your freedoms and there you are,
> with some dictator running every aspect of your life.

Is there a web site that explains that in greater detail?

> Happens just about every time, socialism is the "gateway drug" of the
> totalitarian political movements. The reason to keep our constitutional
> recognized "individual rights" is that it keeps you just that much
> farther from a totalitarian government micromanaging your life.

Is the socialist road, highway, and freeway system part of that
"gateway drug"? I would think that gives us freedom to travel anywhere
without having to pay a toll.

> You see, once they steal enough rights to force you into Socialism they
> have beaten you and your freedom is tenuous and subject to a carismatic
> leader grabbing just a little more power which is a few of your rights
> and then have total control over you.

What rights do you think will go first?

--
Ron
From: Wexford on 17 Apr 2010 09:51
On Apr 16, 7:10 am, "larry moe 'n curly" <larrymoencu...(a)my-deja.com>
wrote:
> Wexfordwrote:
>
> > The Chinese have enormous debt problems and an economy that is driven
> > by construction -- a lot of government projects. The 11% statistic is
> > probably a gamed number, unreliable and useless. Real growth, if any,
> > if probably a lot lower.
>
> A pretty good indicator of economic growth is the growth of
> electricity consumption, and the latter seems to confirm 11% overall
> annual growth.  I'm not saying China won't crash and burn badly from a
> bubble, but I don't think anything will knock the wind out of it so
> badly to make it stall permanently, as happened with Japan.  Instead I
> expect China to recover quickly from any bubbles and keep growing at a
> fast pace until it runs out of slack and can no longer expand industry
> westward into the poorer parts of the country.

They had a pretty low base and still do, so percentage increases in
GDP don't impress me. That electricity consumption statistic is
probably real, but if 40% of their economy is based on construction
propelled by government infrastructure projects and a real-estate
bubble, they could still be heading for their own form of stagflation.
I remember back in the 90s when Japan was admired and emulated by
everyone, and books like "Japan is Number 1" were selling, there were
a few nay-sayers who were predicting the end of the brilliant growth
curve. The same types are muttering predictions about China right now.
One of them is James Chanos. The fact that Chinese economic growth is
dependent on a pool of subsistence-level itinerant workers larger than
the entire population of the United States doesn't thrill me either.
Ironically, they may find that they really do carry within them the
seeds of their own destruction, a dire Marxist prediction of the end
of a once-Marxist state.
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