The End of the American Century?

[U.P. AdMU2008]

Why? Can any country outsmart the US in any category?

 

 

Can China afford to pay LeBron and Kobe and Dirk and Porter and let them play in China?

[paeng]

Arab Spring, Libya, Syria, Iran, agitating the Palestinians.

 

Now driven by high food and oil prices coupled with unemployment and spreading worldwide.

[aboni]

maybe...

[flatwall]

21st Century is the asian century. Did you know that China topped the PISA exam 2010. Among the top ten five of them were

asians. Since 2005, Kishore Mahbubani wrote an article about the rising economic success of asian countries and continuos decline

of the west. American influence will diminish in the coming years. Despite of its problems America will remain competetive because of its

extra ordinary landscape..

[richard.william]

Why? Can any country outsmart the US in any category?

 

 

Can China afford to pay LeBron and Kobe and Dirk and Porter and let them play in China?

 

What? Where do you come up with this s@%t?

[aboni]

China is the next to rise...cycle of powers

[paeng]

Exports have been dropping for China, and there are signs that it also faces various debt problems and asset bubbles.

 

The main cause is a combination of increasing debt coupled with conventional oil production flat-lining since 2005.

[big4mat]

Considering the huge debt incurred due past bailouts and Quantitative Easing the federeal reserve have made I think the US is in serious trouble for the years ahead. Just like the Roman Empire, these kind of situation will seriously break them if there's no visionary leader that will step up. Niether Obama nor Romney has that leadership quality that is why I believe the world is looming with a far worst crisis in a few years ahead.

[dungeonbaby]

that QE3 was something.

 

keeping our fingers crossed this presidential election.

[Ryuji_tanaka]

Obama won again. Conservatives are saying its the beginning of the end of America.

[hellyeah1]

PH goverment should play our cards well in dealing with US and China. We should also explore more partnership with Russia, India and Brazil

 

 

[bill_262003]

Exports have been dropping for China, and there are signs that it also faces various debt problems and asset bubbles.

 

The main cause is a combination of increasing debt coupled with conventional oil production flat-lining since 2005.

 

True, the export of china has been dropping. That is because the U.S. and Europe has the biggest consumer base. So most of China's exports goes to these countries (and it is what made them grow). Now that the consumer spending of these countries (US and Europe included) has decreased, china's export and economic growth will slow down.

 

The problem with China is that even if they are so rich as a country, the wealth is really not with the majority of the people. Majority of the people, especially the one's in the rural areas, are not capable to spend. Thus, they are not capable to buy enough of their own product to be self-sustainable.

 

Just look at Japan (the former Number 2 economy in the world), now they are outpaced by China (2nd) and India (3rd). Why did their economy drop when the Western countries felt the sting. It's because their countries own spending cannot drive their own economy. Once exports of their Cars and electronic products took a hit (due to slow down of spending in the U.S.), the economy took a hit.

 

What china did in 2010 sort of masked the slowdown of the economic growth. They did massive infrastructure spendings, including $4.2 billion spent on Shanghai for the 2010 World Expo, and the continued spending on infrastructures to major cities. Now that the infrastructure spending started to slow down (you can't keep on upgrading bridges or roads every year!), their economy is now feeling the slowdown of the Western economy.

 

What should China actually do? It should empower it's people such that their people can now spend. They have 1.3 Billion people, if all of those population has the spending power equal to that of the Western World then they would not have to rely on exports for their economy. The crucial part is, if you "spread the wealth" to the rural side of China, then naturally the labor cost of these rural population will increase. Increase in rural labor cost would make China not competitive in the manufacturing world. They would eventually loose out to Vietnam and other countries offering much cheaper labor cost. If they can withstand the transition from being an export country to a self sustained economy (thru domestic consumer spending), then they could come out on top of the U.S. when it comes to economy and being the world power.

 

However, I don't see this happening. Not within the near future or not within our generation or even our children's generation. So I think the end of the American Century won't happen as soon as everyone thinks.

 

Here's another thought. America as a country is more of an idealogy that "anything is possible/land of the free,etc.". A thinking (which I don't actually buy, but most do). That is why it is hard to displace them. An example, most of the rich Chinese Businessmen are actually buying into U.S. properties and U.S. Companies. Eventually, they will send their children to school there for the "best" education. Eventually these Chinese Families will become Americans (both in citizenship and in idealogy). Thus the endless cycle of the American country getting the best people.

[dungeonbaby]

yeah that twinkies newsflash upset me, because i don't know about eating China-made ho hos.

 

 

seriously though, why is the benghazi hoo hah now about "unfairly" attacking susan rice?

 

as for vubuli, i don't know if anyone's told him that we did kick out the americans, and look how we run to mommy when china flexes its muscles. i hope that "let them in" mentality is not one shared by the majority of Filipinos. because if it is, we deserve to be colonized.

[dungeonbaby]

can't tell if you're sniffing glue or just blindly repeating an extremist mantra you picked up somewhere.

 

those are war materials. I did n0t say engage and get to war with china. Or given if i did say that cant i change my mind. Diplomacy works better. Look at the americans they are being kicked by the jihadist. Look at america advising us on the milf issue. We lost mindanao. Look at china in their mustim and tibetan area. They eliminated their own rebels. We could do better. If chinese forces are with us in mindanao. Instead of the americans

 

yes, look at China and the historic kindness with which she treats her dissidents. first you preach diplomacy with China (which, by the way, is exactly what we're doing at the moment), but then 5 short sentences later you admire how China "eliminates" rebels.

 

you would have China eliminate rebels in Mindanao and expect them to stop there? you expect Malaysia will sit by and let the inroads they've built there be threatened by China? and throughout this epic move, you think the Philippines will remain sovereign? all of Asia will be eyeing us like a fat and tasty morsel.

 

we create an ASIAN MILITARY AND ECONOMIC BLOCK. NO AMERICANS AND EUROPEANS. ASIANS ONLY. Its a real Wow. ASIA WOULD BE AS RICH AS CHINA.

 

"It's a real wow" is correct. why don't you explain in detail how such a scenario would 1) be created, and 2) how you see that being sustained. and then discuss, how well-positioned the Philippines would be in this new Asian shangri- la.

 

at least in the asian setting you only dream of what you can afford. Being imaginative with out a reality check. Is destructive. The asian time have arrived. 1 day americans and westerners. Will become our own ofw. N0w they are being kick out in their houses own by asians. Tommorrow they will serve new asian masters. Including us filipinos.

 

if people only dreamt of what they could afford, no one would innovate, create, or dream big. try again.

 

*

 

 

and for purposes of being on topic, bash American consumerism here if that's what floats your boat but reserve your "i love China" posts for the South China sea thread.

[bill_262003]

@VUBULI

 

Why are we even discussing having China in our backyards. IF we invite China in, our problems in Mindanao will be solved, because our country will be turned into a communist country. Who do you think China will side? The people who have the same ideology as them (and whom they have been suspected of supplying arms) or the government who has a capitalist idealogy.

 

If china is in our country, do you think we will get to control the oil? and the natural resources that is gathered from our country? Or the Chinese government will get the benefits of these?

 

Have you ever been to China? Their government is rich, and so are the people in power (government officials). Majority of the businesses are still state-owned, or partly state owned. Those that are fully privatized are owned either by the people in power and/or the people close to the ones in power. I would personally know, my uncle opened a factory in China and was forced to get a Chinese "partner". Eventually they were gobbled up by this "partner" who was in fact related to a government official. That same uncle of mine, also opened shop in Indonesia and also in the U.S. (the one in the U.S. was established decades ago). And it flourished. What is my point, my point China is so corrupt. That is one of the reasons why they are not truly a rich country. True they have the second largest economy in the word, second to the U.S. but if you divide their economy (GDP) by their population, they are not rich.

 

Now if you look at the actual money that is in the hands of the people, then they get worse. Go to the rural areas and you will see. I've been to China both in the major cities and in rural areas. You can see the difference.

 

Let China in, they will gobble us. Control our corporation, true our country (or should I say the people in power) will get rich, but the people won't.

 

Your business (I assume you own a business), will be converted to semi-private company. The government or a government official will eventually gobble up your business. You will not be happy, but at least you will have a house, can send your children to school and shop at SM for your effort of running your business (as per your post earlier.).

Edited November 22, 2012 by bill_262003