On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 00:32:02 -0800, "presley"
wrote:

If you had ever read an economics textbook, James, you'd realize that "a
rising tide lifts all boats" is a myth. Bush claimed that returning taxes to
the wealthy in this country would have that effect here - instead,
statistics show that the middle class and lower classes in the US have seen
a substantial decline in wages relative to inflation in the past 5 years,
while the wealth of the upper class here has skyrocketed in that period,
Interestingly, you cite no evidence for your claim that all citizens of
China has benefitted from its economic growth - because such evidence
doesn't exist. China has a rapidly expanding upper class, whose standard of
living is beginning to match its counterparts in the West - but it has a
tiny middle class. In the long term, only countries in which the middle
class is the largest class can be said to have healthy economies. The
majority of people in China remain desperately poor. Many factories are run
as sweat shops with wages held down because government officials forbid
unionization attempts. How many thousands of Chinese die every year in coal
mining accidents? True unemployment is estimated by many China experts at
15% or higher (in other words, equal to the entire workforce of the United
States). Rural people leave their farm villages to try to find work in the
big cities, but usually fail and live in shantytowns on the outskirts,
surviving by begging and picking through garbage.
The only way this situation would ever change (and I'm not optimistic) would
be if the developed world insisted on fair labor standards and wages before
it would do business with China. But most of us prefer to hide our heads in
the sand, because we're able to buy some sort of advertised junk for $10
cheaper if we don't rock the boat too much.

You got that right, man. Village China has changed hardly at all.
A year or so ago, I was on a trip through China, and in front of our
fairly nice Western-style hotel, I saw homeless men sleeping behind
the hotel sign. This would never have been seen -- or permitted --
under the Old Regime.

And I saw much, much other evidence of the enormous divide between the
glitzy entrepreneurial class of, say, Shanghai, and the poor people
you mention above.

I had a very interesting talk with our guide, who was a well-educated
woman open to answering my many questions. I asked her if the
new rich class in China "gave back" to the community in the way
that is traditional here in America for those who have "made it".
She said the very concept does not yet exist in China.

IMHO, it will take several generations for the Chinese to liberate
themselves from the dead hand of totalitarianism. Just allowing
a "greed is good" ethos now permitted by the (chuckle!) Communist
Party hierarchy to prevail does not cut it.

Let's hope that by then they haven't totally destroyed their
environment. You'd think they would observe what the West is
doing to the Earth and mend their ways accordingly. But
corruption is so endemic, it's me, me, me, and screw the Earth.

Persephone




"James" wrote in message You are mistaken. All of
China is benefiting significantly from their
growing economy, including factory workers. You have to look at the big
picture rather than some poor schmuck who got a bad deal of the cards. I
suggest an economics book.




--

Those who cannot remember the past
are condemned to relive it.

Santayana