Here’s an interactive map of Food Stamp usage in America.
The recession in the USA in a long way from over.
But my entirely anecdotal and unscientific research tells me that the rest of the world is recovering pretty well. PassageMaker is definitely seeing an influx of new projects from clients outside the USA. We had new project inquiries from India, Brazil, UK and Singapore today alone.
“Better put on a pot of coffee, Marge, this could take awhile.” (at 20:10)
Yesterday’s post discussed the possibility of the PRC as the world’s first mature fascist state. I received a number of comments, including this from Adam Supernant in our Shenzhen office:
I wouldn’t call China fascist (fascists were xenophobes; there’s not much of a racial superiority kick in China) but it’s also not Communist…I think the political title they gave to KMT China – “paternal autocracy” – is my favorite term.
There’s some food for thought: how similar China today is to the KMT-ruled state of the 1930s and 40s. That’s the first thing I thought when I heard about the gang busts in Chongqing last month. A tenuous connection, but I’m a big fan of KMT history so I’ll see connections anywhere.
There is a strong current of (Han) Chinese “exceptionalism” in Chinese culture, which makes a sound parallel to the nationalist xenophobia characteristic in fascist systems. It is interesting though that I’ve felt this in Taiwan more so than the PRC, which makes Adam’s KMT thought even more intriguing.
In either case, “communist” is no longer an accurate label.
I have often said that commentators in the USA are woefully uninformed when they talk about “Communist China”. This article in Slate by Daniel Gross is as good an example as any of the shock of first time visitors to China. The little red books are sold as souvenirs now, but no one reads them. China is assuredly a one-party state, but it is not communist.
I am of the mind that China is the first modern fascist state. Fascism has a rightly deserved bad name, but I believe the label fits. It is a one-party, statist model, using large government-owned entities to promote ‘critical’ industries like steel, aluminum, cement, etc., but allows a substantial amount of economic and personal freedom. It grew out of a Leftist movement (as did Italian and German fascism), but after the initial gruesome ideological violence, has mellowed to promoting the economic and military aspirations of the nation on a largely rational basis. As with the early “trains-run-on-time” iterations of European fascism, it has many supporters, who see it as the practical form of government.
Whether my political science is correct, it is clear that the Chinese Communist Party is only a label. The CCP now recruits the best students (not the most politically correct ones) from the elite schools in the hopes of building a solid governing class who can ensure the future prosperity of the country, a la Singapore. While I would prefer the democrat model as practiced in Taiwan, Singapore is a rather nice place and it’s hard to argue with their success. The trick is adapting a model that works well for 3 million folks to a country of 1.3 billion. Heck, the trick is adapting any model of government to a country of 1.3 billion people.
Over the last 20 years, I’d say they’re doing pretty well so far.
Fascinating article in the Telegraph about China’s gold buying binge.
I am reminded of this from the Onion.
Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend – back to regular posts on Monday.
Subscribers to this blog probably got an update last night that should have included a link to Mike Bellamy’s interview during the recent Global Sources trade show in Hong Kong. Sorry for the omission, but please take the time to watch.
And send in your vote on whether Mike should shave his beard! What’s up with that?!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Three headlines today
I’m sure that will go over well. It’s all about the timing.
The recession is nowhere close to over, yet PassageMaker continues to get new clients, and our efforts to expand outside of North America are paying off as clients in new markets like Australia, Brazil, Israel, Spain, etc., sign up with PassageMaker, China Quality Focus, QTP Bag & Case (our bag manufacturing company) and SafePassage (selling into China).
I am thrilled to see entrepreneurs with such faith in the market and their own products. Thank God for small favors.
Wow. This is a powerful visual representation of the USA unemployment from January 2007 to September 2009. What’s even scarier is the official rate is severely understated.
The USA is not out the woods by any stretch, and our leaders seem to have no clue how an economy functions. Thank goodness we’ve been expanding our sales footprint outside of the USA, but the recession is far from over.
A friend sent me this interesting article by Eamon Javers in Politico.
Anyone who’s traveled in China knows there is substantial over-development. Gleaming new skyscrapers sit empty and the amount of factory over-capacity is staggering. Is the PRC a house of cards? In a sense, yes. The development over the last 30 years has been hugely successful, but the annual income for the vast majoirty of the people is still not high enough to turn them into consumers in the model of the West. The consumerism in the coastal mega-cities does not extend very far inland. It is true they still depend on exports to drive their economy.
The article focuses on the demand side of the equation. PassageMaker’s focus is on the supply side and the reality is that the manufacturing capability of China is here to stay. That over-capacity will serve to keep prices low and I don’t see how the “world prices” will be set anywhere else. I do not see India stepping up to take China’s place. With the dissolution of so much of the American manufacturing sector, to say nothing of regulations and taxes that make it unattractive to run a factory in the USA, where are you going to make products? I doubt the current administration in Washington will have a change of heart and encourage the opening of new coal mines, power plants, steel mills, etc.
Is China weaker than it appears? I would say yes, but that does not mean it is going to implode. We are all in for a rough ride the next few years, all of our own making, but China has cash and industrial capacity and I personally believe they can weather the storm. PassageMaker is hedging its bets by proceeding with plans to open another Assembly Center in Mexico, but there are no plans to exit China.
Even if the financial crisis leads to social unrest, the people of China have seen over the last 30 years what they can accomplish. While there are hundreds of millions of peasants in China, there are also now millions of managers, engineers, businessmen, entrepreneurs, etc., and they are not going to vanish. PassageMaker is planning for long-term growth and so far I think we’ve chosen wisely.
I was a fan Living Colour 20 years ago, and this article today made me think of their first hit.
I’ve never understood the personality cult of Mao in China, not least because Deng Xiao Ping deserves the credit for what China has become since Mao’s death. It always seemed to me they idolize the wrong person. I mean 70 million people is more than a rounding error.
So I get it that the Chinese excel at hagiography, but this is just bizarre. I honestly don’t know what else to say.
I hope Obama’s visit goes well and we can avoid a trade war with China. Given the amount of American debt they hold, our ties with China are more important than ever. The world economy is fragile enough.
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