Global Economic Intersection
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Investments
    • Invest in Amazon $250
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Best Bitcoin Accounts
    • Bitcoin Robot
      • Quantum AI
      • Bitcoin Era
      • Bitcoin Aussie System
      • Bitcoin Profit
      • Bitcoin Code
      • eKrona Cryptocurrency
      • Bitcoin Up
      • Bitcoin Prime
      • Yuan Pay Group
      • Immediate Profit
      • BitQH
      • Bitcoin Loophole
      • Crypto Boom
      • Bitcoin Treasure
      • Bitcoin Lucro
      • Bitcoin System
      • Oil Profit
      • The News Spy
      • Bitcoin Buyer
      • Bitcoin Inform
      • Immediate Edge
      • Bitcoin Evolution
      • Cryptohopper
      • Ethereum Trader
      • BitQL
      • Quantum Code
      • Bitcoin Revolution
      • British Trade Platform
      • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Reddit
    • Celebrities
      • Dr. Chris Brown Bitcoin
      • Teeka Tiwari Bitcoin
      • Russell Brand Bitcoin
      • Holly Willoughby Bitcoin
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Investments
    • Invest in Amazon $250
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Best Bitcoin Accounts
    • Bitcoin Robot
      • Quantum AI
      • Bitcoin Era
      • Bitcoin Aussie System
      • Bitcoin Profit
      • Bitcoin Code
      • eKrona Cryptocurrency
      • Bitcoin Up
      • Bitcoin Prime
      • Yuan Pay Group
      • Immediate Profit
      • BitQH
      • Bitcoin Loophole
      • Crypto Boom
      • Bitcoin Treasure
      • Bitcoin Lucro
      • Bitcoin System
      • Oil Profit
      • The News Spy
      • Bitcoin Buyer
      • Bitcoin Inform
      • Immediate Edge
      • Bitcoin Evolution
      • Cryptohopper
      • Ethereum Trader
      • BitQL
      • Quantum Code
      • Bitcoin Revolution
      • British Trade Platform
      • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Reddit
    • Celebrities
      • Dr. Chris Brown Bitcoin
      • Teeka Tiwari Bitcoin
      • Russell Brand Bitcoin
      • Holly Willoughby Bitcoin
No Result
View All Result
Global Economic Intersection
No Result
View All Result

Diagnosis for America: Cancer!

admin by admin
May 23, 2011
in Uncategorized
0
0
SHARES
14
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

constitution2 Guest author: Frank Li, Founder & President, West-East International.  Bio at end of Article.

Our country is in deep trouble, with high unemployment and the huge national debts & deficits often cited as the top two problems. But what’s the root cause of these problems? In an earlier article, I identified it as the rise of China and the incompetence of our system. By “our system,” I meant the political system, not any other systems such as the economic system (which is fine, but imperfect). Unfortunately, our politicians have been trying to fix everything but the political system, which makes a bad situation much worse. In other words, we have a cancer, but we have been treating it like anything but a cancer! Why and how? Let me explain.

1. A little bit of history first

Here is a required reading for all Americans who have any sense of history and patriotism:  “The Feuding Fathers.”  As you can see, our founding fathers were no God – They were like us, a bit smarter maybe, but not smart enough to have possibly foreseen everything 200 years ahead. In other words, our constitution, which remains largely unchanged for 200 years, is seriously out of date.

With encouragement from some readers, I spent quite some time recently on the U.S. history. Here are my three major findings:

(1) Thomas Jefferson said the constitution should be re-written by each generation (i.e. ~20 years). Apparently, he forgot to put that into the constitution, or he was not smart enough to know that until the constitution was a few years in execution.

(2) Our Congressmen were not paid until after WWI, when they voted themselves stipends to cover the cost of living in Washington. Still no pay for any assistants – Bringing in as many as they wanted, as they were on their own.

(3) After WWII, our Congressmen (and women) voted themselves full pay, plus great benefits such as pensions and salaries for many assistants, thus paving the way for “career politicians.” All hell broke loose after that, and most of them have been there for nothing but one purpose only: getting themselves re-elected. It is a cancer, killing us from within, slowly but surely …

2. How has the cancer been killing us from within?

For most politicians, the re-election campaign starts as soon as they are elected and it’s a permanent job! How do the career politicians keep getting themselves re-elected? By all means and here are two:

(1) Robbing business with such schemes as various regulations and union entitlements! Still wondering about the high unemployment rate? Wonder not! Our cost structure is too high!

(2) Robbing the public treasury with such schemes as affordable housing and various handouts! Still wondering about the huge debts & deficits? Wonder not! The money has been used to buy votes!

Neither was a huge problem though, thanks to our superior economic system, until the 1990s when China showed up as a competitor (not enemy).

3. China: then and now?

I was born in China in 1959 and grew up in the horrible days of the Cultural Revolution.  So I know what socialism is (been there, done that):  it destroys any incentive of work in people, resulting in a country being dirt poor!  For example, in China before 1980,

(1) Economy: It was totally ruined because the workers and peasants took over the economy from the capitalists and landlords in 1949, without knowing what to do with it!

(2) Housing: Yes, it was basically free, but most urban families ended up living in dorms.

(3) Health-care: Yes, it was basically free, but it was low-tech and long lines.

Then what happened? China changed, fundamentally! It abandoned socialism and is now more capitalistic than us. Overall, the Chinese system (capitalism + autocracy), with many problems of its own, has proved to be better than ours (capitalism + democracy), especially in terms of running a country like a business. Today’s Chinese government is more pro-business than ours, even per Steve Wynn.

4. Our responses to the competition from China?

Nothing valid! Worst of all, some of our politicians have simply resorted to China bashing (e.g. currency), as they did to Japan in the 1980s. Here is the big problem though: It will not work this time!  Domestically, they keep leading us toward more socialism. For example,

(1) We recently passed a health-care bill when we could least afford it.

(2) We have just passed a financial reform bill that is the most anti-business ever. The politicians blamed our financial institutions for the burst of the housing bubble, while the root cause was really in the government policy of affordable housing, especially the creation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which the new bill does not address at all! Wrong diagnosis, wrong medicine, again!

Thomas Sowell said it the best, we are “moving in the direction of the kind of economy that China has been forced to move away from”, including affordable housing, universal health-care, and wealth sharing (or re-distribution).

5. Is our political system really so bad?

Yes, it’s ugly. Because it’s all about re-election, the ugliness of our presidential re-election seemed to have seeped into the two on-going wars in Iraq and in Afghanistan. That was why I asked two serious questions:

(1) Is our president, throughout his 1st-term, for nothing but getting himself re-elected, with everything else being secondary?

(2) If the answer is yes (which I believe is), we cannot ever expect the president to always do the right things for the country (vs. for himself) throughout his 1st-term, can we?

Fortunately, the U.S. presidency is limited in two terms. For Congress, it’s infinitely worse, because of the lack of term limits! In other words, we cannot ever expect our Congressmen (or women) to always do the right things for the country (vs. for themselves), so long as they are running for re-election.

6. What will happen if nothing big changes?

We will become a 2nd-class citizen in this world! The funny thing with competition is this: To win (i.e. to be #1), it does not matter what you think or do – You must actually be better than your competitor(s)! So if nothing big changes, here are two projections:

(1) By 2013, China will surpass us as the largest manufacturer on earth.

(2) By 2030 (if it takes that long), China will overtake us as the largest economy on earth.

Frightened? Then change!!!

7. Is democracy doomed?

If you still have any doubt about my diagnosis, read this classic piece. Here is an excerpt:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years.”

“Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.”

Frightened? Then change!!!

8. The solution?

We have a cancer and we must treat it as such, starting with one term for the same political office! If more time is needed to learn on the job, prolong the term (e.g. 6 years for House). For the complete solution, read this.

The cancer is still treatable, but it will not be easy and time is running against us!

 

Related Articles

U.S. Empire – State of the Nation Report by Elliott Morss

U.S. Problems are Institutional by John Lounsbury

A View of a New America – You Won’t Like It by Admin

The U.S. Empire:  Problem Solutions by Elliott Morss


About the Author

Frank Li Frank Li is the Founder & President of W.E.I. (West-East International), a Chicago-based import & export company. Frank received his B.E. from Zhejiang University (China) in 1982, M.E. from the University of Tokyo in 1985, and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1988, all in Electrical Engineering. He worked for several companies until 2004, when he founded his own company W.E.I. Today, W.E.I. is a leader in the weighing industry not only in products & services, but also in thought and action. Dr. Li writes extensively and uniquely on politics, for which he has been called “a modern-day Thomas Jefferson” (see page 31).


Previous Post

Charts of the Week: Commodity Correction Likely Still in Progress

Next Post

Oil Continues to Trend Lower

Related Posts

Riot Blockchain’s BTC Mining Productivity Lost 28% YOY Amid Record Texas Heat
Business

Riot Blockchain’s BTC Mining Productivity Lost 28% YOY Amid Record Texas Heat

by John Wanguba
August 8, 2022
Musk Challenged Twitter CEO To Public Debate On Bots
Business

Musk Challenged Twitter CEO To Public Debate On Bots

by John Wanguba
August 8, 2022
BlackRock Partners With Coinbase
Business

BlackRock Partners With Coinbase

by John Wanguba
August 7, 2022
Bank Of Thailand To Unleash Retail CBDC Pilot
Economics

Bank Of Thailand To Unleash Retail CBDC Pilot

by John Wanguba
August 6, 2022
Obscure Fintech (AMTD Digital) Reaches $310B Valuation In GameStop-Style Explosive Surge
Business

Obscure Fintech (AMTD Digital) Reaches $310B Valuation In GameStop-Style Explosive Surge

by John Wanguba
August 5, 2022
Next Post

Oil Continues to Trend Lower

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Browse by Category

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tags

adoption altcoins banking banks Binance Bitcoin Bitcoin adoption Bitcoin market Bitcoin mining blockchain BTC business China Coinbase crypto crypto adoption cryptocurrency crypto exchange crypto market crypto regulation decentralized finance DeFi Elon Musk ETH Ethereum finance funding inflation investment market analysis markets Metaverse mining NFT NFTs nonfungible tokens nonfungible tokens (NFTs) price analysis regulation Russia social media technology Tesla the US Twitter

Archives

  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • August 2010
  • August 2009

Categories

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized
Global Economic Intersection

After nearly 11 years of 24/7/365 operation, Global Economic Intersection co-founders Steven Hansen and John Lounsbury are retiring. The new owner, a global media company in London, is in the process of completing the set-up of Global Economic Intersection files in their system and publishing platform. The official website ownership transfer took place on 24 August.

Categories

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • Riot Blockchain’s BTC Mining Productivity Lost 28% YOY Amid Record Texas Heat
  • Musk Challenged Twitter CEO To Public Debate On Bots
  • BlackRock Partners With Coinbase

© Copyright 2021 EconIntersect - Economic news, analysis and opinion.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Bitcoin Robot
    • Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Code
    • Quantum AI
    • eKrona Cryptocurrency
    • Bitcoin Up
    • Bitcoin Prime
    • Yuan Pay Group
    • Immediate Profit
    • BitIQ
    • Bitcoin Loophole
    • Crypto Boom
    • Bitcoin Era
    • Bitcoin Treasure
    • Bitcoin Lucro
    • Bitcoin System
    • Oil Profit
    • The News Spy
    • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Trader
  • Bitcoin Reddit

© Copyright 2021 EconIntersect - Economic news, analysis and opinion.

en English
ar Arabicbg Bulgarianda Danishnl Dutchen Englishfi Finnishfr Frenchde Germanel Greekit Italianja Japaneselv Latvianno Norwegianpl Polishpt Portuguesero Romanianes Spanishsv Swedish