Saving America, Chinese Style

by Frank Li

My first ebook, “Saving America, Chinese Style”, is out at Amazon.com! To learn more about it and to order, click here: Saving America, Chinese Style.

Although the platform of reading is Kindle, you can do it on your old-fashioned PC by choosing “Kinlde Cloud Reader” as the “delivery to” option or by downloading a free Kindle Reader.

In this article, I will show you the first several pages of the book …

1. Some kind words from a fan

“I am 84 years old and I have been in the scale business since 1949. My tie with China goes way back to 1945, when I, serving in the U.S. Navy, stationed in China for a few months. It’s amazing for me to see the changes in China in recent years. It’s even more amazing for me to know Frank Li, a Chinese-American, who writes so well about American politics that I print out all his writings, save them in a folder, and read them over and over. What a modern-day Thomas Jefferson!”

— Lee Offield, Pacific Scales (Clackamas, Oregon), December 2010

2. Book Review

Frank Li presents a different and interesting view of American politics. Having grown up in China exposed to communist politics, his writings are uniquely different from the political pundits spawned here in the USA. It is my opinion that Frank Li’s writings are well worth reading – and taken to heart!

— Walter Young, a 90-year-old senior citizen, having experienced the battlefields of WWII, a corporate CEO, a religious leader, and currently active as Chairman/CEO and Owner of Emery Winslow Scale (Seymour, CT)

Frank Li is the kind of immigrant this country needs more of. He is educated and he is an entrepreneur. He is making with his writing contributions to a sane society and that is sorely needed. No handouts for him; he EARNED it!

— Fred Herrmann, Owner, Indiana Scale (Terra Haute, IN)

I am an avid reader of Frank Li’s writings, posts, and publications. I agree with Frank’s position on almost every issue and even if I don’t, I can see his viewpoint. I have all the emails that Frank has sent me, so I can refer back to them to forward them to someone at the appropriate time. This book will just make everything easier. What a great book!

— Jim Bradbury, President, Kanawha Scales & Systems (Charleston, WV)

I have read all of Frank Li’s writings and find him to be right on target. His suggestion of limiting the American Presidency to one six-year term may be the right place to start. Obama could have been doing a better job the last four years if not for his primary concern of getting re-elected. Frank Li has a unique perspective of the need for government reforms, which makes this book for great reading.

— Jack L. Clark, President and CEO, Technical Weighing Services (Griffith, IN)

Frank Li is a deep thinker and a true American patriot. He is always engaged and always finding ways to apply his life lessons to the America he loves. Agree or not, his idea will inspire you to deep thought about the critical issues facing our culture, nation and especially our evolving worldview.

— Rob Woodward, VP and GM, Pennsylvania Scale (Lancaster, PA)

I was Frank’s Ph.D. supervisor at Vanderbilt University many years ago. It has been exciting to see him move through life, now providing commentary on political aspects of the world scene. I hope you will take a look at the book – a lot of good stuff!

— John Bourne, Ph.D. (Nashville, TN)

3. Acknowledgements

A book like this requires a lot of work, not only by the author, but also by many people around me. I am deeply indebted to several individuals for this book.

First and foremost, I would like to thank Jon Stimpson, Owner and President of National Scale Technology (Huntsville, Alabama). Jon was merely a customer initially. But he and I clicked shortly after I started writing on politics in 2008. He is now my best pen pal on earth! Jon proofread all my publications over the past two years, including this book, and often significantly enhanced them with his insight. Jon also wrote the prologue for this book! Jon, I really feel lucky to have you both as a customer and as a friend! You are a great scale man and you are truly a patriotic American! Yes, you built that – your own business!

Secondly, I would like to thank Lee Offield, a scale man at Pacific Scales (Clackamas, Oregon). What he wrote in the December 2010 issue of the Weighing and Measurement magazine was so flattering that I included it, together with his young photo of two years ago, in the copyright page at the beginning of the book!

Now, if you are impressed with Lee’s passion, pay attention to Walter Young’s passion. Here is how Walter signs off his comment in the Book Review: “a 90-year-old senior citizen, having experienced the battlefields of WWII, a corporate CEO, a religious leader, and currently active as Chairman/CEO and Owner of Emery Winslow Scale”. How much more passion do you expect from these senior citizens?

Special thanks go to the following individuals who provided comments for the Book Review:

1. Walter Young, Chairman and CEO, Emery Winslow Scale.

2. Fred Herrmann, Owner, Indiana Scale.

3. Jim Bradbury, President, Kanawha Scales & Systems.

4. Jack L. Clark, President and CEO, Technical Weighing Services.

5. Rob Woodward, VP and GM, Pennsylvania Scale.

6. Dr. John Bourne, my Ph.D. supervisor at Vanderbilt University.

I would also like to thank all the scale men and women on my email list. You have not only helped me succeed in the scale industry with your purchase orders, but also helped me sharpen my vision and pen for my writings with your passionate comments from time to time.

I would like to thank John Lounsbury, the editor at GEI (Global Economic Intersection), and Steve Hansen, the publisher at GEI, for giving me a platform of publication in May 2011 and for making me a better writer over time.

I would like to thank my wife Rebecca for keeping me sane all the time. Thanks to my two sons, Dan and Ben, for helping me understand what life is all about, ultimately. This book is more for them, the next generation and beyond, than for my own generation.

Finally, a big ‘thank you’ to my late father Li Dexin (Chapter 75) for giving me the good genes and upbringing that define my interest in politics and in writing, although I am an electrical engineer by training (Chapter 74).

4. Prologue by Jon Stimpson

Troubled times require clear vision and tough choices. This book provides the clear vision and even the tough choices.

The U.S. has a big problem: years of spending more than we could afford have left us monumental debt, increasing daily. Worse yet, many welfare (also known as “means tested”) programs instituted by our political leaders to obtain votes have given the populace a dependency on no effort, no cost (to them) lifestyles and they are clamoring for more. The so called “poor” in the U.S. live better than most kings throughout history and better than the middle class in most other countries today, with cars, air conditioning, cell phones, and even cable for their big screen TV’s.

The demand for more government largesse is limitless and the years from 2008 to 2012 have added 35 million new beneficiaries to the ranks of welfare recipients, even as the number of workers who provide the money for the benefits declines.

No country can survive the onslaught of an additional 11% of its population receiving government benefits every four years, paid with borrowed money; yet the rate is increasing with presidential and congressional candidates clearly competing with promises of ever more gifts to the voters!

Where to begin to fix the problem and protect our future? “Saving America, Chinese Style” provides concise answers and even recommends solutions to save our fundamentally flawed system. The U.S. electorate has become like Pavlov’s dog, salivating at the election bell and the continued promise of more treats from the treasury.

It is ironic that a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Communist China has the clarity of vision and common sense to address the issues and offer ideas for remedial change. Perhaps there is truth in the belief that people too close to a problem can’t envision its cause or cure.

Many of the recipients of government welfare programs will not appreciate this book, nor will the candidates and politicians who pander to them for their votes. That is not to say that those of us who are able should not provide for those who can’t provide for themselves. This book is addressed to those who won’t provide for themselves. With over half of the U.S. population receiving welfare benefits, many are in the “won’t” category.

It is apparent from the magnitude of our debt, the threat is existential. “When the tick gets bigger than the dog, they both die.”

Jon Stimpson
Owner and President, National Scale Technology
(Huntsville, Alabama)

5. Introduction

America is deeply in trouble, with high unemployment and huge national debt often cited as the top two problems. But what is the root cause for these problems?

To me, here are the two root causes:

1. The rise of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), led by China, as economic competitors to America.

2. The incompetence of America’s political system, especially when compared with China’s.

Cause 1) was inevitable, but cause 2) was not. How, then, can we make America’s political system more competitive? Introducing strict term-limits for the top political offices, with the American Presidency being one-term (e.g. six years), plus more!

Overall, I believe I have the most accurate diagnosis for America, as well as the best solution. To sell them, I have been writing and publishing my ideas for more than four years. Very significantly, I have met with several top politicians for discussion. The photo below shows one example.

Photo: former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, author & wife, and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

Most importantly, I have been a weekly columnist at GEI (Global Economic Intersection) since May 2011, elaborating my ideas from various angles to a wide variety of readers.

It’s time to further expound on it by writing a book for one simple reason: the 2012 U.S. election is over, thus concluding my first phase of “saving America”.

This book is composed of 80 of my published articles, logically organized into a coherent whole in 12 parts as follows:

1. America: diagnosis and solution

2. What is an ideal government?

3. America: an overview

4. China: an overview

5. Democracy

6. China: in some depth

7. America: in great depth and breadth

8. America and China

9. America’s foreign policy

10. Six democracy-communism similarities

11. Famous quotes and interpretations

12. My personal life

Each part contains several chapters. Each chapter is an article previously published, with some [significant] re-writing to fit it in context. Some articles have their original publication dates attached, with the events at the time as the background.

Part 1 defines the goal of this book. It contains two chapters as the diagnosis and solution for America, respectively.

Part 2 goes beyond America. It contains two chapters, addressing two vast subjects: “towards an ideal form of government” and “built to last: structure and conscience”, respectively.

The remaining 10 parts are supporting materials for Parts 1 and 2.

This book is intended to be an e-book (to begin with). So I did three things very differently from a conventional book as follows:

1. I incorporated quite a few pictures and images to make the book visually more appealing. Most of them are my own. Additionally, I did get some off the Internet, royalty and copyright free.

2. There is not a bibliography at the end of the book. Since all the references are available on-line, they are embedded in the text as hyperlinks. If a hyperlink is not enabled on your e-book reader, simply do a Google search by the title.

3. The table of contents appears right after this page, instead of being in front. Every part and chapter is hyperlinked, so you can jump directly to it any time, although it is highly recommended that you read the book in sequence.

Here is a quote: “you cannot open a book without learning something.” Who said it? Confucius!

Here is an interpretation of the comments by the book reviewers: “you cannot open a good book without learning a lot of good stuff!“

Now, just sit back and enjoy reading the book …

6. Closing

Like what you have read about the book so far? If yes, buy the book! It’s only $9.95, for a noble cause! As a matter of fact, it will be such a great holiday reading that when the clock strikes 2013, you will be one year older, but 10 years wiser, guaranteed!

For the bulk of the book, it’s mostly re-writing. Here are two examples of re-writing:

1. Old: Diagnosis for America: Cancer! New: Diagnosis II for America: Cancer!.

2. Old: Solution for America: Term-Limits and More! New: Solution II for America: Term-Limits and More!

Like the re-writings? The book is even better, because it was written after the “new” above!

Want to read more about Cicero, Plato, and Aristotle? They are there in the book! What about Confucius, Meng Zhi, and Lao Tzu? There are there, too! I managed to tie all of them together!