This Would Explain a Lot of Things

 

This is a historical plot of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) values of the top seven nations. The US is number one (“We Are Number One”), with China in second place and coming up at a rapid rate. Which is really impressive for China, as they were near zero in 1980.

Chinese leadership is probably watching these numbers pretty closely, anticipating becoming the largest economy in the world. And surely doing what they can to hasten that moment.

So it would make complete economic and strategic sense for China to fund any US politician, political group, social movement, or non-profit organization that can have a negative effect on the US economy.

Which would explain a lot of what we’re witnessing today.

When you see something in the US that is a terrible decision with an incredibly bad outcome but especially something that is an economic negative, it’s entirely possible that the operation is getting funding from China.  Open borders, Fentanyl, high crime rates, dying cities, Covid response, failing public schools, high-speed rail to nowhere, depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve, degeneracy on TikTok, $100 billion to Ukraine, goofy green energy projects, you name it.

At least it deserves some research. Any politician, political group, social movement, or non-profit organization that receives funding from China should be suspect.

There is a precedent in other fields; this would be the economic equivalent of “throwing a fight” that we see in boxing.

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  1. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    They won’t make it. 

    I think China is going to implode. 

     

    • #1
  2. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    No do median hourly wage.

    • #2
  3. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    namlliT noD:

    When you see something in the US that is a terrible decision with an incredibly bad outcome but especially something that is an economic negative, it’s entirely possible that the operation is getting funding from China.  Open borders, Fentanyl, high crime rates, dying cities, Covid response, failing public schools, high-speed rail to nowhere, depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve, degeneracy on TikTok, $100 billion to Ukraine, goofy green energy projects, you name it.

    At least it deserves some research. Any politician, political group, social movement or non-profit organization that receives funding from China should be suspect.

    Yes, it is not just the commies in China that are bringing us down–it is also the rich men commies north of Richmond.

    • #3
  4. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    GDP per capita, China is not wealthy.

    • #4
  5. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    I knew the opium wars were gonna come back to bite us in the [redacted]. 

    • #5
  6. BDB Coolidge
    BDB
    @BDB

    I always wonder what it looks like in deflated dollars, log vertical.  I mean, I suspect I know, but…

    • #6
  7. BDB Coolidge
    BDB
    @BDB

    Here are a couple more:

    Note T&C in the top line:

    • #7
  8. EODmom Coolidge
    EODmom
    @EODmom

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    They won’t make it.

    I think China is going to implode.

     

    Their struggles predated Covid, which made it worse. 

    • #8
  9. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    iWe (View Comment):

    GDP per capita, China is not wealthy.

    The USA is 7th @ $80K and China is 64th @ $14K. That is the IMF 2023 projection. One has to keep in mind that the US has 330 million mouths and China has 11/2 billion, about four times as many people to feed.

    • #9
  10. namlliT noD Member
    namlliT noD
    @DonTillman

    DonG (CAGW is a Scam) (View Comment):

    Yes, it is not just the commies in China that are bringing us down–it is also the rich men commies north of Richmond.

    My point is that the commies in China are not bringing us down, directly, they’re just funding the rich men commies north of Richmond, who are doing the real work.

    • #10
  11. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    I’m not quite sure, however, what the chart explains, as per the title of the post. I wonder what would happen if China became dominant at the expense of its largest customer, rather than with its largest customer jointly. Wouldn’t a failing US economy bring great difficulties for a rapacious Chinese economy?

    • #11
  12. BDB Coolidge
    BDB
    @BDB

    cdor (View Comment):

    I’m not quite sure, however, what the chart explains, as per the title of the post. I wonder what would happen if China became dominant at the expense of its largest customer, rather than with its largest customer jointly. Wouldn’t a failing US economy bring great difficulties for a rapacious Chinese economy?

    China has been shifting its weight from profiting off the US in order to build power toward using power across the developing-o-sphere to profit off more numerous and far-flung targets that are much harder to profit from.  It’s easy to bootstrap making a buck from the US — all that takes is endless cheap labor.  It’s tougher to get into fleecing the developing world — that’s infrastructure and institutions.

    • #12
  13. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Clever of them to stop just before FJB’s supposed election, don’t you think?

    • #13
  14. GPentelie Coolidge
    GPentelie
    @GPentelie

    China’s GDP performance is even more impressive once the necessary (when making international comparisons) PPP adjustments are made:

    https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/national-gdp-wb?tab=chart&country=CHN~USA~JPN~GBR~IND~DEU~FRA

    • #14
  15. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    iWe (View Comment):

    GDP per capita, China is not wealthy.

    But how does one determine such?

    I had a Chinese friend as a roommate. She wanted so much to come here from China. To that end, she married a man from Taiwan when she met him as he visited the mainland.

    What shocked her about life  once the couple came to the USA  was that in China she could have adequate housing for around 70 bucks USA. She could have ultra deluxe housing in China for around 3 times that. (Per month.)

    In Marin County, it cost her around 1500 bucks a month to live moderately well as far as housing.

    • #15
  16. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):

    iWe (View Comment):

    GDP per capita, China is not wealthy.

    But how does one determine such?

    I had a Chinese friend as a roommate. She wanted so much to come here from China. To that end, she married a man from Taiwan when she met him as he visited the mainland.

    What shocked her about life once the couple came to the USA was that in China she could have adequate housing for around 70 bucks USA. She could have ultra deluxe housing in China for around 3 times that. (Per month.)

    In Marin County, it cost her around 1500 bucks a month to live moderately well as far as housing.

    But what were the relative incomes, and other expenses?

    Also, is there any actual privately-owned rental housing in China, or is it all owned by China and/or their agents?

    • #16
  17. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    GPentelie (View Comment):

    China’s GDP performance is even more impressive once the necessary (when making international comparisons) PPP adjustments are made:

    https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/national-gdp-wb?tab=chart&country=CHN~USA~JPN~GBR~IND~DEU~FRA

    What is PPP?

    • #17
  18. BDB Coolidge
    BDB
    @BDB

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):

    iWe (View Comment):

    GDP per capita, China is not wealthy.

    But how does one determine such?

    I had a Chinese friend as a roommate. She wanted so much to come here from China. To that end, she married a man from Taiwan when she met him as he visited the mainland.

    What shocked her about life once the couple came to the USA was that in China she could have adequate housing for around 70 bucks USA. She could have ultra deluxe housing in China for around 3 times that. (Per month.)

    In Marin County, it cost her around 1500 bucks a month to live moderately well as far as housing.

    So she hurried right back and lived happily ever after, right?

    • #18
  19. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    GPentelie (View Comment):

    China’s GDP performance is even more impressive once the necessary (when making international comparisons) PPP adjustments are made:

    https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/national-gdp-wb?tab=chart&country=CHN~USA~JPN~GBR~IND~DEU~FRA

    What is PPP?

    Perplexed Porcupine Pandemonium 

    • #19
  20. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    GPentelie (View Comment):

    China’s GDP performance is even more impressive once the necessary (when making international comparisons) PPP adjustments are made:

    https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/national-gdp-wb?tab=chart&country=CHN~USA~JPN~GBR~IND~DEU~FRA

    I would like to see this chart per capita. Population change I think is a big factor in GDP. That China’s population is actually regressing would make their growth even more impressive. 

    • #20
  21. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Clever of them to stop just before FJB’s supposed election, don’t you think?

    Who is FJB?

    • #21
  22. BDB Coolidge
    BDB
    @BDB

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):

    iWe (View Comment):

    GDP per capita, China is not wealthy.

    But how does one determine such?

    I had a Chinese friend as a roommate. She wanted so much to come here from China. To that end, she married a man from Taiwan when she met him as he visited the mainland.

    What shocked her about life once the couple came to the USA was that in China she could have adequate housing for around 70 bucks USA. She could have ultra deluxe housing in China for around 3 times that. (Per month.)

    In Marin County, it cost her around 1500 bucks a month to live moderately well as far as housing.

    This is a great channel with lots of information:

    https://www.youtube.com/@chinainsights4458

    • #22
  23. GPentelie Coolidge
    GPentelie
    @GPentelie

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    They won’t make it.

    I think China is going to implode.

     

    There’s an adage that’s been around in international economics circles for decades, one that reflected the influence that our economy has had on the rest of the world’s:

    When the US sneezes, the world catches a cold.

    China’s economy is now more than sufficiently large, as well as tightly integrated into the world’s economy, such that the same adage can be applied in its case.

    IOW, … If China’s economy implodes, ours will implode along with it.

    That’s why, IMO, all this noise about “decoupling” that various of our “leaders” (both incumbent and aspiring)  have been sporadically emitting recently is just empty “I’m gonna be tough on China!” type rhetoric. Not a single one of them (including Trump, btw) would dare actually implement the deeply painful (to “we the people”) policies that “decoupling” would entail.

    The Decoupling Ship left port 10-15 years ago, I would say. And the champagne bottle was smashed against its bow in celebration of its launch by … US, no less.

    Oh, well. It is what it is. Turning back the clock is not an option.

    • #23
  24. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    GPentelie (View Comment):

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    They won’t make it.

    I think China is going to implode.

     

    There’s an adage that’s been around in international economics circles for decades, one that reflected the influence that our economy has had on the rest of the world’s:

    When the US sneezes, the world catches a cold.

    China’s economy is now more than sufficiently large, as well as tightly integrated into the world’s economy, such that the same adage can be applied in its case.

    IOW, … If China’s economy implodes, ours will implode along with it.

    That’s why, IMO, all this noise about “decoupling” that various of our “leaders” (both incumbent and aspiring) have been sporadically emitting recently is just empty “I’m gonna be tough on China!” type rhetoric. Not a single one of them (including Trump, btw) would dare actually implement the deeply painful (to “we the people”) policies that “decoupling” would entail.

    The Decoupling Ship left port 10-15 years ago, I would say. And the champagne bottle was smashed against its bow in celebration of its launch by … US, no less.

    Oh, well. It is what it is. Turning back the clock is not an option.

    Well I disagree 

    • #24
  25. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    I have seen a bunch of stuff similar. It has been persuading.

    China is facing a demographic collapse. 

     

    • #25
  26. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Also, people used to go on and in about Japan. Well they stopped having kids too. 

    • #26
  27. BDB Coolidge
    BDB
    @BDB

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    GPentelie (View Comment):

    China’s GDP performance is even more impressive once the necessary (when making international comparisons) PPP adjustments are made:

    https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/national-gdp-wb?tab=chart&country=CHN~USA~JPN~GBR~IND~DEU~FRA

    What is PPP?

    Purchasing Power Parity, famouslt proxied by The Economist’s “Big Mac Index”.  The price of money is one thing (exchange rates, instant in time), but the price of things is another  Put them together and it gives a fairly good idea what one unit of average labor (or production) will buy.

    This is end of the stick featured in Rich Men North of Richmond. What good is a 3% pay raise in the face of 5% inflation?  Negative 2%, of course — it’s a pay cut.

    Here’s the idea applied just within the US:

    https://www.zippia.com/advice/how-much-big-mac-costs-states/

    Combine that pay raise – inflation = pay cut with exchange rates, and when the dollar gets weak, things cost even more to buy.

    The Economist’s latest on PPP (international) as measured in Big Macs:

    https://www.economist.com/big-mac-index

    • #27
  28. GPentelie Coolidge
    GPentelie
    @GPentelie

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    GPentelie (View Comment):

    China’s GDP performance is even more impressive once the necessary (when making international comparisons) PPP adjustments are made:

    https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/national-gdp-wb?tab=chart&country=CHN~USA~JPN~GBR~IND~DEU~FRA

    What is PPP?

    It stands for Purchasing Power Parity. It’s a measure that seeks to account for the differences in the cost of goods and services between/among countries.

    It’s pretty much the same kind of adjustment, but at an international level, that one would need to make in order to properly compare, say, someone making $100K in Manhattan, NYC to someone making $100K in Peoria, IL.

    • #28
  29. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    GPentelie (View Comment):

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    They won’t make it.

    I think China is going to implode.

     

    There’s an adage that’s been around in international economics circles for decades, one that reflected the influence that our economy has had on the rest of the world’s:

    When the US sneezes, the world catches a cold.

    China’s economy is now more than sufficiently large, as well as tightly integrated into the world’s economy, such that the same adage can be applied in its case.

    IOW, … If China’s economy implodes, ours will implode along with it.

    That’s why, IMO, all this noise about “decoupling” that various of our “leaders” (both incumbent and aspiring) have been sporadically emitting recently is just empty “I’m gonna be tough on China!” type rhetoric. Not a single one of them (including Trump, btw) would dare actually implement the deeply painful (to “we the people”) policies that “decoupling” would entail.

    The Decoupling Ship left port 10-15 years ago, I would say. And the champagne bottle was smashed against its bow in celebration of its launch by … US, no less.

    Oh, well. It is what it is. Turning back the clock is not an option.

    Well, I think we can produce our own stuff more easily that China can sell to some other market.  The bigger hurt would likely be China no longer being able to buy our debt.

    • #29
  30. TomRoberts57 Coolidge
    TomRoberts57
    @TomRoberts57

    namlliT noD:

    When you see something in the US that is a terrible decision with an incredibly bad outcome but especially something that is an economic negative, it’s entirely possible that the operation is getting funding from China. Open borders, Fentanyl, high crime rates, dying cities, Covid response, failing public schools, high-speed rail to nowhere, depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve, degeneracy on TikTok, $100 billion to Ukraine, goofy green energy projects, you name it.

    At least it deserves some research. Any politician, political group, social movement, or non-profit organization that receives funding from China should be suspect.

    You could make a similar list of terrible policies pushed by Jewish / Israeli donors and lobbyists.

    The wars in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, the appalling anti-American or anti-white bias in education, the utterly evil and insane advocacy of transgenderism, the infiltration of intelligence agencies and consequent manipulation of intelligence by Israel, the opioid crisis which seems largely due to the Sackler family, etc etc.

    Look behind the bought-and-paid for politicians, in both parties, and see whose influence in the last few decades has done so much harm.

    And if the Ricochet moderators censor this comment, I’ll take it as proof that I’m getting a bit too close to the truth for comfort !

    • #30
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