(click onthe picture to read an interesting article)
While we bicker over local politics, there are macro forces on the move that may make all discussion of who wields what power locally totally irrelevant.
Think for a moment what the ramifications of China developing oil reserves off the coast of Cuba portends for us in Central Louisiana. And the growing influence that China is exerting in South America with their investments with capital that they have earned from access to our markets.
Ah yes, did you realize that to a great extent the 400 point drop on our stock market was in large part due to the announcement that the Chinese intend to begin liquidating their investments in our bond market? Yes, the main driver for today's drop was a liquidity crisis.
Remember the old question " what does that have to do with the price of eggs in China?". It just might have a lot to do with the price of eggs in the US when our economy hits the skids.
Just as a heads up, the only sector of our economy that was floating everything else was the housing market, you finish the rest of the conclusion.
My contention is that we can ill afford further weakening our area economy by in-fighting when we need to unite to make our community as strong as possible to weather the economic storm that is approaching - fast. It is time for everyone to get involved and work together or face the perils that approach.
Does anyone realize that one of our strongest competitors in the paper products arena is China? Ask the folks at Pineville Kraft. That is one "for instance".
Do you have any opinions on the changing landscape?
8 comments:
I'm pretty sick of hearing about our worthless council and our equally worthless mayor. Seriously, both are corrupt, both are nothing more than showman, etc.
"Ah yes, did you realize that to a great extent the 400 point drop on our stock market was in large part due to the announcement that the Chinese intend to begin liquidating their investments in our bond market? Yes, the main driver for today's drop was a liquidity crisis."
Not exactly true as our drop was bolstered by the European markets having a flux in their investments and the French announcement of problems with calculation due to our whole ordeal with the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. China's threat to liquidate, which has happened numerous times in the last four years, did have a role but not as strong as you would believe.
"[W]hen our economy hits the skids."
It's coming and we've done nothing to strengthen our position. The Fed has been turning a blind eye of late to our markets.
"Just as a heads up, the only sector of our economy that was floating everything else was the housing market, you finish the rest of the conclusion."
We can solely blame the housing market on ourselves and rightly should. Our need and love of Credit in the US is killing us. Our economy isn't what it once was and we've outpriced ourselves in a lot of areas. Look at the economic trends in different sectors and you'll see how agr., housing, and industry has forgotten to retail towards economy class items and gears itself more towards style and status.
People complain about gas prices but do little to actually help with reducing usage. Whatever, though. Everyone needs a Hummer, to commute 30 miles, and fill up their three ATVs for joyriding.
"My contention is that we can ill afford further weakening our area economy by in-fighting when we need to unite to make our community as strong as possible to weather the economic storm that is approaching - fast. It is time for everyone to get involved and work together or face the perils that approach."
No shit. We're too busy quarreling instead of being realistic about the perilous nature of our area's economy. We've forgotten to recession we experienced in this state during the 80s. Louisiana, Alexandria specifically, is a consumer society that does not realize the power of long term thinking. We buy into the next biggest thing, the concept of status, and short term innovation instead of trying to create a cohesive sense of community with a projected goal and little in-fighting. Our leaders have, were, and always will be poor since all of them want power and not progress. No matter what their publicists say or their slogans promise--CenLa is corrupt and dying.
China is the least of our worries. Honestly, we need to worry about devouring ourself from within. They're competing and generating revenue regardless of what companies are in our area. Unless we diversify our workforce, properly train the upcoming generations, get out of this ideal of everyone is going to college, work together and stop this partisan/inner-party fighting bullshit, and seek a common goal without trying to pander to different communities we might end up on the right track. I doubt it though.
Well, it is August 16th and the stock market is down another 300 pts at noon report.
Please feel free to revise and extend your remarks.
I do believe I have read where China hasn't sold off anything. The problem on Wall Street has to do with people being scared about the credit market - something you should be familiar with. The Fed keeps pumping money in to keep dollars flowing through banks, hedge funds are getting bailouts, but it you have been watching T-Bills and other gov't owned bonds haven't dropped. That's what China owns.
China has never adopted out philosphy on money and will never take instruction for us or our economists. And just for your information Japan is the largest holder of US debt.
I am tired of seeing "Made in China" on items. I wanted a Bosch jigsaw. Bosch builds new models in Switzerland for a while then they switch to china. I don't too much mind the good chinese of Taiwan. I am happy to report I saw an American flag at Sam's that was made in AMerica. The great satan, walmart offers chinese AMerican flags though.
Deacon
Deacon I can agree with you on the Made in China label. There is a severe lack of quality control which has been evidenced in the past few months with recalls of bread to toothpaste to toys. They are not required to have in place the environmental controls the US and European manufacturers are required to by law, therefore, creating more greenhouses gases than just about anyone on the planet. They are not required to provide for the safety of their workers as we are. These two things along with Government participation in their businesses provides an opportunity to have more labor intense products made less expensive for companies.
What we're going to see in the next decade is a shift from China to India and other Asian countries as the population shifts and then IF Africa as a continent can get its act together they will follow. Labor intensive jobs have a tendency to follow population boom patterns. The US has not had once since post WWII.
Right now China is outpacing the US in coal use, oil and natural gas use, and is easily becoming the largest polluter on the planet. These are the issues that have to be resolved along with the human rights issues and no one seems to be pushing those buttons these days.
I am not anti-Chinese but do feel they have reached a point in time that they will be looking outside their traditional borders to meet national needs, something they have never done in the past. Even with the Communist revolution, their focus has been within their borders. Now the are looking around and finding that the world can be their oyster.
Our conflict lies in that we are not the sole truly global player anymore. As our interests remain mutual, so will the desire for peace.
I see China developing imperialist tendencies proportional to the technical advancement of their population. Taiwan being their first conquest.
Spanky China has been an invader and attempted to be a conqueror since the beginning of time. They tried time and time again to take over Japan and have failed to succeed. The one thing Taiwan has on China is technology.
At the end of WWII we told Japan they couldn't have a military - well one that could actually go out and try to attack anyone. They began to focus on technology and intellectual development. We now go to Japan for innovation.
Taiwan made its economy flourish by being able to process and manufacturing electronics and development new products - similar to what Japan was doing. China hasn't invested in R&D, well unless you call developing processes to steal other countries' intellectual property.
US investment in R&D has dropped, for several reasons, one being the merger and acquisitions of companies, the other being that our manufacturing processes, one thing that drives innovation, has been offshored to other countries - not just China. While the US may never get back to the sense of being a heavy industrialized manufacturing nation, we must still continue to pump money into R&D, develop new techniques for assembly, our new form of manufacturing, and develop higher skills among our workers. We cannot sit back and continue to grow our service industries as we have for the past decade.
I agree with your assessment of the status quo but disagree with Chine heretofore being a transoceanic imperialist power. History does not bear this out.
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