How China and the United States are different!

[H2Andy]

First bold: Which is a downfall of our nation....because the "keeping up with the jones'" mentality is causing so many to be motivated by money/greed rather than being happy.

you will never find a perfect system. every society has its bad side.

let me ask you, where would you rather live? the US or China?

taken as a whole, i mean ... where would you like your children to grow up? here or there?

you have to take the whole package

Second bold: This also causes for immense debt. That's why China is rapidly "buying" the US. Between the amount of our debt that is owed them and the number of large corporations they own here in the states, they're buying us.

they're not buying the US. they are by far the much smaller economy (less than half ours) and their currency is pegged to ours.

they own so much US debt that they can't let go. they've actually gotten themselves trapped with a tiger by the tail.

their economy depends on US purchases. if we stop buying, their economy tanks.

they can't afford that.

 

[on_two_wheels]

you will never find a perfect system. every society has its bad side.

let me ask you, where would you rather live? the US or China?

taken as a whole, i mean ... where would you like your children to grow up? here or there?

you have to take the whole package



they're not buying the US. they are by far the much smaller economy (less than half ours) and their currency is pegged to ours.

they own so much US debt that they can't let go. they've actually gotten themselves trapped with a tiger by the tail.

their economy depends on US purchases. if we stop buying, their economy tanks.

they can't afford that.

Andy, you might want to sit down for my response to this:

I agree with just about everything you said. HOWEVER, it's symbiotic. While what you said it true, the reverse is true. We've stopped producing so much that without China, we'd be screwed. Additionally, the point I made about them owning large corporations and our debt is that they are slowly increasing their influence on our government. You can't owe someone hundreds of billions and not have to listen to what they say at some point. Additionally, economy isn't just about the GNP. It's about how much money is being spent. While we as a society might spend more, sell more and draw larger tax revenues, every corporation they own/buy sends all those profits back to China. It doesn't seem like much now, sure.

Let's go back 50 years. If you could prove to the American public back then that China would own so much in the US and we'd owe so much to them, what would the reaction be? OUTRAGE!! But since it's contributing to maintaining our current lifestyle, no one seems to be concerned. We are a grossly selfish group.

As for residency, I don't thinkk the US or China are ideal, of course. I've been around the world and have seen countries far better than our's. Perhaps not better on paper, but in reality. On paper, this is an amazing country. We've gotten so far away from the constitution now it's crazy! Of those being my only two options, I'd take the US. Worldwide options, not a chance. I will be retiring outside of the US, though.

 

[Hank49]

Beyond much of what has been said here the US has a great advantage over almost every other nation it is OK to try and fail in the US.

We do not look down on an individual who takes a risk and fails as long as they try again and many will pick themselves back up and give it another go and many succeed. For proof of this just look at the failure rate of small businesses in the US, we just do not talk about it as a problem.

In other countries you can be ruined for life for failing. So, they are just not the risk takers cultural wise that is needed for a truly entrepreneurial business style. And it is small start ups that generate the major amounts of growth in job creation and wealth in the US.

I agree that this exists in the US...not being afraid of failure and learning more from it etc etc. Another East Asian country that we buy a lot of cars from has a different view on failure....but not the Chinese. They may fail in one business but will move on to another quickly.

 

[ams511]

In the U.S. when something goes wrong the Republicans blame the Democrats and vice versa. In China they have a one-party system so they cannot do it. They have an incentive to get things right as there is no one to blame but the one party. The Chinese are patient, they see their children are doing better than that did, and their grand children will even do better. Can we say the same for the U.S.?

 

[Rhone Man]

The societies are very different. China is a massive and complex country, with over 4,000 years of recorded history. America is a reasonably large but fairly homogenous country, with under 400 years of recorded history. Both countries probably throw their weight around a bit too much. There are things I like and loathe about both.

Things that always strike me very much as being different about China from the US? In China:

• virtually no street crime...
• ... but endemic corruption
• pollution is awful
• everything is cheap
• people are skinny
• by and large, infrastructure tends to be efficient and work well (God, I hate flying in the US)
• you can't vote (not all bad - it does mean that Govt can force through unpopular but necessary measures - makes a pleasant change from an impotent and divided Congress)
• everything you read is censored
• people are unfailingly pleasant and polite
• people respect their elders
• not crippled by political correctness (I love the fact that you can still tell girls they are pretty here and it is a compliment, not sexual harassment)
• sport is not the primary social focus of men
• if there is a problem people fix it rather that devoting their effort to finding someone to blame for it
• no one thinks that the world owes them a damn thing - you want it, you better earn it

The religion thing is interesting because it marks America out not just against China, but most of the developed work (Europe and Japan are no different from China). But it would be wrong to pigeon hole China as a country without religion or spiritual values. I am cautious about pinning too much about religion because I fear yet another thread hijack from Iztok.

But they are both great countries, and I love them both in different ways. Vive le difference, I say.

 

[Rhone Man]

<deleted - accidental double post>

 

[1thumper]

As an American who has lived and worked in China for the last 7 years, some thoughts:

China culture:
1. People do not have the "sense of entitlement" that exists in US, and nowhere near as whiny as people in US. The people in China come to work ready to work hard to improve themselves, and expect to work for what they get.
2. Because of the lack of a credit based society and minimal social safety nets for unemployment/disability/retirement, they are a nation of savers (and some of that savings ends up becoming ownership of other countries bonds and companies)
3. Much stronger family orientation, and because there is more limited acccess to education they actually value it more.
4. Individuals are far more entepreneurial than the US and much more likely to take risks of opening their own small business, although those businesses are not usually going to be very innovative technologically. A much larger percentage of businesses in China are small, family owned than in the US.
5. People are much more concerned about relationships,and much more polite towards those that they know/meet. Interestingly though they are much more rude in public (i.e. around others that they don't know); they will cut in any line, spit all over the place, refuse to use garbage cans, etc (in a country with that many people maybe it's "every man for himself")


Advantage US
1. As a nation of immigrants (or their descendants), there is more spirit of individualism in US so people are much more willing to try something "out-of-the-box". Spectacular successes (and flame-outs)
2. Much better higher education system (but not necessarily elementary schools).
3. Culture and education in US encourages creativity (China tends to be more rote learning, group mindset)
4. Rule of law
5. Far less corruption
6. More efficient system for credit and capital financing

Governments of each have their relative advantages. China's recent rise to economic power could only occur under a one-party system that is accountable to no one.

In many ways I like working in China more because the people are on average more enjoyable to work with, and there is a more of a feel here of what in was used to be called in the US "go west young man" where people will go where and do what they need to for economic success (instead of sitting at home whining). I will certainly retire in US because the culture is more to my taste and my extended family is there.

I love both countries. Neither is "better", they are just very different.

 

[Tanked]

As I read this eating General Tso's chicken with chop sticks, I wonder if our Chinese food is better than their American food.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Used to be said that God, guts and guns made America great. Now I guess it's God and credit cards ... :shocked2: ... actually, too-easy access to credit's killing this country ... from the government right on down to the family scraping by from paycheck to paycheck. Chinese people are way better at saving money. My financial advisor is Chinese. As she told me lately with regard to my retirement savings ... "For an American, not to bad. For a Chinese, not too good".

I think the Chinese people are more like Italians than Americans ... put a bunch of 'em in a house together and they all congregate in the kitchen ... they all talk at the same time ... and they always insist that you eat too much.

Never confuse a country's people with it's government ... that applies as much to China as it does to the USA. The Chinese people I've known over the years ... both here and there ... are consummate capitalists ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[vladimir]

As I read this eating General Tso's chicken with chop sticks, I wonder if our Chinese food is better than their American food.

It's a good question. As I think you know, General Tso's chicken will give you only the vaguest indication of what actual Chinese food tastes like. I expect my lunch from McSorley's any minute now, and it will taste just like the lunch I order from McSorley's when I'm in New York. But Hong Kong might not be the best indicator of what the other 1.4 billion Chinese get when they order American food.