China's Economy Just Overtook The USA's

Eorzea Time
 
 
 
言語: JP EN FR DE
日本語版のFFXIVPRO利用したい場合は、上記の"JP"を設定して、又はjp.ffxivpro.comを直接に利用してもいいです
users online
フォーラム » Everything Else » Politics and Religion » China's economy just overtook the USA's
China's economy just overtook the USA's
First Page 2 3 4 5 6
 Lakshmi.Sparthosx
Offline
サーバ: Lakshmi
Game: FFXI
user: sparthosx
Posts: 10394
By Lakshmi.Sparthosx 2015-04-06 16:33:08  
Asura.Kingnobody said: »
Lakshmi.Sparthosx said: »
Thats the problem. Look at AMTRAK. Tickets are more pricey than air travel, the rail system is a mess, bullet trains aren't happening outside maybe CA or the NE hub.

In some cases a coach bus ends up more efficient. A coach bus!
In more cases driving yourself is more efficient, cheaper, and faster.

But not everyone has a driver's license.

We had a shot to get it right, and we failed. Oh well, what exactly did we lose anyway?

The number one spot on the globe.

We're letting the COMMUNISTS kick our ***!
[+]
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-06 16:38:43  
Asura.Kingnobody said: »
Oh well, what exactly did we lose anyway?
The Game.
[+]
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-06 16:47:04  
Communists beating you at capitalism, problem?

[+]
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-06 17:31:02  
Remember last year when China and Vietnam got into a little dispute?

Quote:
China and Vietnam agreed on Monday to use an existing border dispute mechanism to find a solution to a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, saying they did not want it to affect relations.

The two countries have sought to patch up ties since their long-running row erupted in May, triggered by China's deployment a drilling rig in waters claimed by the communist neighbors, which lead to confrontation at sea between rival vessels and violent anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam.

After a meeting between China's top diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, and Vietnam Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi, China's foreign ministry said they had agreed to "appropriately handle the maritime problem".

The two exchanged smiles and warm handshakes in contrast to Yang's last visit in June, which ended in acrimony with Yang accusing Vietnam of "hyping up" their dispute, which was the worst breakdowns in their relations since a brief border war in 1979.
China, Vietnam say want lasting solution to sea dispute

Well it looks like somebody had to step in and fix things. Looks like they're almost done.

Quote:
Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday that Vietnam is close to agreeing a free trade deal with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.

He predicted that Russia's annual trade with Vietnam could increase by fourfold to $10 billion over the next five years. The two sides also agreed to expand oil and gas exploration in the contested South China Sea.

Medvedev is on a 2-day official visit to Communist Party-ruled Vietnam and held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung.

Wary of the growing influence of giant northern neighbor China, the Vietnamese government has sought to strengthen commercial and military ties with world powers including the its former enemy the United States and Japan. Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations are embroiled in disputes with Beijing over its expansive claim to the South China Sea.

Medvedev said a trade agreement between Vietnam and the EEU, an economic community which also includes Belarus and Kazakhstan, would help bolster economic ties.

"We have agreed on most contents of the agreement," Medvedev said through a translator during a press briefing. "I think this is the factor that would promote bilateral trade."

Dung said he hoped the trade pact would be signed in the first half of this year.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Russia was $2.5 billion last year.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of several energy cooperation agreements including Russia's Gazprom Neft's intention to buy 49 percent of a 6.5 million-ton oil refinery in central Vietnam which is operational.

Dung said the two leaders agreed on the expansion of cooperation in oil and gas projects in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in the East Sea, which is the Vietnamese term for the South China Sea.

"We are committed to creating favorable and secure conditions for Russian oil companies to operate in Vietnamese waters," Dung said.

Vietnam along with China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan claim all or parts of the South China Sea which is believed to be rich in oil and gas and is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Medvedev was scheduled to meet with President Truong Tan Sang and Communist Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong later Monday. He will also visit Ho Chi Minh City, a bustling commercial city in the south, before leaving Tuesday.
Medvedev: Vietnam close to deal with Russian-led trade area
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-19 03:30:59  
China, playing by the rules to ascend into a dominant global economic power.

Quote:
China does not want to bend the rules in its favor to include the yuan in the IMF's basket of major reserve currencies, the No. 2 official at the International Monetary Fund said.

Beijing tightly controls the yuan's movements and has strong capital controls, but it is pushing for increased use of the currency for trade and investment as part of a long-term strategic goal to reduce dependence on the dollar and to raise its global economic clout.

That push has centered on the Special Drawing Rights, a basket that now contains dollars, yen, pounds and euros and serves as the IMF's main unit of account.

The yuan's inclusion as the first emerging market currency in the basket would mark another stage in China's rise as a global economic player. The yuan is the world's fifth most-used currency for trade.

The IMF, which is due to review the basket's composition later this year, must deem any new currency "freely usable," or convertible - seen as a key obstacle for the yuan, also known as the renminbi.

But the Fund also could change its criteria, or have a phased entry for the renminbi after it meets the standards, as some officials have suggested.

"I can tell you that the Chinese have been quite clear in saying that they understand the broad rules that apply, and they wish to qualify under the current criteria," IMF First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton said in an interview during the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington.

"That said, the world changes, and so the specific measurements that you make, of what constitutes ... freely usable ... has to change as life in capital markets changes," he added.

Chinese economic reform plans, including opening up its capital account and deepening its financial markets, have set Beijing on the path to inclusion in the SDR basket, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said this week.

And China's central bank governor said Beijing would accelerate reforms to the yuan to push for inclusion in the SDR, including reducing intervention in domestic currency markets, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

The IMF's 24-member board is scheduled to make the final decision on the yuan at a formal meeting.

When asked whether it could push the decision to next year, Lipton said that if the IMF agrees to something, "ways can be found."

"That said, our aim is to have the review this year, and to make a determination," he said. "And to give the Chinese the opportunity to take steps, if they wish, to qualify for inclusion."
China wants to follow rules on currency basket: IMF official
Offline
Posts: 720
By Mesic 2015-04-19 04:19:33  
Jetackuu said: »
Fenrir.Atheryn said: »
So pretty soon all electronic devices will say "Made in USA"?


Less people would die from making them at least.

Die from making them? Surely you're not refering to the Foxconn suicides, a business whoms suicide rate is lower than that of Avg Chinese citizens. In fact we could even argue with that point, working for Foxconn helps prevent suicides in China.
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-19 05:14:48  
Suicide nets apparently good for business after all.
necroskull Necro Bump Detected! [68 days between previous and next post]
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-06-25 19:44:48  
Quote:
This move, says Ken Hoffman, global head of metals and mining research for Bloomberg Intelligence, would be a "game changer."

Why would China consider such a move? Hoffman explains that Chinese policy makers are already trying to establish the yuan as a reserve currency, and backing it with gold would help attract foreign capital.

China is expected to receive approval from its central bank for a yuan-denominated gold fix, with a potential for an announcement as early as next week.

Hoffman explains that a gold standard would not necessarily create a big constraint to the Chinese central bank, as many believe.

"It could be at any price they fix. There's a lot of things that they can do to make this work," he says.

Hoffman estimates that to create an exchange rate of one ounce of gold for every $64,000, the country would need about 10,000 metric tons of the metal. "That's nine times the national official holdings and about 6 percent of all the bullion ever mined globally," Hoffman says.

Moving to a gold standard may also be a question of power for China. Hoffman says that when the U.S. adopted a gold standard after World War II, it emerged as the main power in the International Monetary Fund. In 1971, the U.S. ended the use of the gold standard and rendered the dollar a fiat currency.

If China decides to go into some form of a gold standard, Hoffman says it would make the rest of the world view the metal as a currency again.

"If they go for it, we'd be talking about fireworks," he says.

Comex August gold futures settled Thursday at $1,171.80 an ounce.
Chinese Gold Standard Could Create 'Fireworks' - Bloomberg Intelligence
 Asura.Natenn
Offline
サーバ: Asura
Game: FFXI
user: Naten
Posts: 1979
By Asura.Natenn 2015-06-25 20:18:47  
>mfw when ppl talk about china economy but lack to reiterate that most of the population still lives in poverty
 Ragnarok.Yatenkou
Offline
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
user: Yatenkou
Posts: 319
By Ragnarok.Yatenkou 2015-06-25 23:45:18  
Asura.Natenn said: »
>mfw when ppl talk about china economy but lack to reiterate that most of the population still lives in poverty

The real point is that China is on its way to a collapse with their housing market, evicting people from their homes and making cities that get abandoned halfway in the project, leaving behind enormous amounts of wasted resources that could have been allocated far better than those empty cities.
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-06-28 23:27:34  
Quote:
China will have veto power in its $100 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

China will have 26.06 percent of voting rights in the Beijing-based lender, according to the articles of agreement released by the Ministry of Finance on Monday, enough for it to veto major decisions, which require three-quarters approval. Fifty of the 57 founding members signed the agreement, while some -- including the Philippines -- will do so at a later date.

The AIIB gives China another platform to expand its economic and political influence in regional development. The bank benefits countries in different stages of development, Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said at the signing ceremony.

The AIIB will be led by a president with a five-year term and one or more vice presidents. A board of governors will run the bank, while a 12-member board of directors will oversee operations, according to the document.

The articles didn’t say who would be president. Jin Liqun is secretary general of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat for establishing the AIIB.

The new development lender will offer an alternative to bodies like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank in financing building of bridges or dams. The U.S. and Japan are not among the founding members, citing concerns over standards among reasons for not joining.
China Secures Veto Power as Members Sign Up to $100 Billion Bank

Full story:
Quote:
Countries from five continents formally signed up to the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank at a ceremony on Monday, officials said, as Beijing steps up its global diplomatic and economic role.

Australia was the first country to sign the articles of association creating the AIIB's legal framework in the Great Hall of the People, an AFP journalist saw, followed by 49 other founding members.

Seven more are expected to do so by the end of the year.

The bank will have a share capital of $100 billion, with $20 billion paid in initially, the document showed.

The bank "will provide new opportunities for our businesses and also promote sustainable growth in Asia", said Singapore's senior minister for finance and transport Josephine Teo, who represented the city-state.

The AIIB has been viewed by some as a rival to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and the United States and Japan -- the world's largest and third-largest economies, respectively -- have notably declined to join.

Beijing will be by far the largest shareholder at about 30 percent, the articles of association posted on the website of China's finance ministry showed. India is the second biggest at 8.4 percent with Russia third on 6.5 percent.

The voting structure gives smaller members a slightly disproportionately larger voice, and a statement accompanying the articles said China will have 26 percent of the votes.

The share is not enough to give Beijing a formal veto over the bank's decision-making, but it will still have an outsized say.

Among non-Asian participants, Germany is the largest shareholder with 4.5 percent, followed by France with 3.4 percent and Brazil on 3.2 percent.

The AIIB is expected to go into operation later this year and its headquarters will be in Beijing, despite calls from Indonesia that it be based in Jakarta, further cementing China's prominence in the institution.

But all financial terms in the agreement are in US dollars, rather than China's currency, the renminbi, and the bank's working language will be English.

- Transparency concerns -

Only 50 of the 57 countries that have applied for founding membership signed up in Beijing on Monday, and the finance ministry said the remainder -- Denmark, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, South Africa and Thailand -- have yet to ratify the necessary agreements.

Washington sought to dissuade its allies from taking part but European countries including Britain, France and Germany have rushed to sign up as they seek to bolster ties with the world's second-largest economy.

There are some concerns over transparency of the lender, which will fund infrastructure in Asia, as well as worries that Beijing will use it to push its own geopolitical and economic interests as a rising power.

The articles of association promise the bank will "be guided by sound banking principles in its operations" and "ensure that each of its operations complies with the Bank’s operational and financial policies, including without limitation, policies addressing environmental and social impacts".

But equally vague statements in the past have done little to soothe critics.

Supporters say fears over undue Chinese influence are overblown, and that the participation by more than 50 countries will dilute Beijing's power.

The articles of association specify that the bank's president must come from the Asian region and will serve a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms.

In Tokyo, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: "We hope the AIIB will play a role as a financial institution that contributes to Asia's development while meeting standards of international institutions, including for its governance.

"We'd like to watch it closely, including its actual operations."
57 countries hold signing ceremony to set up China-led bank
 Cerberus.Laconic
Offline
サーバ: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 235
By Cerberus.Laconic 2015-06-29 00:26:05  
Leviathan.Chaosx said: »
China Secures Veto Power as Members Sign Up to $100 Billion Bank

Psssh. A 100 billion, chump change.


Quote:
The Six Too Big To Fail Banks In The U.S. Have 278 TRILLION Dollars Of Exposure To Derivatives. But when you add up all of the assets of all six banks combined, it only comes to a grand total of about 9.8 trillion dollars.
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-six-too-big-to-fail-banks-in-the-u-s-have-278-trillion-dollars-of-exposure-to-derivatives
Offline
Posts: 3206
By Enuyasha 2015-06-29 01:37:49  
Ragnarok.Yatenkou said: »
Asura.Natenn said: »
>mfw when ppl talk about china economy but lack to reiterate that most of the population still lives in poverty

The real point is that China is on its way to a collapse with their housing market, evicting people from their homes and making cities that get abandoned halfway in the project, leaving behind enormous amounts of wasted resources that could have been allocated far better than those empty cities.
Their recession is coming, dont worry. Maybe in like....2 years from now. You'd think theyd learn from us when we had our housing bubble burst but NOOOOOOOOOOOOO, we gotta build mansions and fake europeanesque cities that no one can afford to live in on the scale we're building them at.
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-06-29 02:16:00  
If there is going to be a recession in China, U.S. is already winning that race.

U.S. manufacturing sector said to be in a technical recession
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-06-29 03:00:48  
Cerberus.Laconic said: »
Leviathan.Chaosx said: »
China Secures Veto Power as Members Sign Up to $100 Billion Bank

Psssh. A 100 billion, chump change.


Quote:
The Six Too Big To Fail Banks In The U.S. Have 278 TRILLION Dollars Of Exposure To Derivatives. But when you add up all of the assets of all six banks combined, it only comes to a grand total of about 9.8 trillion dollars.
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-six-too-big-to-fail-banks-in-the-u-s-have-278-trillion-dollars-of-exposure-to-derivatives
You can't just look at raw number or even a direct to dollar conversion. It makes no sense.

I had a huge example typed up, but accident click a link doing conversions, so this example is shorter.

I'll be using prices where I am now as I have the up to date ones. (Belgrade, Serbia).

Cigarettes: Pall Mall Red Filtered.
US: Cheapest price comes from Missouri $5.25 (569 dinara)
Here: 180 dinara (~1.66)
Exact same brand. Quality here is much better when you compare levels of carbon monoxide, nicotine, and tar.
So for the cost of one pack of cigarettes in the cheapest place I can get 3 of the exact same thing here.

Broccoli:
US: Shoprite $.99 (on sale) to $1.99 (normal price)
Here: 100 dinara / kg
Basically I can get a little more than double the weight of better quality for almost the exact same price. 100 dinara a kilo here, ~107 dinara for .45kg (on sale price) there.

2 TB Western Digital External Hard Drive:
From Amazon (This model)
US: $138.99 (~15,076 dinara)
Here: 9,999 dinara (~$92.18)
This is the most expensive example I can find as it is imported.

I could go on, but hopefully you get the point now. Things in many other countries are a lot cheaper and better quality. Food, drinks, electronics, cigarettes, and especially beer.

It's all about purchasing power. Your dollar buys you very little while the other currency buys a lot more, even though a direct dollar conversion shows it be a lot less in terms of dollar amount.
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-07-02 05:41:11  
Too much too soon, lol.

Quote:
Chinese people are growing taller as the country becomes richer but they are getting fatter even faster, the government said.

Adult obesity rates reached 9.6 percent in 2012, more than doubling over a decade, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said in a report on national nutrition and chronic diseases. Those who were overweight went from 7.1 percent to 11.9 percent.

Among six to 17-year-olds the obesity increase was even more dramatic, more than tripling from 2.1 percent to 6.4 percent, while the proportion overweight went up by almost a third, to 30.1 percent.

"The problem of overweight and obesity is rising sharply as the dietary make-up has changed," Wang Guoqiang, a vice director of commission, told a press conference.

The average Chinese man weighed 66.2 kilograms (146 pounds) in 2012, extracts from the document posted online by the commission showed, up 3.5 kilograms over 10 years.

Women were 2.9 kilograms heavier on average at 57.3 kilograms.

"Smoking, excessive drinking of alcohol, insufficient physical exercises and unhealthy diet such as high salt and fat consumption are the main behaviour risk factors that trigger and worsen chronic diseases," Wang said at the briefing Tuesday.

"Pressures brought by the rapid development and transformation of the economy and society on people's life and work have also caused impact on health," he added.

The average Chinese man was 167.1 centimetres (5.48 feet) tall in 2012, the figures showed, and women's average height was 155.8 centimetres.

They were up just 0.4 centimetres and 0.7 centimetres respectively from 10 years earlier.

In comparison the Dutch -- the world's tallest nation -- average 184 centimetres for men and almost 171 centimetres for women.

The numbers made Chinese people "slightly shorter" than their neighbours in Japan and South Korea, the China Daily newspaper said Wednesday, quoting Liang Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

A report published in The Lancet last year showed that 363,000 fatalities in China each year were linked to high body-mass index, an indicator for heart disease, diabetes and other ailments.
Chinese people getting 'taller and fatter'
Offline
Posts: 35422
By fonewear 2015-07-02 07:03:08  
Can you imagine a race of tall fat Chinese people !
Offline
Posts: 24505
By Ramyrez 2015-07-02 07:38:28  
fonewear said: »
Can you imagine a race of tall fat Chinese people !

"You never see a tall, fat Chinese guy with red hair!"
--George Carlin
[+]
Offline
Posts: 24505
By Ramyrez 2015-07-02 07:42:39  
Leviathan.Chaosx said: »
It's all about purchasing power. Your dollar buys you very little while the other currency buys a lot more, even though a direct dollar conversion shows it be a lot less in terms of dollar amount.

How much of this is availability/transportation cost/etc.?

Because I would hazard a guess (not a guess, really, as much as a reasonable expectation) that I could go to a good farmer's market and pickup fresh produce for about what you're paying or better.

There's a local place that's been in business for decades about 10 miles from me that sells things for just stupid good prices. Potatoes are normally like $1/lb (approx.) at the grocery store. This family will sell you like 25 lbs. for $5. Lots of their other fruit is like this too.

Now, the variety isn't amazing like it would be at your average supermarket, but you get my point. And I'd guess that where you are, you are either dealing with farmers directly or local markets that deal more directly with said farmers?

Cigarette example is a horse of a different color thanks to taxes and fees associated with smokes.

So while your cancer candy is cheaper straight-up, when you buy them in the U.S. you're -- technically speaking -- getting more than just your cigarettes for your money. You're getting whatever those tax dollars in turn purchase.

Now, granted. You might not want what someone else is spending your tax money on, but that's sort of a separate issue.
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-07-02 08:09:03  
You're comparing normal market prices (here) to having to drive and find a local farmer's market (there). I've never been to ones in PA, but the ones in NJ were usually more in terms of price.

It's a major Eastern European city with public transportation to everywhere that costs 90 dinara ($0.83) for 90 minutes on how ever many buses or trains you need to get on. And many people only pay that when people who work for the government come on looking to see if you paid. Otherwise it's a 1,000 dinara ($9.22) fine. They have very distinct patterns though.

In my case though I have to walk about 100 meters at most to get whatever I want in terms of food, drinks, etc. Electronics are the only thing I would have to pay the 90 dinara to get there.

There are cases where they need to practically give stuff away otherwise it'll go bad. A kilo (~2.2lbs) of strawberries for 50 dinara ($0.46) comes to mind. It happens all the time actually, but I don't mind the regular prices since they're still cheaper than anything I ever came across in the NJ/NY area.

Even when they throw away the food, the gypsies come and eat that. There's you food stamps (lol). Everyone else gets by fine on $300-$400 a month. They take vacations, slack off, party, etc.
Offline
Posts: 35422
By fonewear 2015-07-02 08:24:18  
They have gypsies I"m coming to Serbia !
Offline
Posts: 24505
By Ramyrez 2015-07-02 08:27:09  
You seem to think I'm trying to insult where you are.

I'm not.

I'm doing straight economic comparison.

You're also talking cities though. I don't live in the city. I'm live in Ruralurbia, more emphasis on the "rural". Yeah. Farmer's markets in cities in the U.S. tend to be hipster/granola-muncher territory and they overpay for stuff just to be "healthier".

I only referenced the farmer's market 10 miles away because that's the one I can tell you prices for off the top of my head b/c I've stopped there in passing (it's on a major highway).

Roadside produce vendors are not uncommon at all where I am. Many specialize. One does corn all summer and pumpkins in the fall, etc. That one is on my route to work.

Different places, different things is basically all I'm saying.

Hey, as long as none of us are starving, I'm not too up in arms.

It's the people struggling I tend to get upset about.
Offline
Posts: 24505
By Ramyrez 2015-07-02 08:29:18  
fonewear said: »
They have gypsies I"m coming to Serbia !

Everyone always gets down on gypsies but those gypsy girls always looked cute to me.

Edit: That said, I'm sticking with my Viking woman.
[+]
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-07-02 08:30:34  
Ramyrez said: »
You seem to think I'm trying to insult where you are.
Not at all, if anything I was using lolNJ as a comparison of living in the suburbs.
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-07-02 08:32:24  
My main point was a direct dollar comparison to many countries just doesn't work.
[+]
Offline
Posts: 35422
By fonewear 2015-07-02 08:37:33  
It's interesting to me as an American that other countries even exist !
[+]
Offline
Posts: 24505
By Ramyrez 2015-07-02 08:37:52  
Leviathan.Chaosx said: »
My main point was a direct dollar comparison to many countries just doesn't work.

True enough I suppose.

Hell, even a direct dollar comparison within the U.S.'s lower 48 doesn't really work.

I mean, look at the farmer's market differences we just noted.

For instance $200k buys a hell of a lot more house where I live than it does...well, most other places, really.

Oddly it buys more here than it even does back in my hometown, because back in my hometown realtors are under the illusion that anyone can afford more than $50k for a house.

Which is a topic entirely of its own.
Offline
Posts: 24505
By Ramyrez 2015-07-02 08:38:10  
fonewear said: »
It's interesting to me as an American that other countries even exist !

Lies!

You don't give a damn and you know it.
Offline
Posts: 35422
By fonewear 2015-07-02 08:41:15  
America is great because it has a devil may care attitude. It's our country we do what we want !
Offline
Posts: 35422
By fonewear 2015-07-02 09:13:07  
When you care as much as I do...it looks like I don't care at all !