China Today

China has cultural advantages and capable people, but they are playing catch up on their standard of living. After 1945, the US became the manufacturing capitol of the world. We were building roads and subdivisions are were establishing our current infrastructure. We had also participated aggressively in the industrial revolution and mastered the art of making technological advances. Prior to that we offered land ownership to immigrants to settle our 3 million square mile land mass. Our Constitution supported a free market meritocracy.

After 1945, China was embroiled in a civil war, adopted a Communist government in 1949, suffered the extermination of decenters, suffered the Cultural Revolution, suffered the One Child policy and signed up to be the low cost, low wage manufacturers in the 1970s. They made land reforms for agriculture, but the vast majority of the population still suffer third-world living conditions. In rural areas the poorest live in caves and hovels and in the cities armies of unskilled workers live in tiny dismal expensive apartments they rent from the government. Wages for unskilled workers are lower than their living costs and as wages rise, their living costs will continue to rise more. The lack of private property rights will continue to keep the poor families from becoming self-supporting. The elite will do well as they always have in China.

China’s economy has benefitted greatly from US off-shoring manufacturing in the 1990s. This gives their engineers the responsibility for sustaining engineering. In electronics, as components become obsolete, these engineers need to redesign circuit boards around the new components. This becomes their design. Their engineers are more capable than most and will certainly advance China’s software and electronics capabilities. China needs to automate their manufacturing to improve quality. The only advantage they have is cost.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader