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who said that?
"China and India are catching us because they now have free markets like we do, education like we do, access to capital and technology like we do, but, most importantly, values like our Greatest Generation had. That is, a willingness to postpone gratification, invest for the future, work harder than the next guy and hold their kids to the highest expectations."
God Bless PFC Jamie Harkness. The US Army's newest PFC, but still our neighbor's little girl!
I think it was Homer Simpson. "Doh!"
M&K's HR UH Tucker of Texoma JH
M&K's SHR Prime Black Angus
M&K's Miss Jessie Girl JH
Sir Jacob of Lakeview-Jake
Freeway JYD
Mike Whitworth
Originally Posted by dnf777
yeah, we all saw how china allows so much freedom to their youth. ever read yao mings story? the story of the china youth in the olympic ceremonies? and their other athletes? the recent 60-mile 3-week traffic jam?? oh yeah - they respond well to their earthquake disasters too, right?? and dont get me started on their environmental protection.
thats something only you, yardley, and dippity could admire.
I heard that India now has more PhD's per capita than we do. If that's true, they may overtake us in product development.
Sarge
I don't want to feed an ugly dog!
Thomas L. Friedman in an op-ed piece in the NY Times on 9/11 (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/op...2friedman.html).So much of today’s debate between the two parties, notes David Rothkopf, a Carnegie Endowment visiting scholar, “is about assigning blame rather than assuming responsibility. It’s a contest to see who can give away more at precisely the time they should be asking more of the American people.”
Rothkopf and I agreed that we would get excited about U.S. politics when our national debate is between Democrats and Republicans who start by acknowledging that we can’t cut deficits without both tax increases and spending cuts — and then debate which ones and when — who acknowledge that we can’t compete unless we demand more of our students — and then debate longer school days versus school years — who acknowledge that bad parents who don’t read to their kids and do indulge them with video games are as responsible for poor test scores as bad teachers — and debate what to do about that.
Who will tell the people? China and India have been catching up to America not only via cheap labor and currencies. They are catching us because they now have free markets like we do, education like we do, access to capital and technology like we do, but, most importantly, values like our Greatest Generation had. That is, a willingness to postpone gratification, invest for the future, work harder than the next guy and hold their kids to the highest expectations.
There is much not to admire about China. Political freedom is non-existant. The population density is 139/square km vs 32 in the US. It is so big (1.3 billion), with such a centralized government, that there is no effective way to manage all that needs to be done, leading to massive bureaucratic failures and corruption.
Having said all that, one still has to admire what has also worked in China. They are growing at an economic rate that is providing massive improvement in the quality of life for their citizens -- succeeding where other developing countries have failed miserably. They are transforming their country from an agrarian, subsistence economy to one sustaining major industrial development and capital formation. Based on their track record, they will soon be the largest economy in the world, while the US will fall to second, and eventually to third.
India's history and development have followed a very different path, but it has also begun to find more and more effective ways to make the pieces come together. While it will take a little longer, it is likely that India's economy will also surpass that of the US.
The point of the Op-Ed piece reference in the OP was that the US is losing its competitive position in the world. Some of that loss is expected. For example, there is no sustainable way to remain the world's largest economy in competition with countries that have populations that are 3-5 times bigger than ours. However, other than military might, it is hard to find any major categories of measurement where America is now number one. We have fallen behind in economic growth, standard of living, education, health status, etc. Our political power has shrunk significantly because of these changes and because we have become so used to being number one that we try to preserve the position we lost by becoming the biggest bully, where before our strength came from being a true leader. This, too, may be inevitable, as is the fading of our military preeminence.
We tend to forget that America has only been the world's dominant superpower for less than 50 years. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, we have reveled in what has been called Pax Americana, while failing to recognize, or not caring, about the unease with which our absolute dominance was seen by the rest of the world. Our dominance is rapidly ending. We have also taken for granted the dominance of the world by countries of European heritage, and that is also ending. However, we have a lot of choices in how we shape the role we will play in a world where there is no dominant leader, and where three of the top economies in the world will be non-European cultures.
Oh, please hurry, DNF. We know there's a teachable moment coming from you just over the horizon and we're yearning to learn.
I'll take the river down to still water and ride a pack of dogs.
Gee, it's a shame all that can't be squeezed onto a bumper sticker and sold at CodePink meetings...you'd make a killin'.
I'd be curious to know when you think we were "true leaders." It can't be anytime between 1945 and 1989 because nearly every foreign policy decision was made within the context of the Cold War and the threat, both real and implied, that if we were significantly provoked we'd bust a nuke off in your ear. So that leaves Clinton, W. Bush and now Obama who could possibly fit your model. Ask the Serbians if they think Bill Clinton bullied them. Since WWII our foreign policy has always been backed by the military, and every President, even the ones you like, have used that military might to further American objectives. When they have a D behind their name they're true leaders. When they have an R behind their name they're bullys.
I'll take the river down to still water and ride a pack of dogs.
I just put the quote out there for discussion. Seems to be saying what many could agree to, yet some may find the source surprising.
The other reason, was to put an interesting commentery out there for discussion, and see who the first jack-arse to make rude comments out of it would be. Sorry Hew, big Gib beat you out this time. Try again next time!
You guys are so predictable.
God Bless PFC Jamie Harkness. The US Army's newest PFC, but still our neighbor's little girl!
Yeah, because with 4,000 posts in a little over a year you've barely found enough things to flap your gums about. Flap on, Dude.
I'll take the river down to still water and ride a pack of dogs.
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