3 Misconceptions That Need to Die (WMT, X) Please bear with this wall of text. I really hope this isn't a repost. You need to register to The Motley Fool to read the link above, which is easy to do and recommended (they provide some quality stuff from time-to-time). So I quoted the text of the article. What are these misconceptions? --China is the single largest holder of US debt, but at 7.8%. Now this isn't insignificant, however, the UK and Japan combined hold more debt than China (China 1.14; Japan and UK 1.33 trillion). --2.7% of American personal consumption expenditures are of Chinese made goods. Now, there is a legitimate rebuttal as a lot of goods that are labelled "American" were in fact made in China, just packaged, labelled or in some way handled in the US. This skews this statistic, however the fact remains that this perception is quite misunderstood. In fact, American manufacturing output has increased, while jobs have decreased due to technology and efficiency developments. --9.2% of American oil consumption comes from the Middle East There are mitigating factors regarding US import/export laws, but again the figures regarding these hot-button topics aren't nearly as dramatic as you are lead to believe. Takeaways: Don't let the media and government officials allow you to fail prey to their legislative ideas based on these commonly used misconceptions. Now GC, your turn. Some rebuttals, additions and informed discussion? Edited for grammar and formatting.
fuck that shit...motley fool can register to read this <grabs crotch> 3 misconceptions those asking for email addresses to use a free service never sell them to spamming scum sucking parasites those needing your home address to use a free service won't sell the info to commercial snail mail spammers those requiring your phone number to use a free service won't sell the info to robocalling ass sucking scum. fuck that registration to read shit....(ya, I went there...)
Kind of puts things into perspective.. but it kind of makes more things more confusing. I just don't understand why then, are we spending so much time and money occupying the middle east if we are getting less oil from there ? Where do we get off telling them how to live and who should govern them? Fml
Defense spending is already pre-9/11 levels, averaging about 4% of gdp last time i checked. also we already left iraq
considering the US has some of the lowest federal revenues in the modern world regardless... that would probably just put us in more debt
I quoted the full text of the article. I don't want to ruin your rant, but care to address the content of the article? You don't have to register to participate in this thread, feel free to continue making your stand. I figured a sizable chunk of politics posters would know these. However, I see a lot anecdotal assertions being made regarding these topics being thrown around on here. Next time I see one, I'll link then. Didn't mean to insult your knowledge or disappoint you. Well, the oil thing is basically a convenient distraction from the fact that we as the US want to keep a strategic lid on the region. It's such a delicate situation of dominos, that our government has decided the easiest and most efficient strategy is preventing the region from slipping into all-out war. We have key strategic alliances with the Saudi's and Kuwaitis for example. Our presence in the middle east signals to most countries "hey if you want to start a shit storm, you gotta go through us, so keep your shit in check." The war in Iraq was (IMO) seen as a chance to further strengthen our strategic hold on this region not necessarily to gain resources like oil, but to fortify our ability to say "good luck starting shit." See: Iran, Islamic Republic Of. A lot of this falls back to our relationship with Israel. Regional war in the Middle East does our country or the world no good. It could turn into WW3 real easy. While our military and defense economy relies on engagement, our government sees the controlled engagement on the US's terms to be the most preferable route of engagement, not wars dictated on other countries terms. On top of this though, we do still need that oil from them. While only ~9% of our consumption, the fact is widespread instability in this region could cause major supply shocks to global oil market, which would still affect us greatly. We cannot afford to find out what the effect of such a supply shock would be back home.
Sorry for the double post--but no one wants to assert that the Fed is skewing that 2.7% figure as a PR move for the federal gov't?
It is a possibility but I don't know so I'm not going to argue it. But it did cross my mind. On the other hand it seems more in the Feds interests and the Govs to make us think of China as a threat so its likely that for once they're telling the truth.
it's consumption expenditures, meaning it is made in china but american profit is made from product advertisements/transportation/storage etc
The Oil and Chinese goods things I didn't know, thanks. From article above: Even when looking at physical goods alone, Chinese imports still account for just a small fraction of U.S. spending. Just 6.4% of nondurable goods -- things like food, clothing and toys -- purchased in the U.S. are made in China; 76.2% are made in America. For durable goods -- things like cars and furniture -- 12% are made in China; 66.6% are made in America.
The other huge rebuttal regarding China I mentioned in there: how we label what is American vs foreign made. What the actual figure of things actually manufactured in china that American's buy vs the 2.7% statistic, I really would like to know. But, that being said, I can't imagine the number would skew above 10%, could be wrong.