US Debt in Pictures

[revhappy]

Dow Jones down 500 pts.
There is blood on street all across Asia today.
Taiwan is 400 pts down! Hong Kong 1000 pts down. Holy shit. Is this the beggining of a new recession?

Double dip?

I see 危机 - kinda like danger + opportunity.

Or from Buffett's perceptive - "be greedy when others are fearful"

I wish the real estate market here cools off. The property prices and the rents are insane. Even the strait times index is now sub 3k levels, high time the property market follows suit.

[sundaymorningstaple]

The problem in the US IS employment. But the problem is one created by Americans themselves. Singapore is doing the same thing and are also going to have a problem as well. Unions driving up wages so american companies can no longer compete with foreign country's cheaper labour. So, plants shut down. Now instead of working for lower wages, they are getting no wages. Unemployment benefits are running out. Mortgages blow up, no employment, as noted. Frankly from one perspective, I partially blame the Unions in the US. Union Shops continually threaten walkout/strikes and get wage increases that companies can ill afford. Non-union shops have to give the same wages in order to have the employees vote to keep out the unions. Then the company's have to raise the price of their products in order to keep the stockholders happy, but then no buyers because somebody in Mexico is making it cheaper so they are buying from there, or buying KIA SUV's as production/labour costs there are cheaper. But, Americans give up their SUV's? Heaven forbid. The land of easy credit and luxury excess isn't about to admit defeat, and will overextend till they have heart attacks and then try to blame it on the government.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Tangent but for our British members here, is this crap true?

If they worked for 45 years...BRITISH OLD AGED PENSIONER TOTAL YEARLY BENEFIT £6,000
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS / REFUGEES LIVING IN BRITAIN TOTAL YEARLY BENEFIT £29,900
The average pensioner has paid taxes and contributed to the growth of the UK for the last 40 to 60 years.

[JayCee]

Pretty much

[Manthink]

The problem in the US IS employment. But the problem is one created by Americans themselves. Singapore is doing the same thing and are also going to have a problem as well.... Americans give up their SUV's? Heaven forbid. The land of easy credit and luxury excess isn't about to admit defeat, and will overextend till they have heart attacks and then try to blame it on the government.

I think you maybe referring to raise and promotion of modern consumerism. Sounds familiar?

I doubt Singapore will go into such situation within the next 10~15 yrs.

For US, the fiscal accountability gets past from administration to administration, being bounced around between the donkey and the elephant. Nothing gets fixed, nothing is done.

In Singapore, it seems to be the reverse:
It is the government which holds tight and overwhelming control over the reserves/national assets and cash-rich while the workers/unions/SME are pretty much powerless. And not considering the fact it is the Electorate who frequently questions the financial transparency and accountability of GIC, Temasek, their access to the Reserve and yes, the ministerial pay.

BTW, one doesn't need to be in the cabinet to be well-paid, regardless of performance...does Ho~Ching legacy ring a bell?

[sundaymorningstaple]

You have completely missed my thrust with regard to Singapore. Singapore is going to start losing businesses as they find themselves priced out of the market here due to high labour costs. And the current thrust against Foreigners isn't going to help. This especially so and your neighbours here, are just waiting to roll out the red carpets to the big MNC. Singapore has already lost it's biggest shipper to M'sia due to costs. While the manufacturers are being forced to hire non-existant Singaporean as there is already full employment here, then if they cannot get enough talent or labour or both to keep the machinery rolling, they will move to your neighbours and once that happens, you will never get them back as Singapore will have priced themselves out of the market. Just like the US has done.

[Manthink]

You have completely missed my thrust with regard to Singapore. Singapore is going to start losing businesses as they find themselves priced out of the market here due to high labour costs. And the current thrust against Foreigners isn't going to help. This especially so and your neighbours here, are just waiting to roll out the red carpets to the big MNC....

I believe we are dwelling on the same concern - competitiveness of a country.

On the contrary, I believe the US industry IS competitive and innovative. She leads the world in many ways and advantages are on her. Yet she fails financially when she is at the pinnacle of power and global influence.

Why? I certainly would avoid placing blame on any one or two factors to had put US in this position.

I am note exactly sure what you meant by "current thrust against foreigners" will spell the end of Singapore industry in terms of cost-competitiveness..this is precisely Singapore does NOT want to get into!

Moving up the value-chain is the catch-phrase in all countries hoping to achieve that so-called "first world" standard. Singapore has to grow in depth and efficiency, not just about who-can-build-the-cheapest formula.

This model does not work for Singapore in the long-term. We can see that in the last decade.

The trouble with Singapore is since 2000, she has grown to be too reliant on foreign labours and investors. They have fail to harness capacity of private local and home grown enterprises. Productivity had actually fallen even with massive inflow of foreign workforce and investment.

We do not see that in other Asia-Pac economies of S.Korea or ROC.
If Malaysia/Indonesia/Phillliones are going to pull business away from Singapore with idea of cheap=good=competitiveness...well, Singapore should have been blown away much earlier on. But it didn't.

As I had said, US does not have such issue. She has those edge. What fails her is her own financial mismanagement, not because her lack of competitiveness.