Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Appreciate Depreciation

In the midst of another obnoxously boring paper, I've become increasingly annoyed with the United States. We're a big deal because we have so much potential, but we don't take advantage of that potential...so being a big deal really isn't a big deal. We whine and complain and try to threaten other large world powers to do things our way rather than fix what we are doing. Don't get me wrong, I think it is our duty to intervene when social injustices are occurring and innocent people are being physically threatened or mistreated. But now we have this pressing issue in which the Obama Administration wants to "urge" China to re-evaluate their undervalued currency. The Chinese are infamous savers, they lack the gluttonous nature that we as Americans have come to believe is our right. I have way more than I need so I include myself willingly in this gluttonous culture. The Chinese government has a lot to do with their undervalued currency, but who can blame them for playing the game? Where do we get off saying we will penalize Chinese goods if the Yuan isn't appreciated on our time schedule? We made our bed and now it's time to lay in it.
We expect to be able to take out credit cards and loans for non-essentials and not feel any repercussions. We have created a culture of entitlement, and a generation that demands someone else pay for their carelessness. Meanwhile, an average Chinese family scrapes by on what we spend in a day for a whole month or more. Yes, their currency is valued low so they can purchase more with less, but they still are frugal.
Maybe what our government should be doing is not threatening a country we are greatly indebted to, but to learn from them. We are a nation of egotistical consumers, we think our value lies in what we own...even if Bank of America is really the owner. The truth is we are pampered beyond comparison with any other country, yet we want more; it's a sickness that will lead to our eventual downfall. I have heard so many people proudly talk about the things they "own" not caring about the debt they are accruing. Their rationale; eventually they will die and the debt won't be their problem. They're right it won't be their problem for obvious reasons, but that debt doesn't just disappear. It becomes someone else's problem and gets shuffled around until we reach a point where bailouts become a reality.
If we weren't in a place where each paycheck gets divied up between creditors, then undervalued Yuan would not put us at such a competitive disadvantage.
I say, congratulations China and thanks for supplying us with so many cheap goods. Taking care of America is a full time job, so let's focus on what we are doing wrong, not what everyone else is doing.

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