China’s ascent traced back to Clinton-era trade deal
Harold Meyerson, at the Washington Post, traces the economic rise of China — and the relative decline of the United States, now deeply indebted to the Chinese — to a trade deal signed by President Clinton and then approved by Congress in 2000:
The U.S. trade deficit with China was roughly $60 billion in 1998, the year before we reached the accord granting China permanent normalized trade relations. Over the following decade, it ballooned to $268 billion, and tens of thousands of U.S. factories closed down. The trade deficit is the major reason China is awash in dollars — about 800 billion of them — and has become our largest creditor. And it is the major reason why boosting consumption in the United States, in an attempt to reverse the recession, has the peculiar effect of boosting production and employment in China just as much as if not more than happens at home….
So as we try to rebalance our relationship with China, let’s not entertain any illusions that our growing dependence on that nation was the result of an unalterable tectonic shift in global power. Our economic elites wanted the higher profits that came with cheaper Chinese labor. They prevailed, and today we are floundering to clean up their mess.
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237 comments Add your comment
Jimmy Carter
November 18th, 2009
4:21 pm
So it’s Clinton’s fault? Alriiiight
Nothing Is Free
November 18th, 2009
4:23 pm
ABM
No, we can’t have a party called the Crimson Tide.
Bruno
November 18th, 2009
4:23 pm
“So it’s Clinton’s fault? Alriiiight”
Yeah, you’re off the hook, Jimmy.
I say we start up a new opium war with them. They’ll soon lose track of what we owe them.
Nothing Is Free
November 18th, 2009
4:25 pm
Brusno
Did you see the post downstairs about last night. I’ll repost if you didn’t.
Angry Black Man
November 18th, 2009
4:25 pm
“Our economic elites wanted the higher profits that came with cheaper Chinese labor. They prevailed, and today we are floundering to clean up their mess. ”
And I say, Amen!!
Hard Right Hook
November 18th, 2009
4:26 pm
Must be a slow news day. Komrad Jay is looking for something positive to say about Der Schlickmeister.
Bruno
November 18th, 2009
4:26 pm
“No, we can’t have a party called the Crimson Tide.”
I had a Crimson Tide Party on Saturday when they covered the spread handily. At this point, I think they can probably beat Florida.
What in the heck happened to the Vols last weekend, NIF?
jt
November 18th, 2009
4:26 pm
There has got to be a catch.
Angry Black Man
November 18th, 2009
4:27 pm
NIF
Awwwwwwwww maaaaaannnnnnn!! I’ve been working hard on the banners and bumper stickers too.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
November 18th, 2009
4:28 pm
Well, like I said before, all the jobs and wages been shipped to China so let China buy the stuff they make. Except for a few pairs of white socks and underwear I buy at WalMart for my monthly bath. Most of our own people now work in fast food places. So if China wants to buy some Whoppers, they need to come over here. Don’t forget to ask for the fries. The guy at the counter sometimes forgets to ask.
Have a good night everybody.
Nothing Is Free
November 18th, 2009
4:30 pm
Bruno
*What in the heck happened to the Vols last weekend, NIF?**
What happened? We recruited three ghetto thugs, thats what happened. If they ever put on a Vol uniform again, the new coach made an enemy out of me. We had enough of that crap with Philip Fulmer.
With that Defensive coach we will have our choice of the best defensive players in the country, but they have GOT to crack down on their players.
Do you know what happened to the three players?
getalife
November 18th, 2009
4:32 pm
“Our economic elites wanted the higher profits that came with cheaper Chinese labor.”
We call them the establishment but if China bribed the corrupt Afghanistan gov to get their resources, they should send about 500,000 troops to protect their investment
Nothing Is Free
November 18th, 2009
4:32 pm
ABM
Well, it would carry Alabama.
I think you guys might have a good game on the 5th.
I never bet on games, because I can’t cheer for teams I don’t like, but I might drop a C-note on you guys.
Nothing Is Free
November 18th, 2009
4:35 pm
Bruno
I’m not doing that tonight. I don’t have any work, so I’m heading for the living room and the big screen to watch Palin on Hanniity. I wish we got FOX in HD.
Bruno
November 18th, 2009
4:35 pm
“Do you know what happened to the three players?”
Yes, but didn’t think it would affect the team’s performance so much. Prior to last weekend, they were looking respectable following the games with Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Memphis.
The spreads are getting ridiculous this week. I’m going to change my strategy of looking for favorites to cover and am searching for underdogs to keep it close.
Bruno
November 18th, 2009
4:37 pm
All of a sudden my comments are being moderated.
Catch you all later.
jt
November 18th, 2009
4:39 pm
” Our economic elites wanted the higher profits that came with cheaper Chinese labor. ”
Too blame our deficit ONLY on cheaper Chinese labor,
and to ignore 32,000 pages of Federal Regulations,
and to ignore 30 pages of labor law attorneys in your local phonebook,
and to ignore one of the highest corp tax-rates in the world,
and to ignore “Government-backed unions”",
is disingenuis at best.
Nothing Is Free
November 18th, 2009
4:42 pm
Bruno
Ole Miss knew we had a second stringer as a middle safety and they exploited it the entire game. the thugs were nice enough to rob the 7-11 store early enough in the week to give the Rebel couches time to plan for it. Wasn’t that nice?
I’m telling you Bruno. The entire state is completely PO’d. The SEC coaches invented the Fulmer award for the most serious crimes committed by players. Fulmer was an embarrassment to UT and this new coach better understand that. The little thugs need to be beaten properly and sent back home.
In other words, don’t get me started.
Angry Black Man
November 18th, 2009
4:46 pm
NIF
This is my long weekend. I’ll definitely be a couch potato this weekend. The lil sidekick was sick this weekend, so I didn’t get to enjoy the game like I wanted to. I’m looking foward to having some gator for dinner on the 5th.
On topic:
China is only the beginning. The seeds of cheap labor we planted years ago will bring India to the table too. I’d estimate, based on my own personal observations from work, that one in every three computer related jobs here in the US is either being performed by a native of India or has been outsourced to India. Right now, I’ve seen some foreign workers coming here and earning half of what companies would pay citizens here to perform the same job. By the time their country gets used to having that influx of jobs and money, it will be too late to stop that train too.
getalife
November 18th, 2009
4:52 pm
While silly Americans are arguing partisan, silly distractions, the establishment with the help of socialism, are making record profits:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/18/wall-street-profits-on-pa_n_361811.html
Nothing Is Free
November 18th, 2009
4:53 pm
ABM
Watching the games with the youngin’. Man, how are you going to beat that.
If the US knew what kind of top flight health treatment you an get in India for a fraction of the money, we would have no health system. There are “medical tourism” companies that will fly you over, spend WEEKS in a hospital that looks like a Ritz Carlton and give you surgery by top shelf doctors for about 1/10th of what it costs here. You get your own nurse, your record in the US stays clean. I know of two people who have gone over for cancer surgeries, are perfectly fine and cannot stop talking about how great they were treated.
But of course, there’s that big red dot in the middle of their foreheads . . . just kidding.
Bruno
November 18th, 2009
4:56 pm
“The seeds of cheap labor we planted years ago will bring India to the table too. I’d estimate, based on my own personal observations from work, that one in every three computer related jobs here in the US is either being performed by a native of India or has been outsourced to India.”
What has set us apart from the rest of the world through the years, ABM, is our ingenuity, our inventiveness. With a larger global market in play, hopefully it will be our brains and the rest of the world’s brawn that will keep us on top. One difficulty with that scenario is that many foreign countries, China being one of them, have no respect for intellectual property rights. They steal our movies and crank out millions of DVDs without paying any royalties. Ditto for our software.
@@
November 18th, 2009
4:59 pm
In case Hillbilly Deluxe drops by, I left a comment for you on your H/T thread.
I noticed!
(ISH)
md
November 18th, 2009
5:00 pm
And to add to jt’s comment, the fact that China plays with funny money (theirs) doesn’t help either. Of course the flip side of the coin – if Walmart didn’t by cheap chinese goods, then the masses would be griping about prices, not to mention the fact that they wouldn’t be selling as much which would lead to less need for employees. etc, etc. Its lose-lose or win-win depending on which way one is looking at it.
ROLLERGIRL
November 18th, 2009
5:02 pm
GOV tries to cheap up on mammography, then realizes they got busted… (btw..finally something USEFUL to post from the ajc)
Sebelius: Women should get mammograms by age 40
WASHINGTON — Women should continue getting regular mammograms starting at age 40, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday, moving to douse confusion caused by a task-force recommendation two days earlier.
Sebelius issued her statement following a government panel’s recommendation on Monday, that said most women don’t need mammograms in their 40s and should get one every two years starting at 50.
That recommendation was a break with the American Cancer Society’s long-standing position that women should get screening mammograms starting at age 40.
The recommendations from the task force have left women across the country confused about which advice to take. It also quickly led to charges from opponents of changing health care policy that it is an example of what could be expected from government-managed care.
In its report the panel of doctors and scientists concluded that such early and frequent screenings often lead to false alarms and unneeded biopsies, without substantially improving women’s odds of survival.
But their recommendation was loudly criticized by breast cancer survivors who were diagnosed at a young age.
A few tens of thousands of breast cancer deaths in the sands of time, congressional dems say…We have to pay for this thing somehow, afterall.
Dusty
November 18th, 2009
5:04 pm
Well, everything is not being made in China. I had a new Kenmore built-in wall oven installed today. The instructions were printed in the USA. Half of it was in Spanish. Where was the oven made? CANADA! The installer was Asian-American and worked rapidly and efficiently. Americans do know how to work like that. There is still hope for us!!
Did anyone see Lehrer News Hour last night? There was a good discussion about the Chinese yearning for more freedom. Seems they enjoy a lot more in economic success but the communist government still rules with an “iron hand”. Discussing any “failures” of government(such as Tiainamin Square) is not to be done unless you want to go to prison or worse. As usual, the university students are stirring at their own risk.
Bruno
November 18th, 2009
5:04 pm
@@–In which part of Clayton County do you reside (don’t be too specific, of course–too many whackos in blogland)? I work on the border between Clayton and Fayette on the Clayton side. Last week, the nail salon two doors down from me was robbed at the point of a shotgun. Not a good feeling. Now I’m having to keep a gun in the office, which I don’t like a bit.
Pogo
November 18th, 2009
5:07 pm
ABM,
Our nations people also wanted way too many cheap goods that they didn’t need and they certainly couldn’t afford. I agree with you, but the subject is a bit more complex than that of just “cheap labor”. Americans are consumer-holics that want everything and they want it on the cheap. Communist China, with what can practically be called it’s slave labor, just filled a niche and the greedy companies in this country were more than willing to give production to the Chinese to capitalize on our consumerism. An economic, parisitic relationship if you will. It is really a big, big mess. I don’t think we are ever going to get out of it. We’ve gone waaaay too far.
Luckovich today drew a cartoon I thought was pretty darned good. I don’t like Luckovich, but I thought that was a good one. I thought he should have added a balloon on Obama with him saying, “Put some more in the sack, a little more isn’t going to hurt!”. I mean, with Obama’s big government/socialist programs, isn’t that what he is really saying?
Bruno
November 18th, 2009
5:07 pm
“In its report the panel of doctors and scientists concluded that such early and frequent screenings often lead to false alarms and unneeded biopsies, without substantially improving women’s odds of survival.”
Ditto for routine colonoscopies, RG. Most of the small polyps that are found on this exam will never turn into cancer, leading to unnecessary costs and alarm. Of course, for the people who DO have cancer, early detection is best.
Nothing Is Free
November 18th, 2009
5:08 pm
Rollergirl
Women aren’t confused. Why would you start getting mammograms at 50? I know several women that have had breast cancer in their 40s and I’m sure just about everyone does. If you believe this administration and think that you don’t need a mammogram until you are 50, then Darwinism steps in. That’s not confusion. That’s a death wish.
The only question is: how far will these guys be allowed to go?
Del
November 18th, 2009
5:09 pm
Angry Black Man,
What you described began with the H1B boom back in the mid-90’s. Today the Asian Indian I.T. workers even openly brag about taking over the industry jobs here in America. College students don’t see a future in pursuing computer science anymore.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
November 18th, 2009
5:09 pm
Chinese trade deals from the Klinton years, hmmmmm, let me think-
You give us nuclear secrets, we give you KKKampaign KKKontributions, savi? Ahhh, so.
Yep, back to the future.
@@
November 18th, 2009
5:11 pm
Bruno:
I’m about two miles from the Fayette County line — Clayton side.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
November 18th, 2009
5:13 pm
Damn! Sarah Hot Stuff Palin all over the TV set and radio dial. How am I supposed to keep up with all of it?
Ten thousand people in Grand Rapids, hehehehe.
Spazzzzzzzz, liberals!
Bruno
November 18th, 2009
5:17 pm
“I’m about two miles from the Fayette County line — Clayton side.”
Apparently the drug dealers like to make their trades along the border. We’ve witnessed several drug busts across the street on the Fayetteville side.
Be extra careful this Christmas season–a lot of desperate people in the area.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
November 18th, 2009
5:18 pm
“I don’t think it will be offensive at all when he’s convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him,” Obama told NBC’s Chuck Todd.
Welp, KSM walks.
Way to go, Obozo.
mike
November 18th, 2009
5:18 pm
This article can’t be right. We all know that the current economic crisis is all Bush’s fault (like Katrina).
How can an action taken in 1998 have contributed to our current economic plight? Bush wasn’t even President yet.
Even if this wasn’t the case, this article is still clearly incorrect. This article claims that this trade agreement was signed by a Democrat president.
The idea that a decision that has contributed to our current economic problem was not made by Bush is silly. Claiming that such a decision was made by a Democrat is an even bigger insult to our intelligence.
dbm
November 18th, 2009
5:20 pm
Jay, it sounds like you’re advocating some sort of protectionism. Can you clarify?
Bruno
November 18th, 2009
5:21 pm
“The idea that a decision that has contributed to our current economic problem was not made by Bush is silly. Claiming that such a decision was made by a Democrat is an even bigger insult to our intelligence.”
I haven’t followed Jay’s blog very closely the past few years, mike, but it seems to me that he’s trying to be more “fair and balanced” recently. I wonder if there was some editorial pressure to do so.
Pogo
November 18th, 2009
5:21 pm
Also, didn’t I read yesterday that four or five people were put to death this week in Iran for their involvement in the election uprising in that country? Where was the worldwide outrage about that in the media? Oh, that’s right, we musn’t do or say anything that may jeopardize our spineless and cowardly negotiations with the Mullah Madmen (which will never bear even a shriveled fruit).
This world has pretty much had it but I must say I have enjoyed the hell out of my stay on this planet and will continue to do so until every semblance of freedom is gone, which is looking like it may be soon. Maybe when mankind has destroyed itself the earth can heal and we (mankind) won’t evolve back into the mix. Would have been a fine place without so-called human “self awareness”. Law of the jungle and all that.
Del
November 18th, 2009
5:23 pm
Anyone who has traveled in mainland China outside of the major cities Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou in the South has seen the poverty every bit as bad as Central and Southeast Asia. Those in the outer villages are disallowed to move into the cities unless they commit to 8 years in the PLF (peoples liberation army). Those millions aren’t seeing the great workers paradise in the cities. Someday the Chinese will have to face that issue and it may bite them.
Bruno
November 18th, 2009
5:24 pm
I will say that I had a strange experience several years back when I was an AJC subscriber and wrote letters to the editor (approximately 80% publication rate). Jay took it upon himself to start responding directly via my email. We had a few back and forths that were interesting.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
November 18th, 2009
5:25 pm
Gay Marriage D.C.: Same-Sex Marriage Bill In Washington Seems Unstoppable-HuffandPuff
“Washington, D.C., Wins V.D. Triple Crown–Leads Nation in Syphilis, Gonorrhea and Chlamydia Rates”–headline, CNSNews.com, Nov. 17
Just sayin…..
Dusty
November 18th, 2009
5:26 pm
ABM,
I have worked with many people from India in the healthcare field. Most were intelligent people with great educations and skillful. I believe all were American citizens. I don’t see as many in “medicine” now.
Del
November 18th, 2009
5:27 pm
Bruno,
I’ve had that same experience with Jay. He always responds and does so in a civil manner.
mike
November 18th, 2009
5:28 pm
Bruno –
“Jay took it upon himself to start responding directly via my email. We had a few back and forths that were interesting.”
Jay is actually better than any pundit that I have seen in this regard. I give the guy a rough time, but he is one of the only pundits I know of who is brave enough (or deranged enough) to address his critics directly.
md
November 18th, 2009
5:29 pm
“the greedy companies in this country were more than willing to give production to the Chinese to capitalize on our consumerism.”
I thought the idea was to make money. Making money means more jobs and allows us to increase our 401k’s and ira’s. When did “greedy” companies become a bad thing for the overall good of society.
Nothing Is Free
November 18th, 2009
5:29 pm
Bruno
**I haven’t followed Jay’s blog very closely the past few years, mike, but it seems to me that he’s trying to be more “fair and balanced” recently.**
I think it is the same reason why Jay Leno booked Rush Limbaugh.
Most of America fell for the BS. They took a look and simply said, “well that’s not working.” What next?
Obama has been in office for almost 1/4 of his term. He has not been a leader. It no longer takes a genius to see that we are in deep doo doo. What kind of nut would think that the solution is to spend billions and billions more? I think that in order for people like Jay to honestly address the problems, he cannot continue to ignore the lunacy that IS Washington.
@@
November 18th, 2009
5:30 pm
Does Obama not worry that “his words” might end up putting the KSM case in jeopardy.
Tainting the jury?
He needs to be quiet!
As usual, he’s talking too much.
Bruno
November 18th, 2009
5:34 pm
“Jay is actually better than any pundit that I have seen in this regard. I give the guy a rough time, but he is one of the only pundits I know of who is brave enough (or deranged enough) to address his critics directly.”
Since blogging on Jay’s site, I have some newfound respect for the man for not shying away from his critics as you mention. His response to GODD the other day was priceless. now if I could only get him to address my criticisms of the health care bill……..
I will say that I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes, however. I can only imagine the threats he likely has had to endure to himself and his family for taking strong positions on the issues. Ive received threats just based on my blog entries.
Also, mike, I give you credit for being upfront about your dislike for the AJC and for stating the reasons why. I respect people who understand their biases.