Archive for the ‘economy’ Category

China’s economic troubles

Posted: January 21, 2020 by chrisharper in economy
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By Christopher Harper

As business and political leaders descend on Davos, Switzerland, for the four-day World Economic Summit, Chinese President Xi faces a variety of problems.

Although the press has questioned the gains made by the United States in the first round of a trade deal with China, it’s clear that President Trump made significant inroads.

Under the deal, China agreed to buy an additional $200 billion in American goods over the next two years. The agreement protects U.S. intellectual property, addresses technology transfers, and ends currency manipulation by the Chinese.

It would be premature to applaud the deal UNTIL the Chinese meet these goals, but these steps are the most significant in the history of trade between the two countries.

Noted Chinese expert and author Michael Pillsbury dismissed the attacks on the deal, calling it a “historic agreement.”

He criticized the Democrats. “They said all the things that President Trump said today, but they couldn’t get it done. They didn’t have a strategy on how to bring the Chinese leadership around. Now I’m afraid they’re a little bitter and even embarrassed. Their own ideas have been implemented by Donald Trump, and they can’t stand it.”

Although the deal may help Xi and the economy, the Chinese president faces other financial issues. 

As The Wall Street Journal notes, Xi’s domestic economic policies have stumbled. “He has appeared to choose political reliability over profits and efficiency as he throws his support behind government-owned businesses in the form of subsidies, financing, licenses, and pressure on competitors. Bankruptcies are running higher than ever in China among private companies, which suddenly have less scope to expand,” James T. Areddy writes from Shanghai.

During my travels throughout China during the past five years, I have noticed a growing disparity between the growing middle and upper classes in the cities and the crushing poverty of the countryside, particularly in minority areas. It’s true that the countryside has made gains in the past 20 years, but these are far less dramatic than among the urban elites. 

Furthermore, the much-touted Belt and Road Initiative has hit some significant resistance aboard. One of the features of the initiative was to provide jobs to the Chinese building sector, which faced fewer projects inside the country. Now the international building program faces growing concerns that the developing countries where projects are centered will see mounting debt to finance the programs. That means fewer jobs for Chinese workers outside the country. 

President Xi isn’t likely to face any serious challenges from inside the Communist Party. Still, the international community will note how his once-gleaming economic acumen has lost much of its luster. 

Why I Stayed in California

Posted: December 28, 2019 by julietteochieng in economy, personal, politics, Uncomfortable Truths
Tags: ,

by baldilocks

Two reasons: family and church. One reason remains.

I wanted to leave California in 2006, but I didn’t because I couldn’t convince my then 85-year-old great-aunt to sell her home of 50 years and move to New Mexico, where the majority of our family lives.

My aunt passed away in 2012 and it’s easy to place “blame” on a person who isn’t here to give her side of the story, but I’m not the lone person who was trying to convince her to move. Neither of us couldn’t convince my aunt that California was sliding down the tubes, or that it would be tough for one person to take care of her if/when her health begin to fail. It lead to a lot of familial acrimony for a number of years.

In the end, I did take care of my great-aunt – mostly by myself – in her declining years. And yes, it was tough. But I’m glad I did it.

My aunt left her house to me, but she had taken out a reverse mortgage on it, so you can guess what happened. I tried to keep the house for two years, but I couldn’t.

So, when the time came to leave the house – in December 2014 – I had a choice to make: move to NM or stay. But if I stayed, where would I live? That was a question for God to answer, so I asked Him. Right afterward, the pastor at the church I’ve been attending since 2003, made this general plea to the congregation: “I know what’s happening with the economy, especially here in California, but I need you to stay and help this church get the Word out.”

There was my answer.

I knew then – at the beginning of 2015 – that this would involve homelessness. So, I said to God that if He wanted me to stay and be homeless, I had some requests: that I would not be on the street or be hungry, and that I would have a clean, safe, and temperature-controlled place to sleep, shower, and you know the rest.

In my nine months of homelessness during 2015, He held up His end of the bargain and continues to do so.

Should I stay any longer? Here’s the thing: we conservative Californians who stayed let this happen to our state. Others got out early and who can blame them? I wanted to do it, too. But it seems to me now that running away is a two-edged sword. We did nothing and now we will continue to do nothing and are slinking away.

I still want to have the option of leaving here in 2020, but not without putting up a fight. Simply, I want to be able to throw my belongings in my 18-year-old car and bounce on cue, but until I’m able to do that, I don’t want to sit here and just take it while California’s Organized political Left continues to herd the state’s middle-class resisters to its borders.

Also, I really don’t want to leave my church. I could still be a member via the magic of the Internet, but it won’t be the same.

One might say that I didn’t get wound up about California’s plight until it affected me personally, and one might be correct. But that means that it’s time to change. If there are only a few left in California who are willing to speak for me, it is what it is. And I can still speak — and take action — for myself.

Also, as we know, California’s Organized Leftism is spreading to other states, often riding in the car with former Californians as they take their liberal political mindsets to places like Colorado and Texas. It’s like an airborne pestilence.

So, for now, in spite of California Assembly Bill 5, I’m going to continue my regularly-scheduled posting here at DaTechGuy Blog – Tuesdays and Saturdays — until I can’t.

I do have a fund-raising campaign going on Facebook: Prep for Possible CA Exit.

You’ll note that I left open the possibility of staying and I’m doing that because I think that 2020 will be a year of big surprises for the entire country. California may be one of those surprises and if I can be a part of the change in direction for California at least for a few months of the upcoming year, I’m going to do what I can. I’ve been stagnant for too long.

If you’d like to help me be ready for mobility, you can contribute at the Facebook link or below at my Paypal link. But even if I don’t get another dime in this campaign, I’m done sitting around waiting for my beloved home state to fall.

And I know for a fact that God rewards action.

NECESSARY READING: My Vox Problem

Juliette Akinyi Ochieng has been blogging since 2003 as baldilocks. Her older blog is here.  She published her first novel, Tale of the Tigers: Love is Not a Game in 2012.

Follow Juliette on Facebook, Twitter, MeWe, Patreon and Social Quodverum.

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Why calling out Russia matters

Posted: December 21, 2019 by ng36b in economy, war
Tags: , , , , ,
Maritime Safety Information Bulletin, from the Jacksonville Coast Guard Website

In the midst of all the impeachment news was a Maritime Safety Information Bulletin issued by the Coast Guard concerning the Russian vessel Viktor Leonov, an intelligence surveillance ship that has been prowling the East Coast. The vessel has been in international waters, which while annoying to the United States is in fact very legal. However, unlike in previous years, this year it decided to behave in an unsafe manner. The bulletin spelled it out pretty clearly:

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has received reports indicating that the RFN VIKTOR LEONOV (AGI-175) has been operating in an unsafe manner while navigating through USCG Sector Jacksonville’s Area of Responsibility. This unsafe operation includes not energizing running lights while in reduced visibility conditions, not responding to hails by commercial vessels attempting to coordinate safe passage and other erratic movements. Vessels transiting these waters should maintain a sharp lookout and use extreme caution when navigating in proximity to this vessel.

Maritime Safety Information Bulletin, U.S. Coast Guard

The VIKTOR LEONOV’s operations should be a lesson as to why we build and maintain a Navy and Coast Guard. Navies aren’t cheap…the 2019 budget for the Navy alone is $194.1 billion dollars. In comparison, the United Kingdom spent about $79 billion on their entire military. The cost of not building a Navy is far worse though. The VIKTOR LEONOV is only a surveillance vessel, but she is likely preparing the battlespace for any future conflict in the Atlantic. The only credible deterrent to her operations is a solid response from a Navy, which she has received since entering the Western Atlantic.

Countries without Navies can’t enforce their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). Every country is given exclusive rights over resources within 200 nautical miles of their coast. While that sounds nice in theory, in reality other countries are quick to take advantage of any countries inability to patrol their EEZ. China is exploiting EEZs to illegally fish in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, as far away as South Africa. Small nations are struggling to keep out the hoardes of Chinese fishermen, who bank on China’s use of economic power to stop any action against their illegal fishing. China has also shown its willingness to illegally drill in another countries waters for oil, which it did in Vietnam in 2014. Even the United Kingdom illegally used waters for fishing, fighting three different “Cod Wars” with Iceland before recognizing Iceland’s EEZ.

A Navy isn’t cheap, but its cheaper to have one than watch another nation plunder your resources. It’s better to fight in waters far away from the Western Atlantic than on your own door step. As tensions continue to rise between the US and peer competitors, the Navy and Coast Guard will be the first to push back against any attempts at aggression on our shores.

This post represents the views of the author and not those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, US Coast Guard, or any other government agency.

My Vox Problem

Posted: December 17, 2019 by julietteochieng in economy, local, News/opinion, politics, Uncomfortable Truths
Tags: , , , , ,

So much for freedom of the press in CA

by baldilocks

The urge is to laugh. But I’m not laughing.

Hundreds of freelance writers at Vox Media, primarily those covering sports for the SB Nation site, will lose their jobs in the coming months as the company prepares for a California law to go into effect that will force companies to reclassify contractors [freelancers] in the state as employees.

“This is a bittersweet note of thanks to our California independent contractors,” John Ness, executive director of SB Nation, wrote in a post on Monday. “In 2020, we will move California’s team blogs from our established system with hundreds of contractors to a new one run by a team of new SB Nation employees.”

The law in question is California Assembly Bill 5.

Back in September, Vox thought AB5 was a good thing.

Pushing AB 5 through the legislature is perhaps one of the most significant labor wins in decades, if only because the labor movement has had very few victories in the past 40 years. But it’s particularly significant because of California’s position as one of the world’s largest economies and its outsized influence in national politics. If any state can start to reverse the trend of shrinking labor unions, it’s California. (…)

However, hundreds of thousands of workers — possibly millions — will see an immediate impact on their working conditions after the switch.

Emphasis mine and that last statement is certainly correct.

On January 1, 2020, it will severely limit all of my gigs. In short, AB5 limits me to 35 pieces of freelance work per year for an individual recipient.

This includes my blogging here at DaTechGuy Blog.

Most of you know that I live in Los Angeles. Back in 2013, Peter invited to me to be one of his Da Magnificent Seven. Initially, each of us contributed one blog post per week, but, a few years back, we upped the number to two  a week which, of course, means that I post here 104 times per year.

You can figure out the impact. By the way, Peter — who lives in Massachusetts — is an awesome boss and a great guy.

I told you about California’s new law – and its purpose – weeks ago.

I’ve been saying to any who will listen that the goal of California’s Organized Left (OL) is to drive out the middle class. The OL’s dream population will consist of the rich and the servant class, with the latter being composed mostly of illegal aliens. (…)

Freelance writers – even itinerant “street artists” like me – are considered part of the middle class by the OL because we all have the potential of upward mobility and, most importantly, we cannot be controlled by an employer.

Problem laid out.

In my next DMS blog post — this Saturday — I will tell you what my options are.

HERE ARE THE OPTIONS:  Why I Stayed in California.

Juliette Akinyi Ochieng has been blogging since 2003 as baldilocks. Her older blog is here.  She published her first novel, Tale of the Tigers: Love is Not a Game in 2012.

Follow Juliette on Facebook, Twitter, MeWe, Patreon and Social Quodverum.

Hit Da Tech Guy Blog’s Tip Jar !

Or hit Juliette’s!

Update DTG: Thanks Juliette for your kind words and thanks Glenn for the Instalanche. Hi folks, the template might be the same but the host is different so I hope you’re loading faster and without issue. While you’re here don’t forget to check out Juliette’s other pieces and

Hope to see you again soon

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