2 day update: Got a flat on Monday AM so wound up getting a partial ride in, but the ride home was fine. Left the house without a spare tube because I ran out of patches, and specifically said to my wife that I hoped I wouldn't get a flat ("Ha ha....") Of course I had a nail in the tire by the time I got to Cypress. Tuesday it rained in the AM, but was beautiful on the way home.
NPR On Point's show was on the success of state capitalism vs. private capitalism. China and Singapore were discussed as being able to unilaterlly manage their economies without interference from private corporations or elected bodies, e.g. Congress. If China needs to change policy or spend money right away it can do it, whereas the U.S. Congress needs to have hearings, draft motions, etc. before getting anything done.
Good discussion on how large businesses in N. America and Europe are accustomed to getting their way through lobbying and relationships, but when they enter China or state-run markets they are in a far more subordinate position. Also a discussion on China's growing problems: Sure, they have a lot of jobs, but most of them are low-paying, subsistence jobs that help exports, but there's no money left to create a domestic consumer economy. As China's wages go up there is the threat that export jobs are affected, and the economic gap is not filled by employing these workers to produce for the domestic market. Singapore is hailed as the ideal economic model for state capitalism, and achieves a balance of personal liberties and economic freedom, all controlled by a benevolent government. Having worked there, it should be stated clearly that Singapore is easy to manage because it's geographically small and therefore easier to control than say India or America.
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