Or why people always blame taxes and the rich. Discourse on who is #1, and more ramblings.
Response to a friend's Facebook post.
DON'T people know? U.S. taxes are not the issue. Europe has higher income taxes (rich or poor). China has a higher corporate tax (25 percent to the U.S., 21 percent). Average wealth tax is around 1 percent or lower in Europe. Etc etcetera.
Yet what really is #1? Does it really matter? The U.S. is still #1 economy in the world. Refer to the strength of the dollar as global legal tender since Bretton Woods 1944. America's economic leverage got formidable or peerless at that point. The #1 stature is a complex discourse though.
CHINA's major industries are state-owned (including Beijing's 5 world-leading banks). Most of the European Union have high taxes but many basic services are government-subsidized, free or affordable. The U.S., however, is also #1 in an absurd measure: Military spending, $825 billion and exponentially rising, and maintains over 750 military bases overseas. Overkill wastage.
Also, the U.S. is world's top consumer market, although its population size is 4x lesser than China and smaller in geography than Russia (#1 in total land area).
CHINA's army size is the world's largest, of course, due to its human number but its military budget is only $209 billion with 1 military base overseas (in Djibouti). Russia's military budget is $75 billion with 21 military bases abroad.
MEANWHILE, why do the U.S. insists on tossing billions of taxpayer money to the Ukraine war and Israel's obliteration of Gaza? The U.S. believes a longer war in Ukraine will deplete the Russian economy via more military spending and eventual lower export revenue. Wrong. Why?
Russia has China, India and BRICS partners including new members Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt as major markets. Yet the US energy giants would probably take over Ukraine's massive resources, including natural gas and coal.
I don't think Russia is interested in occupying Ukraine but it wants continuous (oil/gas) route access to/in the Baltic Sea.
A LONGER Gaza crisis means derailment of Middle East's trade diversification efforts and Chinese FDI implementation in the MENA region.
Note: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, UAE (and Ethiopia) have joined BRICS. Significantly, the Arab League will shudder (the bloc has accepted Syria back) and "arms for oil" bilateral deals with the U.S. will be back. (Top 5 arms makers are American corporations.)
But I don't think the region and BRICS are dumb to fall into President Biden's hawkish bait. Bad for business.
BY the way, U.S. external debt has spiked again. Top holders of U.S. debt: Japan and China. Figure that one out: Japan is the top FDI country in the U.S. but, contrary to what many think, China is not even a top 25 FDI nation in America.
Yet many are still blaming America's rich for the current U.S. (economic) woes? Fact is, U.S. billionaires somehow aid Washington keep up in geopolitical power play vs. its traditional rivals.
Another major problem of America: Continually widening divide in society and legislature. Reason why, in a real sense, the United States isn't the world's most influential nation anymore. Weakened. The people are too grossly divided to fix a weakened leadership. 🏛🗽🏛
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