Re: Stagnant, Dropping Wages … - Posted by Frank Chin
Posted by Frank Chin on November 04, 2005 at 07:53:51:
Economics:
Very thought provoking. Thanks.
When my old daughter, now 9, was in Pre-K, I remarked to the teacher at “parent teacher” conference that I’m so pleased that she’s taught things that I only learned in Kindergarten, and the FREE pre-K really gave kids a year’s head start on life. The teacher who’s a grandma said “there’re a year a head now, but they’ll be a few years behind by high school”.
Two years later, I was at another “parent teacher” conference and the second grade teacher said my daughter talks too much, pays little attention while he’s teaching, and it’s obvious she did not hear the lessons most of the time. I told him I had a similar problem back when I was in first grade, but when my dad heard about it, a quick spanking and scolding quickly corrected things. No, I did not scold or spank my daughter.
So my conclusion is “it’s not that schools are bad, or is money lacking, but the lack or parenting in many cases, and the laisse faire attitude that predominates”.
As to developing countries like China and India graduating more and even BETTER engineers, who can work cheaper, let’s not despair. First, they got a much larger population. And second, after a century or warfare (WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam), lets hope the development of society through education and trade would bring peace and stability.
NOW the PROPOSITION of a HOUSING COLLAPSE.
I agree it’s true that many jobs had gone overseas. I agree that in the long run, we may not enjoy a steady escalating standard or living. But will we quickly become a second rate nation in short order??
It may happen, but it’ll be a slow process that takes many many years.
Take China for instance. It was a supreme power before and after the Mongol invasion of the 1200’s. The Mongol empire, that opened the silk road, establishment of a stable currency that allowed trade and commerce to flourish. It was the first GLOBALIZATION.
What happened. The west learned to make silk, and pottery themselves, in some cases kidnapping “silk merchants”. So the first OUTSOURCING took place.
Then, in the 1400’s the Ming emporers closed the country to the west, for a variety of reasons. The Indutrial Revolution took place in the west, China stagnated, and the rest is history.
But the downfall took several hundred years. So the collpase of the US economy, housing prices may take just that long.
BUT before then, western influence on Chinese, Indian cultures would have taken place, if it has not already. From what I read, parents are spoiling their kids rotten.
So in another 20 years, they’ll be lazy kids not learning in schools throughout China, they go home and mom and dad are busy at work, and get spanked?? NO.
It’ll take a while, but given time, schools there will COME DOWN to our level.
Frank Chin
