April 20, 2009
With layoffs, bankruptcies, plant shutdowns, stock market losses, negative quarterly reports, foreclosures, and lost profits, is there anything for which we should be thankful?
The shear volume of negative information that is being reported sometimes becomes the story even more than the specific facts of the situation. Nevertheless, we all know that the United States and world economy is not as good as it was a year ago. So, what are we to make of this situation?
As bad as the United States economy has become, is there any place on earth you would rather be?
How about the new juggernaut in the world economy, China? It is true that China has made unbelievable progress in the last two decades.
- The GDP in China in 2008 was $4,222,000,000,000. The United States GDP was $14,330,000,000,000. So, the US Economy is approximately 3.34 times larger than the economy that is often presented as irrepressible.
- The population in China is 1,337,722,000. The United States population is 306,247,000. That means that the GDP per person in China is $3,156 and the US GDP per person is $46,792.
- In China, the “rule of law” is a fleeting enigma. People who are willing to bribe government officials or company officials are almost immune from prosecution until it reaches a level where it becomes public. The “rule of law” is a cherished institution in the United States. Not to say that some do not cheat, but the vast majority of business people believe in and practice ethical business practices.
- The flow of some information is stifled by the government in China and limited to only what the government feels is appropriate. In the United States, the problem is not the lack of information, but developing ways to sort the abundance of information at our disposal.
So, I think you can see where I am headed on this. No economy in the world has had more discussion or has received as much publicity in the last decade than China. Despite this slanted coverage, the United States economy dwarfs not only the entire country by a factor of 334%, but when you get down to the individual citizen there is no reasonable comparison. The GDP per citizen in the United States is 1483% higher than the GDP per citizen in China.
We are facing challenging times in the United States. The economic problems here and throughout the world are making it tough to make ends meet currently. But with all of our problems, there is no better place to work, be creative, provide value, and then reap the rewards than the United States.
Therefore, for me and my associates, we are going to celebrate the opportunities that “winning the birth lottery” has provided us.
We are going to utilize the advantages of:
- The world’s largest economy
- The “rule of law”
- The freedom to obtain and utilize the information of the world
Being in business in the United States offers tremendous opportunities–let us all covenant together to do the things necessary to be worthy of the opportunities with which we have been entrusted.
Go sell something.
Thanks,
Ted S. Miller