Zhang believes the American obsession with politics sucks up energy and time that Americans could spend working on new technologies or developing new businesses. Zhang recognizes that political discussions happen in th US because so much of the culture is based around preserving personal freedom.
But, he said, Chinese people are currently focused on a different kind of freedom: the freedom for economic development. By way of example, Zhang points to the country's 1. Most work hours a day, six days a week. Journalists from the US often come to China and interview the couriers, many of whom are university graduates, about their labor rights. Many couriers lack the rights provided by western labor laws like overtime pay, workers' compensation benefits, or insurance in case of accidents.
But what those journalists fail to understand, Zhang went on, is that the couriers want the work, regardless of the long hours and the danger. The obsession with economic advancement isn't limited to those in the service industry, Zhang said. It goes up the economic ladder.
Middle class people in white collar jobs like tech and finance work crazy hours as well, either to chase their dreams or chase the status and respect of others, according to Zhang.
And if everyone else is going to work 10 hours, I'll work Take all of that energy and drive together, according to Zhang, and you have the answer as to why China is developing so much faster than the US right now. For you.
Based on a comparison of GDP measured at purchasing power parity conversion rates, the US economy in , having stood as the largest in the world for more than a century, slipped into second place behind China, which has more than tripled the US growth rate for each year of the past four decades.
In the US, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace.
US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, businesses face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. Long-term problems for the US include stagnation of wages for lower-income families, inadequate investment in deteriorating infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, energy shortages, and sizable current account and budget deficits.
But the globalization of trade, and especially the rise of low-wage producers such as China, has put additional downward pressure on wages and upward pressure on the return to capital. Since , dividends and capital gains have grown faster than wages or any other category of after-tax income. Crude oil prices doubled between and , the year home prices peaked; higher gasoline prices ate into consumers' budgets and many individuals fell behind in their mortgage payments. Because the US economy is energy-intensive, falling oil prices since have alleviated many of the problems the earlier increases had created.
The sub-prime mortgage crisis, falling home prices, investment bank failures, tight credit, and the global economic downturn pushed the US into a recession by mid GDP contracted until the third quarter of , the deepest and longest downturn since the Great Depression. The government used some of these funds to purchase equity in US banks and industrial corporations, much of which had been returned to the government by early In , the Federal Government reduced the growth of spending and the deficit shrank to 7.
US revenues from taxes and other sources are lower, as a percentage of GDP, than those of most other countries. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan required major shifts in national resources from civilian to military purposes and contributed to the growth of the budget deficit and public debt. In March , former President OBAMA signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ACA , a health insurance reform that was designed to extend coverage to an additional 32 million Americans by , through private health insurance for the general population and Medicaid for the impoverished.
Total spending on healthcare - public plus private - rose from 9. In July , the former president signed the DODD-FRANK Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a law designed to promote financial stability by protecting consumers from financial abuses, ending taxpayer bailouts of financial firms, dealing with troubled banks that are "too big to fail," and improving accountability and transparency in the financial system - in particular, by requiring certain financial derivatives to be traded in markets that are subject to government regulation and oversight.
The Fed ended its purchases during the summer of , after the unemployment rate dropped to 6. In December , the Fed raised its target for the benchmark federal funds rate by 0. With continued low growth, the Fed opted to raise rates several times since then, and in December , the target rate stood at 1.
The new taxes took effect on 1 January ; the tax cut for corporations are permanent, but those for individuals are scheduled to expire after Population below poverty line 0. Inflation rate consumer prices 2. Labor force Distribution of family income - Gini index British pounds per US dollar: 0.
Canadian dollars per US dollar: 1, 1. Chinese yuan per US dollar: 1, 6. Japanese yen per US dollar: Taxes and other revenues GDP - composition, by end use household consumption: Gross national saving Energy China United States Electricity - production 5.
Electricity - consumption 5. There are quite a few differences between American and Chinese business culture that should be touched on in detail. The greatest difference between the Americans and the Chinese is in their mentalities. Americans are highly individualistic and so they value personal achievement above collective achievement. They value personal identity far more than they value collective identity.
This is not the case for the Chinese, who value their national and societal identity more than anything else. Americans do not have a problem bragging about their successes and personal achievements.
They see it as an okay thing to do. The Chinese, however, see this as highly selfish because one should always consider themselves part of a whole and successes are associated with the nation or the company, rather than the individual who orchestrated the success. If you focus too much on your individual achievements in front of Chinese businessmen in a bid to impress them, you might end having the exact opposite effect. Americans are very direct in their communication styles. They tend to be blunt, persuasive, and highly aggressive when they are pursuing a business deal.
They want to have the upper hand in every negotiation. This is a part of American work culture and it works well here.
The Chinese prefer to be polite and courteous, showing deference to their business contacts and respecting them. They choose the indirect path to negotiations. If you show them this respect and politeness, they will match it and you will find it easier to negotiate your way to a middle ground where everyone is satisfied.
Despite the fact that the Chinese choose the indirect path to their negotiations, they also tend to ask highly personal questions of their business contacts, which might seem in contradiction to their polite nature at first.
In America, you can do business with someone, even if you would never consider being friends with them outside of the business setting. The Chinese will ask you highly personal questions; questions that would be frowned upon in the American business setting and considered irrelevant to the deal. They will ask you about your family, your personal life, and so on.
This is because the Chinese let their professional and personal lives overlap.
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