economy – Symphony

Cadence of Conflict: Asia, January 3, 2022

SymphonyJanuary 3, 2022

Taiwan is on the rise. With chip shortages, stock is booming. You know how graphics cards are astronomically high? A lot of that money is going into Taiwan.

Meanwhile, China found an excuse to order a real estate developer to demolish 39 freshly, new-built “luxury apartments”—something about the building permit being illegal and violated zoning. Even it the trumped up charges were true, a settlement could have save the company loads of cash and profited China’s government in tax revenue. Instead, the company lost big time and de-listed in Hong Kong.

And, that’s why China is the better choice to issue diktat over Taiwan. Though, some 72% of Taiwanese don’t think so. Taiwan’s president is boosting military strength. Taiwanese veteran generals retire to the US start cooperation for veterans. Taiwan as the favored spot came after Nicaragua put in its lot with China and severed relations with Taiwan. That was last month. Marco Rubio thinks it is because Nicaragua’s government is glad China turns a blind eye to human rights violations.

In Encore

Encore of Revival: America, October 4, 2021

SymphonyOctober 4, 2021

The US faces economic challenges. We’re about to be done with pandemic inflation—that is inflation wrought to tamp down economic fallout from the pandemic, but arguably a pandemic of inflation in itself. We can’t keep interest rates this low and we can’t keep printing money. Britain has also about had it. The West is due for a change of pace. Enter Taiwan.

China’s incursion of Taiwan’s airspace made Matt Drudge’s top three headlines this weekend. With 93 Chinese military jet incursions in three days, Taiwan says its preparing for war because it must. And, Taiwan rallies allies like Australia with the fact that Taiwan houses one of the largest IC conductor suppliers in the world.

But, consider more than just the Chinese aggression. Consider the Western economic situation.

Chinese aggression and the freedom of Taiwanese sells well to the general public. But, compassion alone does not shape global politics. China is chasing a dream of respect—which isn’t as motivating as Western economies needing a turbocharger. China isn’t just making a miscalculation on its military capacity by winning respect as the world’s bully. China is making the grave error of provoking when the allies of its sworn enemy are hungry. All eyes in the West are about to shift toward a war with China every bit as swift and embarrassing as the Opium Wars.

While China takes center stage, the Supreme Court gears up to review Roe v. Wade and gun owner rights.

In Encore

Encore of Revival: America, September 20, 2021

SymphonySeptember 19, 2021

Minimum wage needs a definition. It was intended for people who have a job for the first time, like high school students who live with parents and need to learn how to show up for work. When that wage minimum is applied to long-term employee of fifteen years, something is wrong. And, raising the minimum wage is no answer.

Instead, minimum wage should be defined somehow so that it is not applied to an employee of fifteen years. One important test for whether an employee should receive minimum wage is filing taxes as a dependent or living with parents. That would create two minimum wages: one for young dependents working simple jobs and another for experienced adults who live on their own.

Why hasn’t this been discussed? Blanketly raising the floor on all wages across society doesn’t make the house stand taller, it just adds a step to climb while making the ceiling closer. That sounds more like creating a problem so a politician can campaign on fixing it.

Elections themselves are evermore in doubt. The biggest problem with election fraud isn’t in government, but with news articles about election fraud asserting that fraud claims are “unfounded” without evaluating why. That’s still going on. To quote the ENRON hearings, “One word: ‘California’.”

Even with great products, why do Disney and Apple seem to be part of the problem and not the solution? The Biblical interpretation is to examine the morals of leadership. That’s one way of explaining it.

In Cadence

Cadence of Conflict: Asia, May 4, 2020

SymphonyMay 4, 2020

The anti-China machine is in full gear. Western nations are cranking out new reasons to hate China every day. Some is true, some is not, all is justified because China chose to respond in control, concealment, and censorship. Much how George W Bush build a case against Iraq, which many believed to be fake from the get go, people will support action against China because of other indisputable things China has done.

The better road would have been to empower China with values rather than enabling China with money. Some foolishly thought, or at least claimed to think, that giving China Western money would teach China Western values. That’s as silly an idea as thinking that giving a child a birthday cake every day will teach the child to appreciate hard work. Instead of virtue, the West raised China be like Marie Antoinette who answered poverty by saying, “Let them eat cake.”

China’s solution to Western growth is to defeat the West with technology copied from the West. That’s not a nation that learned our values, but underappreciated our hard work to a point that they would go to war with great weakness: lack of ingenuity. Like a butcher prepares a cow, the West fattened China for the slaughter and China was all to happy to get fat and angry.

In Cadence

Cadence of Conflict: Asia, April 6, 2020

SymphonyApril 6, 2020April 13, 2020

The pneumoniavirus is having a detrimental effect on China. While Xi Jinping kicks China’s economy into full swing, the rest of the world is on full alert. Manufacturing moves home—whether to or from China. Countries seek alternate supply sourcing. Taiwan shines like a star of brilliance, set up as if to shame China by design. China’s big mistake was going along with feeling shamed, as if by design. China could have played its hand with Taiwan the way the UK did with the American Revolution—claiming it lost a few colonies, but that it didn’t matter. By pretending not to care, the world might not care and China would be unstoppable. Instead, China is taking every step possible to create new enemies and make old enemies worry.

In that wake, Taiwan grows in military and respect, even donating medical masks to other countries. The WHO now faces shame and doubt because of an evermore apparent bias toward China. Australia cooperates with the US in efforts to confront China. Critical voices in China are silenced or otherwise go missing. An employee of Hong Kong CEO Carrie Lam resigned, then killed himself. Kim Jong-Un makes more threats. East Asia is more volatile than ever. Times like these are what some call an “opportunity”.

In Cadence

Cadence of Conflict: Asia, March 23, 2020

SymphonyMarch 23, 2020March 23, 2020

China’s in trouble—deep trouble. America pauses with the same hush of silence that swept the country from the outskirts of Washington to New Orleans in 1812, gathering around the radio in 1941, or staring at the same TV images on repeat in 2001. While America pauses and reflects, China accuses, taunts, and threatens, as if the world wasn’t already angry enough about the jobs lost to a Communist country that promotes leaders for party loyalty rather than governing competence.

There is no PR campaign, no cooperation, no compensation that can buy back decades of ill will. That ill will against China was only fueled by governments and leaders who allowed themselves to be trodden on, quite an evil thing the West did to set China up for such embarrassment. But, the Communist Chinese do themselves no service by fitting the stereotype handed to them.

While China faces Western scorn, Taiwan shines like Venus at twilight. They have the breakout under control almost as much as they have public panic on mute. The Taiwanese premier jokes about everyone having only one butt hole, then encourages everyone to buy, buy, buy—it helps the economy, after all, and there is plenty of supply. While Taiwan clips right along, clamping down as needed, China’s jealousy only simmers and froths. The Communists across the Straight want the results of capitalism and competence, without any of the actions or guiding virtues.

When scorn and jealousy mix and reach a critical boiling point, like fudge, China will start to harden. If these are the days when China invades Taiwan, a roused and ready America won’t be the only thing stopping them. Taiwanese are already well-stocked at home from a virus that China perceivedly caused. They can stay at home. They have the defenses and pantries to hold out for America, who is alive and well and hungry to kick someone’s butt.