China June trade surplus swells five-fold

Reuters ^ | Reuters

[jpsb]

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's trade surplus for June swelled five-fold from a year earlier as exports grew much faster than imports, offering more ammunition for foreign critics who argue that Beijing should let the yuan rise in value.

The June surplus grew to $9.68 billion, exceeding forecasts of $8.0 billion and towering above the $1.8 billion surplus recorded for June 2004.

[Protagoras]

BTW are you saying engineers should be making 10$ an hour?

Nope. But thanks for asking instead of assuming like most around here do.

I think engineers should make whatever they can get. Absent the use of force or coercion.

Whether they are driving a train or designing things.

[Protagoras]

Actually I have no issue with free trade when I comes to South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, and most of the EU..

What about Mexico, Brazil or Mozambique?

Where I mind is nations with slave labor,

That's funny, these Chinese people are more prosperous than they have ever been since Mao took over. Maybe you prefer the days when they were starving to death because their captors didn't allow any market based economy?

no environmental regulations, and no human rights...

So, like Jimmy Carter, you believe in using trade wars to force other countries to conform to our ideals?

We are willing to lay down the lives of marines for democracy in Iraq, but not our dollars to encourage force it in china?

If thats why we are in Iraq, we shouldn't be there.

Is it a human right to starve because a Christian country refuses to trade with you so someone who doesn't want to get the training to better themselves can earn $70 an hour (inclusive of benefits) for doing monkey work putting a bumper on a car?

[Protagoras]

Asking an American citizen to put his life on the line should be for America's benefit.

That should never be a reason. The only legitimate reason that American citizens should lay down their lives is to defend the rights of Americans. Nothing more.

[Protagoras]

Are Americans entitled to Stolen money (Social security Ponzt scheme) vacations and medical benefits, etc?

Are other people in other countries?

[Black Tooth]

Rising income charts are crap... standard of living in US has only rose moderately since 1970... and it has done so largely by the fact that most households are now 2 income not one... a complete opposite of how it was in 1970...

I couldn't agree more.

[Protagoras]

Not without the national will to do so.

If they have no will to do so, what do they deserve?

As a nation we are preoccupied with consuming and instant gratification rather than producing and we will mortgage whatever productive assets we have to keep consuming.

And they are calling me an America hater..lol

Look how consumers are given tax breaks (IE mortgage deductions) producers are taxed.

No government interference should be allowed or tolerated.

BTW, the tax advantages are not for the consumers, they are a way for government thugs to give gifts to the people who sell the subsidized goods or services.

Manufacturing requires much patient capital to build up plant and equipment.

Particularly when it's not profitable to do so.

I don't see that changing either in a next quarter results based management system.

What do you suggest? Some here probably want a planned economy with a government enforced management system. I don't see you being one of them.

[expat_panama]

 imf.org;   "the average real wage in the United States (that is, the average wage adjusted for inflation) has grown only slowly since the early 1970s"

I was about to call the IMF a bunch of idiots-- but whether they are or not, the line you quoted was from a study made almost ten years ago by these guys:  ------------->

In context,  the idiots the economists were talking about unskilled workers.  It's true (sort of); even my graph in post 119 shows how bottom quintile wages seemed to be flat from the mid '70's to the mid '90's. 

Then again, right after they made the study, real unskilled worker wages shot up by about ten percent but no matter.   The fact is by then most of those unskilled workers of the '70's had become the skilled workers of the '90's.

[superiorslots]

Some of what you say is correct but it is not 100%.

The NUMBER ONE reason that health insurance is going up is the american people are obese and in very poor health Period. 15 years ago on a group of 10 employees you had 2 that were unhealthy. Today 8 are sick and 2 are healthy. People are living longer but they are living with the diabetes etc.

The cases of diabetes, HBP, stomach acid reflex(caused by weight) and sleep apnea is unbeleievable. I also see a ton of knee/hip replacements today caused by weight especially in people 40-60 years old. I never used to see this 20 years ago.

New equipment/treatment type of stuff come in a close second for cost. I don't like lawyers but actually from what I've read med malpractice is down on the list of what is causing prices to go up. I'm not discounting these though. They are big problems but they are not number one. Utilization is.

Yes there are more medical treatments today but years ago the health insurance probably actually covered more. For instance I remember 25 years ago people would stay 7-8 days in the hospital for something like a gall bladder surgery. Today they are out in 2 days. Heart bypasses are now out in a few days when I remember people used to stay 2 weeks in the hospital after their surgery. Some of it is caused by new treatments but most is caused by insuranace companies forcing the people out of the beds. Outpatient is more common today and peoplea reoun several hours after the procedure when tey used to spend 1-2 in the hospital.

Medical billing cost is down from what I've heard. I have a group of docs that used to employee 4 women for insurance billing in their practice. Today they have none for that purpose because just about most practices today use an outside billing source. That same doctors office has one person they deal with at the billing source and it is all computerized today and there is no longer a paper trail.Also in my area 25 years ago there was probably 15-20 active insurance carriers. Today there is 5-6 so there is less to contend with.

I agree what you are saying in your last paragraph about medical cost but they have been coming down in a way. One reason is the insurance companies are not paying doctors as much. That is why the docs are screaming so much. Most docs are under PPO's or HMO's today and are only paid a minimal amount. Those amounts have been cut back or if they are raised not keeping up with cost. I twisted my ankle last year and the doc billed out $78 for the x-ray and they were paid $24.00 which they have to contracturally accept from the insurance company. I remember 20 years ago x-rays were $75-100 and insurance companies paid that amount.

[SandyB]

Do you realize how ridiculous you sound? Last year the US exported over $800 billion in goods

Do you know how ridiculous you sound? Our trade deficit was almost $700 billion last year, and will soon be over $800 billion. Next year we will actually be borrowing more than we export.

[Protagoras]

The NUMBER ONE reason that health insurance is going up is the american people are obese and in very poor health Period.

The number one reason heath insurance is going up is the demand has increased exponentially since the government started subsidizing it. Period.

[SandyB]

Freedom from government control and intrusion will out-produce even China's top down military controlled totalitarian

so who has freedom from gov control? ... certainly not the United States. Anywyas, china will outproduce everyone very soon, and soon there will be no factories left in america to produce anything.

[N3WBI3]

So when the founders spoke of using tariffs for income where they kidding?

[SandyB]

The fact is by then most of those unskilled workers of the '70's had become the skilled workers of the '90's.

The skilled workers of the 90's, computer engineers, programmers, engineers, etc are now working at McDonalds. The United States doesnt even make things that require skilled labor anymore, eg, televisions, radios, electronics, computers, etc. IBM personal computers are chinese owned, and the chips for all the other computers come from asia.

[N3WBI3]

What about Mexico, Brazil or Mozambique?

Environmental standards and standard of living is lacking.

Maybe you prefer the days when they were starving to death because their captors didn't allow any market based economy?

And maybe you prefer today when American dollars build up the Chinese military so they can soon overwhelm Taiwan..

So, like Jimmy Carter, you believe in using trade wars to force other countries to conform to our ideals?

No, I believe in using free trade when there is a level playing field for small American businesses and workers, don't you?

Is it a human right to starve because a Christian country refuses to trade with you so someone who doesn't want to get the training to better themselves can earn $70 an hour (inclusive of benefits) for doing monkey work putting a bumper on a car?

Please my father worked at GM for years and made nowhere near 70$ an hour. BTW way to call autoworkers monkey's... I cant believe free traitors are winning this debate with attitudes like that.

Now we have x-ray techs, accountants, and some legal work being done in India... But its ok Im sure that what ever it is that you do or what ever it is that you sell cant be dont cheaper in a 3rd world nation...

[SandyB]

http://www.americaneconomicalert.org/ticker_home.asp

$346,221,282,906.18

The number above represents the U.S. trade deficit, up until this second, for the year 2005. A trade deficit is a calculation of the difference between the goods and services Americans sell to foreigners and the goods and services that Americans purchase from foreigners

[Protagoras]

So when the founders spoke of using tariffs for income where they kidding?

No. Income was the goal.

So did they talk about tariffs to force other countries to do what we want and to hand out favors to businesses and labor unions in exchange for power?

[listenhillary]

You know what? You are the type that probably wouldn't have immigrated. The ocean is to big, what if we spring a leak? I hear it's hard work in America.

I like my safe feudal system. I get food, a place to sleep and I get to keep 1/4 of my crop that I produce. Who could ask for more?

Anyway - you are responding to one comment that came after this comment.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1440466/posts?page=128#128

[Protagoras]

Environmental standards and standard of living is lacking.

I see, you humanitarians will raise their standard of living and environmental standards by keeping them poor and stupid and in bondage. I see now. Thanks for enlightening me.

BTW, where did you get the imbecilic idea that it was the goal of trade pollicy to force countries to do what we want them to do?

[superiorslots]

Quote: The skilled workers of the 90's, computer engineers, programmers, engineers, etc are now working at McDonalds. The United States doesnt even make things that require skilled labor anymore, eg, televisions, radios, electronics, computers, etc. IBM personal computers are chinese owned, and the chips for all the other computers come from asia.




SandyB you are wrong. The local high wage paying factory in my area that closed down 2 years ago and moved to china has now been turned into a flea market and many of those laid of workers are now ceo's of their own small flea market business's there. They are living the american dream!! (major sarcasm)

[N3WBI3]

And where is fair trade doing that?