Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Economic Comparatives Notes

GDP 2012
USA $16.2M
China $8.4M
Japan $6.0M
Germany $3.4M
France $2.6M
United Kingdom $2.4M
Brazil $2.3M
Russia $2.0M

In the US, land is privately owned by citizens and businesses, (though the government does
own a large portion of the land, especially in the western states) but it is taxed heavily as a
source of income for the government.
In China, all land is owned by the government, which issues "use contracts" which usually last
around 70 years to private citizens and to businesses. this provides a major source of income
for the State, allowing them to keep taxes relatively low.

In the US, companies are either completely private, or completely government owned.
In China, many State-Owned Enterprises are heavily invested in by private citizens and
companies through the stock market.

There are fewer labor regulations in China than in the US. The minimum wage is much lower,
and the "social welfare" system is still new and developing

In the US, every legal monetary transaction is taxed, aside from a long list of very specic forms
of payment/compensation, and certain foods sold in a certain way.
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Wednesday, February 5, 2014
The Chinese economy is "protected" by high tariffs, making it extremely expensive to import
high-end consumer goods such as electronics or cars, as well as a tightly controlled currency
with exchange rates (taxes) set by the central bank.

The economic system of china is often referred to as "state capitalism," though the Chinese
government would prefer to be referred to as a "market socialism economy." China's economy is
very mixed, and is hard to place in one real denition. it is missing too many of the properties of
communism (private wealth can be collected, and foreign private investments are allowed) for it
to be considered communist, but it is also lacking too many key aspects of capitalism (private
land ownership and sanctity of contracts) for it to be considered capitalist.

The US has a very tainted form of capitalism, in which transactions can be made freely, but are
heavily taxed, and many things are illegal to sell, or are very difcult to sell and require multiple
permits to sell legally.

The United Stated and China, in regards to their economies and how they are run, are similar in
that each person can hold person wealth, and can openly trade that wealth with other people.
Chinese and American citizens can both invest stock in private companies, and can invest in
foreign investments.

They are not similar in many ways beyond that though, as land in china is never privately owned
and land can only be used for a certain amount of time before it is either conscated or the "use
contract" is renewed. Private citizens in china can even invest in stock in State-owned
enterprises.
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The US China
a stock
market
no land is privately
owned
central bank
high tariffs
private citizens can invest
stock in government
enterprises
all privately owned
businesses and
citizens privately own
land
low land taxes
high land taxes
higher labor
restrictions
enterprises are either
completely governmental
or completely private
privately owned
wealth
privately owned
businesses
foreign investments
are allowed