Chapter 3 Chapter 02 Why is everything more expensive in us than in the United States
Why is the price of the same commodity higher in China than in the United States?
The BMW Z4 car costs 589,000 yuan in China, but the price in the United States is only 200,000 yuan.
Different economic structures, why does low income lead to high consumption?
It seems that only natural gas, a product that is used by the general public, is almost the same price. As long as products above this level include luxury goods, computers, sports shoes, etc., we are all more expensive than others.
Price bubbles emerged, and new problems aroused social vigilance.
Do you know what West Lake is now?All the classical houses around West Lake are currently occupied by a white-collar elite and Mr. A.
In this chapter, I want to talk about a more interesting topic, a topic related to everyone's life, called the bubble economy.As you can see recently, there are bubbles everywhere, real estate bubbles, stock market bubbles, and now garlic is also bubbles. There are too many bubbles in China's prices.
Let me give readers an example. In 1982, when we went to see the movie "Shaolin Temple", the ticket price was 10 cents. In 2007, when "Transformers" was released in Beijing, the ticket price was 80 yuan. times.In the United States, the ticket price of "Transformers" in first-tier movie theaters is 54 yuan after being converted into RMB.In fact, many Hong Kong people go to the mainland to watch movies, and they find the ticket price incredible, because the most expensive ticket price in Hong Kong is only 50 Hong Kong dollars.If you go to see it during non-peak hours, there is still a ticket price of 20 Hong Kong dollars to 40 Hong Kong dollars. Our income in the mainland is so low, how can the price of movie tickets be so high?Simply unimaginable.In China, it is a luxury for a male student to watch a movie with his girlfriend.What is this called?Price bubble.Take McDonald's as an example. The price of McDonald's in the United States is similar to that in China.What about natural gas?We are about 3.5 yuan per cubic meter, which is similar to that in the United States.Have you noticed that the price of such low-end restaurants is similar, and the price of gas is similar, but things like movies are much worse.That is to say, the prices of food and supplies, which are consumed by the general public, are similar to those in the United States, but as long as they are not mass consumer goods, Chinese products must be more expensive.For example, the long-distance call fee is 10 cents per minute if you call from the United States. If you call us, you will have to pay 8 yuan per minute. How much do you think is the difference?There is also a Panasonic 54-inch plasma TV, the same model, which sells for 40,939 yuan in China, but the price in the United States is only a quarter of our price, equivalent to only 10,239 yuan in RMB. Can you imagine it?We have repeatedly checked this data on the Internet to ensure that it is correct.
China's housing price-to-income ratio has reached three to six times that of developed countries. First-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have house prices comparable to Tokyo's when their per capita income is less than one-tenth that of Tokyo, Japan. The housing price-to-income ratio in some areas has exceeded 30 times.The prices of vegetables, meat and eggs, grain and edible oil all rose to varying degrees.Price issues have become the focus of attention of the people.So, what is the price problem?What is the so-called price bubble?
Some of us like to wear big-name clothes, such as Armani. An Armani suit costs about 30,000 RMB in China, but if you buy it in the United States, it is only 15,000 RMB when converted into RMB.Gasoline is 6.83 yuan per liter in China, and 4.56 yuan per liter in the United States, which is also a lot worse.The BMW Z4 costs 589,000 yuan in China, but only 200,000 yuan in the United States.In addition, the Nokia 1661 mobile phone, readers may think that this thing should be the same all over the world, but it is actually different. It costs about 300 US dollars to buy in China, and only 85 US dollars to buy in the United States, which is nearly 4 times worse.What about laptops?It costs 6,000 yuan to buy a notebook in China, but it is only 3,406 yuan in RMB in the United States, and that's not all.Let me give you a few more examples. There is a travel bag called Samsonite, which is translated into Chinese. We call it Samsonite. You may not know Samsonite. If you buy this kind of bag in the United States, it costs about 27 dollars, which is China. One-fifth to one-tenth of the price, we have to spend so much more than others to buy a bag.In the United States, a POLO autumn coat is $29, and Clark’s sandals, an American brand, cost $23. Seeing these figures, do you still think that the American economy is bankrupt?Or a big sale?I feel the same way, I don't know why. A friend of mine once went to eat at a restaurant called Little Taipei in Los Angeles, USA. Four people ordered a lot of dishes, all of which were seafood such as fish, shrimp and crab. Once the bill was settled, it was only 49 US dollars for 4 people, which is about 300 yuan when converted into RMB. The average price of each dish is only 7 US dollars. If seafood like this fish, shrimp and crab are eaten in China, this amount is at most a fraction.Of course, if you go to those very small restaurants, it's a different matter, but in ordinary restaurants, ours is definitely much more expensive than the American ones.There is also the coffee we often drink. In the United States, it costs 1 dollar, which is less than 7 yuan.On our side, even if we go to ordinary cafes and cafes, a cup costs about 20 to 30 yuan, right?It seems that only fast food like McDonald's that the general public eats, and natural gas, a product that the general public uses, are about the same price as in the United States, and other slightly higher-end things are more expensive than others.Why? According to statistics, in 2007 the United States watched an average of 6 movies per person in theaters, while in my country, the average person went to theaters to watch only 0.1 movies in 2007.After a media investigation, it was found that "80% of the citizens have not seen a movie in 5 years".At the same time, some analysts pointed out that a movie ticket in the United States is equivalent to 1/400 of the per capita monthly income, a movie ticket in South Korea is equivalent to 1/350 of the monthly income, while a movie ticket in China is equivalent to 1/200 of the per capita monthly income. On a standard basis, movie tickets in China are almost 20 times more expensive than in the United States.What makes a mass form of entertainment culture a luxury of consumption, and what has happened to our consumption?
Just imagine, if we can earn $4,000 a month, we can drink a cup of coffee for $1, buy a laptop for $500, and treat a few friends to dinner for $50. How cool would it be?For us Chinese, this seems like an unattainable dream, but this is the real life of the American people, so consumption in the United States is very happy.Then we have to ask, we work longer hours than them and are more tired than them. Why do they have such a good life and our life is so hard? The answer I gave must be beyond everyone’s expectations—it’s because we didn’t hide wealth from the people, so except for general products, such as rice, wheat, and pork, the prices of our indispensable products in life are similar to those in the United States. Other slightly extravagant things are more expensive than others. In October 2008, our country was hit by the financial tsunami, and the government decided to set aside 4 trillion yuan for infrastructure construction.If you are concerned about my remarks, you should know that in October 2008, I clearly stated that we should "abandon the protection of the eighth and keep wealth among the people." I do not want the government to use this money for infrastructure construction.Why?Let me take the construction of expressways in the Midwest as an example. After the road is built, will there be cars running on it?Basically no.Readers should be clear that a highway with no cars running on it is called a highway with excess capacity.The government needs steel and cement when building expressways, so it can digest the 200 million tons of excess capacity in today's steel market, and at the same time digest the excess capacity of more than 500 million tons in today's cement market.But what to do after it is built?After the highway is built, there are no cars running on it, so you have created a new overcapacity.When we no longer need steel and cement, these two industries can only be knocked back to their original shape—overcapacity.Therefore, the result of the government's investment of 4 trillion yuan in infrastructure will become a country with more serious overcapacity.Do we have new economic growth points?No.This explains why in 2008, reinforced concrete accounted for 57%, and consumption accounted for 35% of GDP. By 2009, consumption was only 29%, and reinforced concrete accounted for 67%. I suggest that we must give this money to the common people, so that the wealth can be hidden among the people.How to give it is not the focus of my discussion.I just hope that the government can help companies make more money, because only when the company makes money, it will reinvest. Through the multiplier effect, the company can make more money and then reinvest. Through the multiplier As a result, more money can be made, which can ultimately boost the Chinese economy for a long time through corporate profits.You know, reinforced concrete is just a one-shot deal. If it is used up this year, it will be gone next year.And if our entrepreneurs can make a lot of money, the government can use legislation and other mechanisms to allow companies to increase employee salaries, so that employees will have more money to spend, so that we can slowly cultivate our consumption. Isn't our domestic demand growing accordingly?This is the chain of hiding wealth among the people, reflecting the consumption through profits, so as to stimulate the Chinese economy for a long time.This is why consumption in other countries accounts for 70% to 80% of GDP, while ours only accounts for 29% to 35%. On November 5, 2008, under the crisis situation hit by the global financial tsunami, the Chinese government resolutely announced a series of plans such as investing 4 trillion yuan within two years and revitalizing the ten major industries.A year later, the Chinese economy has delivered a beautiful report card in terms of data.However, after the economic situation is quickly settled, how to stimulate domestic consumption has become another topic of China's economic revitalization.So, what are the difficulties in stimulating domestic consumption?
There is also the house, which is something that we use to hype, so that many ordinary people in China can't afford it.Compared with China, houses in the United States are much cheaper.At the Canton Fair in 2009, several Chinese brought houses in Los Angeles to China for resale. American houses ranged from 90 square meters to 300 square meters. Among them, the cheapest 90 square meters cost only 100,000 US dollars, about 700,000 yuan. Renminbi is much cheaper than houses in Guangzhou and Shanghai.And American houses are different from ours. Our houses are called apartments. Most of the houses in the United States are bungalows and villas. A 100-square-meter villa in the United States is much cheaper than our 100-square-meter apartment in Shanghai and Beijing. Why is this?It's the same as cars, mobile phones, and televisions, because we don't hide wealth from the people. I will tell the reader a simple story. Mr. A earned 100 yuan from mining gold. He had two choices at the time: the first choice was that he gave 1 yuan to each of the 10 miners. What can this 1 yuan do?Only enough for food and clothing; the second option is to give each miner 5 yuan, 10 miners are 50 yuan, so if Mr. A makes the second choice, he only has 50 yuan left to put in his pocket.And if he makes the first choice, 1 person 1 yuan, 10 people 10 yuan, he will have 90 yuan left in his pocket, so for Mr. A, he chooses the first plan. most favorable.The question is how will he choose?I believe that a wise person will definitely make the second choice, do you know why?Because when the miner can get enough food and clothing with 1 yuan, he will spend another 1 yuan to buy leather bags, sportswear and sneakers.So Mr. A will find that in addition to digging for gold, he can open a hypermarket that specializes in selling leather bags, sportswear, and sports shoes.In order to sell these products, he hired 10 more female salespersons.In the end, these 10 miners and 10 saleswomen will get married and have children, so they will spend another 1 yuan to buy baby products, so this Mr. A finds out that he can set up a factory to produce baby products, You can make more money again.In the end, the couple had 2 yuan left, and they needed a house, so they spent 2 yuan to buy a house, so Mr. A found out that he could still do real estate development.From this we will find that because Mr. A made the second choice, when the gold mines are exhausted and these other industries grow up, this place becomes a wealthy small town.This is America's idea of hiding wealth from the people. What if Mr. A made the first choice?What to do when the gold mine is over?These 10 miners will lose their jobs immediately, causing serious social problems.Therefore, Mr. A had to spend another 40 yuan to build a highway to help these miners get employed. In the end, Mr. A still spent 50 yuan, but it could not solve the problem.Think about it, everyone, what happens after the highway is built?Will these 10 miners lose their jobs again?Is there any way to get them re-employed?there is none left.In the end, Mr. A can only see a seemingly beautiful highway in the deserted land.At this time, Mr. A could neither open a hypermarket, nor produce baby products, nor do real estate development, because the people were too poor.Then this Mr. A only has 50 yuan left in his pocket, how to spend it?Only take this 50 yuan to build a luxury villa. According to statistics from the China Real Estate Research Center, in November 2009, the number of villas sold in Beijing was 683, an increase of 11.6% over October, and the total transaction amount was 4.879 billion yuan, an increase of more than a quarter compared with October.According to experts in the industry, the price of a sea view villa in Sanya, Hainan is as high as 4.5 million US dollars after conversion. Can this amount buy George in the United States?Bush's farm can buy an ancient castle in Europe, and a beach in Thailand.In Spain, 300,000 euros can buy a luxury sea view apartment, while in Greece, 700,000 euros can buy a detached villa on a cliff.So, besides houses, what other consumer goods also show the characteristics of bubbles?Where is the reason?
I believe readers understand why housing prices in China are so expensive.It is because our government made the first choice, so a house costs 50 yuan, while the United States made the second choice, so a house only costs 2 yuan. For ordinary Chinese, movie theaters are a nostalgic dream, and another inflated dream is cars.However, consumers soon discovered that mid-to-high-end cars that generally sell for more than 200,000 yuan in China usually cost around 150,000 yuan in the United States. 500,000 yuan can buy almost most high-end luxury cars of brands abroad, including some models of Mercedes-Benz S series and BMW 7 series.So, are the high prices of domestic cars and movies caused by the same reason? I explained to readers the reason why houses are expensive, so let me explain again, why are cars, movies, TV sets, and mobile phones more expensive than in the United States?Let me illustrate with the same story again. After Mr. A made the first choice, he found that these 10 workers might not be easy to manage. He had to find someone to manage these workers. Therefore, Mr. A spent 10 yuan to hire a professional manager, which is the so-called white-collar elite. Mr. B came to manage these workers.If every miner gets a salary of 1 yuan, and only this white-collar elite gets a salary of 10 yuan, do you know what will happen?Let's take movies as an example.There is always a cost to make a film, for example, you have to pay Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Zhen, you have to pay for so many actors.What about the production cost?What about marketing costs?Adding up your cost is 10 yuan, so how do you recover the cost?Then it depends on what choice their government has made?If you made the first choice, you find that only a white-collar elite can afford to watch a movie. In order to recover the cost, you have to sell a ticket for 10 yuan.And if you make the second choice, all 10 miners can afford to watch the movie. How good is that? Divide the cost of 10 yuan by 10 people, and the ticket price of the movie is 1 yuan.Let me show the reader another data to make it clearer.Do you know how many movie screens there are in China?There are only 4,097 screens. You must know that China has a population of 1.3 billion, while the United States has only 300 million people, but there are as many as 38,990 screens.Why do I count screens and not cinemas?Because a movie theater may have seven or eight screens, it is more accurate to count the screens.So for a film producer, if you sell to China, where the first choice is the main choice, the cost will be higher, and the ticket price will of course be higher.And what about selling to the United States, where the second choice is the main option? What is the result of more than 30,000 screens being spread out?Movie tickets are definitely cheaper. Let me talk about mobile phones again. China produces a lot of mobile phones, right?More than half of them are counterfeit phones, and the price of counterfeit phones is only one-fourth to one-tenth of the genuine ones. Why are there so many counterfeit phones?Because genuine mobile phones are more expensive, we can't afford them, our spending power is too low, and we have no money at all, so we have to buy counterfeit mobile phones.Genuine mobile phones are not a popular thing for us Chinese people, but it is different in the United States. Everyone can afford mobile phones. It is precisely because everyone buys genuine mobile phones that the price of mobile phones is naturally cheap.The same is true for cars. In China, cars are sold to Mr. A and white-collar elite Mr. B, and ordinary people cannot afford them.What about in America?Every family basically has two cars, and the price of the cars is very cheap.Of course, you may ask me, aren't the things in our supermarket also very cheap?You are right, but let me tell you that things in American supermarkets are as cheap as ours. I bought a pair of Chinese-made hiking shoes in the United States for Christmas in 2009, and they only cost $2.99.This mountaineering shoe sells for three or four hundred yuan in China. Why?Or because they hid wealth from the people. Not only that, apart from the fact that wealth is hidden among the people, there is a second major reason for the price gap between China and the United States.It is much easier for Mr. A and Mr. B, the white-collar elite, to obtain wealth in China than for miners.Let me give another example. Readers may wish to go to West Lake to have a look. The appearance of West Lake is still the same, but the soul of West Lake has disappeared. Why do I say that?Because almost all the classical houses around the West Lake are currently occupied by Mr. A and Mr. B. It is said that it is an open club. If ordinary people want to come to eat, there is no problem. After you go in, you will find that the food here is expensive. It is outrageous, and there is no way for us ordinary people to accept it.It is through this high price that they keep all ordinary people out of the door.Since Mr. A and Mr. B, the white-collar elite, can easily obtain resources and make money more easily, they will not cherish these resources including money. They have no idea whether the price of luxury goods is high or low. Anyway, I As long as I want to buy it, I don't care if it is expensive or cheap.So, why are the prices of luxury goods in the United States much cheaper than ours in China?In fact, the reason is very simple, because the ability of the 10 miners in the United States to obtain resources is much worse than that of Mr. A and Mr. B in China. They cherish resources including money, so they must be more sensitive to fluctuations in the price of luxury goods than Mr. A and Mr. B, the white-collar elite. Sensitive, so the prices of luxury goods are generally lower than in China.For our 10 miners in China, it is extremely difficult to obtain resources, so they are extremely sensitive to the prices of products they can afford, which are generally necessities for people's livelihood. This is why the prices of necessities for people's livelihood in China are similar to those in the United States the reason. Of course, after Mr. A and Mr. B, the white-collar elite, made the first choice, they also controlled many other resources, even the rice cakes no longer belonged to the common people.Their behavior of showing off their wealth intensified the hatred of wealth among the 10 disadvantaged miners.Then let me ask you, will Mr. A and Mr. B in the United States do this?Will not.Why?Because if everyone is rich, there will be no such thing as dominating the West Lake and bullying the disadvantaged. The bar is on the right side of the first floor of the hotel.In the long and narrow space extending from the three-story hotel lobby, the wooden floor reflects a moist tea-brown halo, coupled with a set of colonial-style wooden tables and chairs, the whole bar has a special flavor. "Are you Mr. Qiuyue?" The man sitting at a table stood up and asked.The man is about 35 years old.From his body, you can already see the signs of middle age, and the hair from the forehead to the top of the head is already half bald. The middle-aged man introduced himself: "I am Chen Jiulin." The two shook hands while looking at each other. " The English name of the company—China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Limited—is printed on the front of Chen Jiulin's business card.On the back is Chinese, printed with "Chen Jiulin, Executive Director and President of China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Co., Ltd.". "When did you come to Singapore?" Qiuyue asked lightly.For predators, it is their usual practice to spend the time waiting for prey to appear relaxed and comfortable. "July 1st. The company's affairs have finally started to get on track, and now is the time to do a big job." Chen Jiulin quickly divided Beijing Weier English into several intermittent words. "Looks like you've picked an energy trader too." "Well, this... Everyone knows about JP Morrison's reputation, but can I ask Mr. Qiuyue to talk about your situation?" Chen Jiulin asked. "I graduated from Nihon University in 1983, and then worked in Suminoe Company as a metal futures trader." Chen Jiulin showed an expression of trying to search his memory. "So you are Bin Chuan's subordinate?" Qiuyue, wearing round glasses, smiled and nodded. Yasuo Binchuan was once a star trader of Suminoe Company. He controlled 5% of the global copper trading market and was known as "Mr. 5%" (Mr. Copper).It is a pity that due to misjudging the trend of the market, and then making mistakes again and again, it was finally discovered in June last year that it had caused a loss of 285.2 billion to the company, and now it has become a criminal defendant. "So, at present, does your company want us to undertake the part about hedging and swap transactions?" Qiuyue asked. This article is excerpted from "Oil War (Part 1 and 2)" by Ryo Kuroki
Some of us like to wear big-name clothes, such as Armani. An Armani suit costs about 30,000 RMB in China, but if you buy it in the United States, it is only 15,000 RMB when converted into RMB.Gasoline is 6.83 yuan per liter in China, and 4.56 yuan per liter in the United States, which is also a lot worse.The BMW Z4 costs 589,000 yuan in China, but only 200,000 yuan in the United States.In addition, the Nokia 1661 mobile phone, readers may think that this thing should be the same all over the world, but it is actually different. It costs about 300 US dollars to buy in China, and only 85 US dollars to buy in the United States, which is nearly 4 times worse.What about laptops?It costs 6,000 yuan to buy a notebook in China, but it is only 3,406 yuan in RMB in the United States, and that's not all.Let me give you a few more examples. There is a travel bag called Samsonite, which is translated into Chinese. We call it Samsonite. You may not know Samsonite. If you buy this kind of bag in the United States, it costs about 27 dollars, which is China. One-fifth to one-tenth of the price, we have to spend so much more than others to buy a bag.In the United States, a POLO autumn coat is $29, and Clark’s sandals, an American brand, cost $23. Seeing these figures, do you still think that the American economy is bankrupt?Or a big sale?I feel the same way, I don't know why. A friend of mine once went to eat at a restaurant called Little Taipei in Los Angeles, USA. Four people ordered a lot of dishes, all of which were seafood such as fish, shrimp and crab. Once the bill was settled, it was only 49 US dollars for 4 people, which is about 300 yuan when converted into RMB. The average price of each dish is only 7 US dollars. If seafood like this fish, shrimp and crab are eaten in China, this amount is at most a fraction.Of course, if you go to those very small restaurants, it's a different matter, but in ordinary restaurants, ours is definitely much more expensive than the American ones.There is also the coffee we often drink. In the United States, it costs 1 dollar, which is less than 7 yuan.On our side, even if we go to ordinary cafes and cafes, a cup costs about 20 to 30 yuan, right?It seems that only fast food like McDonald's that the general public eats, and natural gas, a product that the general public uses, are about the same price as in the United States, and other slightly higher-end things are more expensive than others.Why? According to statistics, in 2007 the United States watched an average of 6 movies per person in theaters, while in my country, the average person went to theaters to watch only 0.1 movies in 2007.After a media investigation, it was found that "80% of the citizens have not seen a movie in 5 years".At the same time, some analysts pointed out that a movie ticket in the United States is equivalent to 1/400 of the per capita monthly income, a movie ticket in South Korea is equivalent to 1/350 of the monthly income, while a movie ticket in China is equivalent to 1/200 of the per capita monthly income. On a standard basis, movie tickets in China are almost 20 times more expensive than in the United States.What makes a mass form of entertainment culture a luxury of consumption, and what has happened to our consumption?
Just imagine, if we can earn $4,000 a month, we can drink a cup of coffee for $1, buy a laptop for $500, and treat a few friends to dinner for $50. How cool would it be?For us Chinese, this seems like an unattainable dream, but this is the real life of the American people, so consumption in the United States is very happy.Then we have to ask, we work longer hours than them and are more tired than them. Why do they have such a good life and our life is so hard? The answer I gave must be beyond everyone’s expectations—it’s because we didn’t hide wealth from the people, so except for general products, such as rice, wheat, and pork, the prices of our indispensable products in life are similar to those in the United States. Other slightly extravagant things are more expensive than others. In October 2008, our country was hit by the financial tsunami, and the government decided to set aside 4 trillion yuan for infrastructure construction.If you are concerned about my remarks, you should know that in October 2008, I clearly stated that we should "abandon the protection of the eighth and keep wealth among the people." I do not want the government to use this money for infrastructure construction.Why?Let me take the construction of expressways in the Midwest as an example. After the road is built, will there be cars running on it?Basically no.Readers should be clear that a highway with no cars running on it is called a highway with excess capacity.The government needs steel and cement when building expressways, so it can digest the 200 million tons of excess capacity in today's steel market, and at the same time digest the excess capacity of more than 500 million tons in today's cement market.But what to do after it is built?After the highway is built, there are no cars running on it, so you have created a new overcapacity.When we no longer need steel and cement, these two industries can only be knocked back to their original shape—overcapacity.Therefore, the result of the government's investment of 4 trillion yuan in infrastructure will become a country with more serious overcapacity.Do we have new economic growth points?No.This explains why in 2008, reinforced concrete accounted for 57%, and consumption accounted for 35% of GDP. By 2009, consumption was only 29%, and reinforced concrete accounted for 67%. I suggest that we must give this money to the common people, so that the wealth can be hidden among the people.How to give it is not the focus of my discussion.I just hope that the government can help companies make more money, because only when the company makes money, it will reinvest. Through the multiplier effect, the company can make more money and then reinvest. Through the multiplier As a result, more money can be made, which can ultimately boost the Chinese economy for a long time through corporate profits.You know, reinforced concrete is just a one-shot deal. If it is used up this year, it will be gone next year.And if our entrepreneurs can make a lot of money, the government can use legislation and other mechanisms to allow companies to increase employee salaries, so that employees will have more money to spend, so that we can slowly cultivate our consumption. Isn't our domestic demand growing accordingly?This is the chain of hiding wealth among the people, reflecting the consumption through profits, so as to stimulate the Chinese economy for a long time.This is why consumption in other countries accounts for 70% to 80% of GDP, while ours only accounts for 29% to 35%. On November 5, 2008, under the crisis situation hit by the global financial tsunami, the Chinese government resolutely announced a series of plans such as investing 4 trillion yuan within two years and revitalizing the ten major industries.A year later, the Chinese economy has delivered a beautiful report card in terms of data.However, after the economic situation is quickly settled, how to stimulate domestic consumption has become another topic of China's economic revitalization.So, what are the difficulties in stimulating domestic consumption?
There is also the house, which is something that we use to hype, so that many ordinary people in China can't afford it.Compared with China, houses in the United States are much cheaper.At the Canton Fair in 2009, several Chinese brought houses in Los Angeles to China for resale. American houses ranged from 90 square meters to 300 square meters. Among them, the cheapest 90 square meters cost only 100,000 US dollars, about 700,000 yuan. Renminbi is much cheaper than houses in Guangzhou and Shanghai.And American houses are different from ours. Our houses are called apartments. Most of the houses in the United States are bungalows and villas. A 100-square-meter villa in the United States is much cheaper than our 100-square-meter apartment in Shanghai and Beijing. Why is this?It's the same as cars, mobile phones, and televisions, because we don't hide wealth from the people. I will tell the reader a simple story. Mr. A earned 100 yuan from mining gold. He had two choices at the time: the first choice was that he gave 1 yuan to each of the 10 miners. What can this 1 yuan do?Only enough for food and clothing; the second option is to give each miner 5 yuan, 10 miners are 50 yuan, so if Mr. A makes the second choice, he only has 50 yuan left to put in his pocket.And if he makes the first choice, 1 person 1 yuan, 10 people 10 yuan, he will have 90 yuan left in his pocket, so for Mr. A, he chooses the first plan. most favorable.The question is how will he choose?I believe that a wise person will definitely make the second choice, do you know why?Because when the miner can get enough food and clothing with 1 yuan, he will spend another 1 yuan to buy leather bags, sportswear and sneakers.So Mr. A will find that in addition to digging for gold, he can open a hypermarket that specializes in selling leather bags, sportswear, and sports shoes.In order to sell these products, he hired 10 more female salespersons.In the end, these 10 miners and 10 saleswomen will get married and have children, so they will spend another 1 yuan to buy baby products, so this Mr. A finds out that he can set up a factory to produce baby products, You can make more money again.In the end, the couple had 2 yuan left, and they needed a house, so they spent 2 yuan to buy a house, so Mr. A found out that he could still do real estate development.From this we will find that because Mr. A made the second choice, when the gold mines are exhausted and these other industries grow up, this place becomes a wealthy small town.This is America's idea of hiding wealth from the people. What if Mr. A made the first choice?What to do when the gold mine is over?These 10 miners will lose their jobs immediately, causing serious social problems.Therefore, Mr. A had to spend another 40 yuan to build a highway to help these miners get employed. In the end, Mr. A still spent 50 yuan, but it could not solve the problem.Think about it, everyone, what happens after the highway is built?Will these 10 miners lose their jobs again?Is there any way to get them re-employed?there is none left.In the end, Mr. A can only see a seemingly beautiful highway in the deserted land.At this time, Mr. A could neither open a hypermarket, nor produce baby products, nor do real estate development, because the people were too poor.Then this Mr. A only has 50 yuan left in his pocket, how to spend it?Only take this 50 yuan to build a luxury villa. According to statistics from the China Real Estate Research Center, in November 2009, the number of villas sold in Beijing was 683, an increase of 11.6% over October, and the total transaction amount was 4.879 billion yuan, an increase of more than a quarter compared with October.According to experts in the industry, the price of a sea view villa in Sanya, Hainan is as high as 4.5 million US dollars after conversion. Can this amount buy George in the United States?Bush's farm can buy an ancient castle in Europe, and a beach in Thailand.In Spain, 300,000 euros can buy a luxury sea view apartment, while in Greece, 700,000 euros can buy a detached villa on a cliff.So, besides houses, what other consumer goods also show the characteristics of bubbles?Where is the reason?
I believe readers understand why housing prices in China are so expensive.It is because our government made the first choice, so a house costs 50 yuan, while the United States made the second choice, so a house only costs 2 yuan. For ordinary Chinese, movie theaters are a nostalgic dream, and another inflated dream is cars.However, consumers soon discovered that mid-to-high-end cars that generally sell for more than 200,000 yuan in China usually cost around 150,000 yuan in the United States. 500,000 yuan can buy almost most high-end luxury cars of brands abroad, including some models of Mercedes-Benz S series and BMW 7 series.So, are the high prices of domestic cars and movies caused by the same reason? I explained to readers the reason why houses are expensive, so let me explain again, why are cars, movies, TV sets, and mobile phones more expensive than in the United States?Let me illustrate with the same story again. After Mr. A made the first choice, he found that these 10 workers might not be easy to manage. He had to find someone to manage these workers. Therefore, Mr. A spent 10 yuan to hire a professional manager, which is the so-called white-collar elite. Mr. B came to manage these workers.If every miner gets a salary of 1 yuan, and only this white-collar elite gets a salary of 10 yuan, do you know what will happen?Let's take movies as an example.There is always a cost to make a film, for example, you have to pay Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Zhen, you have to pay for so many actors.What about the production cost?What about marketing costs?Adding up your cost is 10 yuan, so how do you recover the cost?Then it depends on what choice their government has made?If you made the first choice, you find that only a white-collar elite can afford to watch a movie. In order to recover the cost, you have to sell a ticket for 10 yuan.And if you make the second choice, all 10 miners can afford to watch the movie. How good is that? Divide the cost of 10 yuan by 10 people, and the ticket price of the movie is 1 yuan.Let me show the reader another data to make it clearer.Do you know how many movie screens there are in China?There are only 4,097 screens. You must know that China has a population of 1.3 billion, while the United States has only 300 million people, but there are as many as 38,990 screens.Why do I count screens and not cinemas?Because a movie theater may have seven or eight screens, it is more accurate to count the screens.So for a film producer, if you sell to China, where the first choice is the main choice, the cost will be higher, and the ticket price will of course be higher.And what about selling to the United States, where the second choice is the main option? What is the result of more than 30,000 screens being spread out?Movie tickets are definitely cheaper. Let me talk about mobile phones again. China produces a lot of mobile phones, right?More than half of them are counterfeit phones, and the price of counterfeit phones is only one-fourth to one-tenth of the genuine ones. Why are there so many counterfeit phones?Because genuine mobile phones are more expensive, we can't afford them, our spending power is too low, and we have no money at all, so we have to buy counterfeit mobile phones.Genuine mobile phones are not a popular thing for us Chinese people, but it is different in the United States. Everyone can afford mobile phones. It is precisely because everyone buys genuine mobile phones that the price of mobile phones is naturally cheap.The same is true for cars. In China, cars are sold to Mr. A and white-collar elite Mr. B, and ordinary people cannot afford them.What about in America?Every family basically has two cars, and the price of the cars is very cheap.Of course, you may ask me, aren't the things in our supermarket also very cheap?You are right, but let me tell you that things in American supermarkets are as cheap as ours. I bought a pair of Chinese-made hiking shoes in the United States for Christmas in 2009, and they only cost $2.99.This mountaineering shoe sells for three or four hundred yuan in China. Why?Or because they hid wealth from the people. Not only that, apart from the fact that wealth is hidden among the people, there is a second major reason for the price gap between China and the United States.It is much easier for Mr. A and Mr. B, the white-collar elite, to obtain wealth in China than for miners.Let me give another example. Readers may wish to go to West Lake to have a look. The appearance of West Lake is still the same, but the soul of West Lake has disappeared. Why do I say that?Because almost all the classical houses around the West Lake are currently occupied by Mr. A and Mr. B. It is said that it is an open club. If ordinary people want to come to eat, there is no problem. After you go in, you will find that the food here is expensive. It is outrageous, and there is no way for us ordinary people to accept it.It is through this high price that they keep all ordinary people out of the door.Since Mr. A and Mr. B, the white-collar elite, can easily obtain resources and make money more easily, they will not cherish these resources including money. They have no idea whether the price of luxury goods is high or low. Anyway, I As long as I want to buy it, I don't care if it is expensive or cheap.So, why are the prices of luxury goods in the United States much cheaper than ours in China?In fact, the reason is very simple, because the ability of the 10 miners in the United States to obtain resources is much worse than that of Mr. A and Mr. B in China. They cherish resources including money, so they must be more sensitive to fluctuations in the price of luxury goods than Mr. A and Mr. B, the white-collar elite. Sensitive, so the prices of luxury goods are generally lower than in China.For our 10 miners in China, it is extremely difficult to obtain resources, so they are extremely sensitive to the prices of products they can afford, which are generally necessities for people's livelihood. This is why the prices of necessities for people's livelihood in China are similar to those in the United States the reason. Of course, after Mr. A and Mr. B, the white-collar elite, made the first choice, they also controlled many other resources, even the rice cakes no longer belonged to the common people.Their behavior of showing off their wealth intensified the hatred of wealth among the 10 disadvantaged miners.Then let me ask you, will Mr. A and Mr. B in the United States do this?Will not.Why?Because if everyone is rich, there will be no such thing as dominating the West Lake and bullying the disadvantaged. The bar is on the right side of the first floor of the hotel.In the long and narrow space extending from the three-story hotel lobby, the wooden floor reflects a moist tea-brown halo, coupled with a set of colonial-style wooden tables and chairs, the whole bar has a special flavor. "Are you Mr. Qiuyue?" The man sitting at a table stood up and asked.The man is about 35 years old.From his body, you can already see the signs of middle age, and the hair from the forehead to the top of the head is already half bald. The middle-aged man introduced himself: "I am Chen Jiulin." The two shook hands while looking at each other. " The English name of the company—China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Limited—is printed on the front of Chen Jiulin's business card.On the back is Chinese, printed with "Chen Jiulin, Executive Director and President of China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Co., Ltd.". "When did you come to Singapore?" Qiuyue asked lightly.For predators, it is their usual practice to spend the time waiting for prey to appear relaxed and comfortable. "July 1st. The company's affairs have finally started to get on track, and now is the time to do a big job." Chen Jiulin quickly divided Beijing Weier English into several intermittent words. "Looks like you've picked an energy trader too." "Well, this... Everyone knows about JP Morrison's reputation, but can I ask Mr. Qiuyue to talk about your situation?" Chen Jiulin asked. "I graduated from Nihon University in 1983, and then worked in Suminoe Company as a metal futures trader." Chen Jiulin showed an expression of trying to search his memory. "So you are Bin Chuan's subordinate?" Qiuyue, wearing round glasses, smiled and nodded. Yasuo Binchuan was once a star trader of Suminoe Company. He controlled 5% of the global copper trading market and was known as "Mr. 5%" (Mr. Copper).It is a pity that due to misjudging the trend of the market, and then making mistakes again and again, it was finally discovered in June last year that it had caused a loss of 285.2 billion to the company, and now it has become a criminal defendant. "So, at present, does your company want us to undertake the part about hedging and swap transactions?" Qiuyue asked. This article is excerpted from "Oil War (Part 1 and 2)" by Ryo Kuroki