Headlines

Pelosi hasTrump over a barrel

Coronavirus live update: Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson released from hospital, Mulvaney self-quartanies

Claim: 86% of people with coronavirus are walking around undetected

Donald Trump: U.S. economy ‘may be’ headed for a recession

Poll: Most Americans don’t trust Trump on coronavirus information

Regulators considering more changes to free up bank liquidity, sources say

18 months of social distancing?

Wuhan epidemic: ACLU sues to release migrants from detention

Senate could push through ‘Phase 3’ coronavirus rescue plan this week

Morgan Stanley now says a global recession in 2020 is now the firm’s ‘base case’

LA releasing inmates ...

Paul Krugman celebrates stock market rout

Headlines

Pelosi ends stand-off with Senate Republicans over impeachment articles

US slaps new sanctions on Iran following strikes on US targets

Lock her up fizzles: Justice Dept. winds down Clinton inquiry, finding nothing of consequence ...

Paul Krugman says hacker used his IP address to download child porn

Macron eyes role as U.S.-Iran peacemaker

Author and self-help guru Marianne Williamson is out of 2020 presidential race

Russian warship ‘aggressively approached’ US destroyer in Arabian Sea

Dow 29:000!

U.S. adds 145,000 jobs, unemployment holds at 3.5%

More brands are leaving Amazon, but the strategy could backfire

Bloomberg passes Buttigieg In betting odds ...

Schweizer’s ‘Profiles in Corruption’ rockets to #3 on Amazon hours after book cover revealed

China vs. U.S.

As I have previously mentioned (see: here and here), China and the United States are locked in an economic battle that has enormous consequences for world leadership, national security and economic pride. This face-off may be the ultimate test of  the American way. Will China achieve its goal to become the largest world economy by 2025? Or will they overextend key elements of their economy and falter in this race?

Clearly, with three times the population of America, with authortative central planning,  with a very large balance of payments and resultant sovereign wealth, with am industrious and intelligent workforce, with the ability to manipulate its currency ... and with a willingness to cut ethical corners; China mas some clear natural advantages. But is this enough?

But the U.S. also has some advantages -- with a superior (but deteriorating) higher education system, with more natural resources (particularly energy), with a stronger military, with a natural geographic advantage (spanning two oceans), with superior  technical innovation, with a governance based on checks and balances ... and with a larger set of historic allies (such as they are). But is THIS enough?

It seems that the two critical advantages that the U.S. has are the geographic and governance edges ... the former, China cannot change ... and the latter, it can change but is unlikely too. Why is central planned capitalism inferior to America's when many pundits (Tom Freedman, Paul Krugman) advocate just the opposite?

Yes, strong centralized capitalistic planning (as in China) can do better in some situations ... in trade wars for instance ... but, without the push and pull of free-market capitalism (as in the U.S.) mistakes can be made that are bigger and not self-correcting. This us likely the most critical difference between China and America ... and the one most likely to spell the winning margin in this battle of the Titans.

It also would be nice to have Russia on our side in this joust!