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Comment by anononaut | Hacker News Reader

Is it? I would put citizen privacy and leveling the playing field above outright min/maxing share prices or GDP. Convince me.

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I think OP is making the same point. We got in bed with China for the cheap Chinese goods and short term profits and it bit us in the ass.

> We got in bed with China for the cheap Chinese goods and short term profits and it bit us in the ass

What problems have Americans faced because of this relationship?

We thought China would join the WTO and "Westernize" themselves. They didn't, and it's clear they're trying to come out on top. That's why the West is switching to full-on contagion mode.

The pandemic was the trigger event that gave us the activation energy to accept supply chain disruptions and ease into the pain of decoupling. It'll go much faster now. The de-China-fication is going to accelerate rapidly.

The game is now near-shore, friend-shore. Mexico is now the biggest trade partner of the US, and it's still only ramping up. The rail and truck corridors are growing significantly and we're about to pour in huge infrastructure investments.

It is pretty much game over for America now. Huawei has 2nm chip and will mass produce next year Q1. China EVs already so far ahead that Tesla had to mass layoff and price drop. Chinese drones are so numerous, even American Naval Admiral scared to engage Chinese. There are simply no simulation path of American stayimg ahead in next 100 years. Unlike Japanese, Chinese wont do Japanese kowtow. The best way forward is American get their budget in order. Once Chinese achieve full domestic consumption game over for America. Now Chinese has wodld biggest auto market 30m, bigger than USA and EU combined. Imagine that happen to planes, everyday consumptions. China also massive purchasing and delivering physical gold to Shanghai. Therr is no way USD and American economy able to sustain itself when Chinese outcompete, outspy, out militarise America. If you look at Chinese space station vs American ISS, you will know who will become star trek first. Even Chinese desert turning green will likely trigger dust bowl in America in the next 30 years. Game over America.

Millions of Americans are relying on the savvy actions of a couple tens of thousand investment brokers to ensure that when they retire they will be able to live closely to the manner in which they have been accustomed.

We have so defiled the American dream that if psychological or ecological terrorism on a scale large enough to alter the course of life on planet isn't allowed to continue unabated and increase its cataclysmically planetary destructive activities over time then all of our grandparents will starve to death homeless in a ditch somewhere and possibly us along with them.

While I certainly agree capitalism's excesses have led to the planets ruination, I would disagree that it's due to following "the american dream". (I always hated that phrase actually, it's much mor eimportant to face "reality" than to "dream")

Elon and Bozo being worth multi-multi-billions has nothing to do with the pursuits of millions of people.

The crime I would put on the millions is being intentionally oblivious to it all.

For example, thinking that people communicating on a proprietary corporate s/w platform constitutes a "community", or a "friend". This especially includes the gun porn "community" who think rolling around on the ground in their cammys is their version of "the dream".

An extreem example of that would be: https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-26/far-righ...

Before tech privacy was a large concern, the capitalist formula was indeed to consider cost of labor (china) and its relation to roi/share prices.

It still is because that’s how corporations work: “how will x affect my bottom line?”

It’s just now we have layers of concern that involve privacy. In a world with no regulation, corps would be sharing a lot more and doing a lot worse.

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