Hi,

We received this mail today from some one

Read this... We all think that buying foreign goods will weaken our economy but there is some controversy....

Japanese save a lot. They do not spend much. Also Japan exports far more

than it imports. Has an annual trade surplus of over $100 billions. Yet

Japanese economy is considered weak, even collapsing. Americans spend,

save little. Also US import more than it exports. Has an annual trade

deficit of over $400 billion. Yet, the American economy is considered

strong and trusted to get stronger.

But where from do Americans get money to spend? They borrow from Japan ,

China and even India . Virtually others save for the US to spend. Global

savings are mostly invested in US, in dollars. India itself keeps its

foreign currency assets of over $50 billions in US securities. China has

sunk over $160 billion in US securities. Japan 's stakes in US securities

is in trillions.

Result: The US has taken over $5 trillion from the world. So, as the world

saves for the US , Americans spend freely. Today, to keep the US

consumption going, that is for the US economy to work, other countries have

to remit $180 billion every quarter, which is $2 billion a day, to the US !

Otherwise the US economy would go for a six. So will the global economy.

The result will be no different if US consumers begin consuming less.

A Chinese economist asked a neat question. Who has invested more, US in

China , or China in US? The US has invested in China less than half of what

China has invested in US. The same is the case with India . We have

invested in US over $50 billion. But the US has invested less than $20

billion in India . Why the world is after US?

The secret lies in the American spending, that they hardly save. In fact

they use their credit cards to spend their future income. That the US

spends is what makes it attractive to export to the US . So US imports more

than what it exports year after year. The result:

The world is dependent on US consumption for its growth. By its deepening

culture of consumption, the US has habituated the world to feed on US

consumption. But as the US needs money to finance its consumption, the

world provides the money. It's like a shopkeeper providing the money to a

customer so that the customer keeps buying from the shop. If the customer

will not buy, the shop won't have business, unless the shopkeeper funds

him. The US is like the lucky customer. And the world is like the helpless

shopkeeper financier. Who is America 's biggest shopkeeper financier?

Japan of course. Yet itʼs Japan which is regarded as weak. Modern

economists complain that Japanese do not spend, so they do not grow. To

force the Japanese to spend, the Japanese government exerted it self,

reduced the savings rates, even charged the savers. Even then the Japanese

did not spend (habits don't change, even with taxes, do they?). Their

traditional postal savings alone is over $1.2 trillions, about three times

the Indian GDP. Thus, savings, far from being the strength of Japan , has

become its pain.

Hence, what is the lesson? That is, a nation cannot grow unless the people

spend, not save. Not just spend, but borrow and spend. Dr. Jagdish

Bhagwati, the famous Indian-born economist in the US , told Manmohan Singh

that Indians wastefully save. Ask them to spend, on imported cars and,

seriously, even on cosmetics! This will put India on a growth curve.

"Saving is sin, and spending is virtue." Before you follow this neo

economics, get some fools to save so that you can borrow from them and

spend.

This is what US has successfully done in last few decades

From India, Mumbai
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Very interesting.

When it comes to the US, it is like the cart pulling the horse, all right. Concerning Japan, it shows that an excess of supposed good can be bad. Japan may be an exceptional case, but when it comes to the US, one wonders how long that can continue. As long as the country or the person continues to earn handsomely, there is nothing wrong with this, really. Spending drives the economy.

From India, New Delhi
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Interesting One.

One single solution cannot drive India to the top. It has to be a number of steps, and the biggest is to develop a suitable environment to get more females to work and contribute to the economy by earning and increasing the pace of our growth.

From India, Mumbai
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Interesting article :)

However, this cannot continue for a longer period. Whenever the economy of a country is weak, it cannot bluff or sustain for an extended period. Even in the case of the US, it is evident. See the property market, see their dollar falling, even after the Indian government is trying to prop up the dollar. You are right when you say that all governments are hoping and making an effort to ensure that the US doesn't go down, as it would be a significant loss to their countries. Very interesting and thought-provoking.

From India, Mumbai
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