Some of the things that have not been mentioned in the posts above should be considered.
Last time I read the stats, and this is now open to revision, the following held:
Mainland Chinese save approx +30% of their income. Chinas economy is 85% internal. 20% of Chinas exports go to the USA
When the internal combustion engine started to produce horsepower from oil based fuels it had the following affect on agriculture (you know that pursuit that nearly every one ignores):
Approx one third of the population worked in agriculture in the USA.
Horses were by and large the main producers of horsepower for plowing, sowing, harvesting and transport (disregarding train and ship transportation)
One third of all crop production went back down the throat of the horse so as it could perform its tasks.
The three big things that happened to agriculture (remember this is a third of the population at the time) are:
Horses started to become redundant in a lot of the tasks that were now being performed by the internal combustion engine. So eventually the horses got their throats cut and that extra supply made its way to the red meat market thus upsetting the balance that previously prevailed.
The one third of the cropping area set aside for the horses was now starting to become surplus to requirements.
A lot of farm labour was now starting to become surplus to requirements and so they started to look for jobs elsewhere.
Agriculture and a lot of associated activities went through a great deal of upheaval and that upheaval was eventually exported to the cities.
Just as an aside to the above.
I know on the face of it, the American Civil War has nothing to do with this thread, however, I remember reading that two thirds of the deaths in the Civil War were attributed to influenza and not violent contact. The reason for this was that the country boys had very little exposure to infection through their relative isolation, which was not the case with their city cousins. So its not always bullets that kill and the problem at hand is not always what the government tells it is.
We can use statistics to justify an argument but in the end its the statistics that you leave out that usually trip you up.
What I have said above is really there as an example and in a way it is shooting from the hip as I have not supplied the dates the volumes and the registered authority that retains that information.
All I know is that I have read and heard this information from reputable sources.
There are so many variables that will upset the apple cart, however, the one thing that seems to me to be quite consistent is that the world is currently being run by incompetent amateurs that possess an inflated opinion about their own abilities. They should Walk the Walk before continue Talking the Talk.
