From China to America Come Deng´s "Black Cat and White Cat"
Wendy Liu
November 03, 2008
Never in my American life did I expect to be reminded of a slogan I grew up with: "Only socialism could save China." Except this time it was America, or American economy, that was being saved.
But there it was, the US government´s $850 billion bail out package of the Wall Street: the nationalization of a huge chunk of American capitalism! Paul Krugman, the New York Times columnist and Nobel laureate of economics called it "the most socialist move ever." David Sirota, a syndicated columnist, said America was now the new U.S.S.R.: The United States´ Socialist Republic.
While America faces great economic uncertainty, the nationalist and socialist approach of the rescue by Uncle Sam has, in fact, made me feel better on another level.
Socialism is a dirty word in America. As someone who lived in and breathed in socialism for the bigger part of her life in China, I have often felt more than a little inferior walking among the free-market-spirited Americans, pure from the stains, or brainwash, of socialism.
Because of Americans´ disdain towards socialism, John McCain has been calling Barack Obama a socialist and "redistributionist-in-chief," while he himself firmly embraced the nationalization of the failed financial institutions with a straight face.
Also because of their disdain towards socialism, many Americans, as Joe the Plumber, seemed surprised by the phrase "spread the wealth." Either they didn´t realize or admit, but wealth spreading is perhaps as American as apple pie, in one major way.
Progressive taxation, though taken for granted, is a such a practice. The six brackets of income tax say it as clear as day: from 10% on $0 – $8,025 to 35% on $357,701 and up. Same with the corporate tax: from 15% on $0 to $50,000 to 35% on $18,333,333 and up. That´s wealth spread or redistributed.
As various pundits pointed out recently, however, it was none other than Theodore Roosevelt, a forefather of the Republican Party, who started this tax policy. "A heavy progressive tax upon a very large fortune is in no way such a tax upon thrift or industry as a like would be on a small fortune…" he said a century ago, "such a tax would help to preserve a measurable equality of opportunity for the people..."
The new Emergency Economic Stabilization Act did remind me of the Chinese slogan, other endeavors, if not policies, in America have reminded me of Chinese socialism.
Health care. In 1993, First Lady Hillary Clinton headed the Task Force on National Health Care Reform, aimed to create a universal health care system led by the federal government all Americans. 37 million Americans were without health insurance. Fifteen years later, when that number grew to 47 million, Hillary Clinton was running for president and once again pushing for universal health care. This time, she called health care a human right, not a privilege that was given and taken away.
While many Americans supported Hillary´s "socialized medicine," they may not know that China once upon a time really had socialized medicine and that Chinese citizens, urban ones at least, enjoyed free medical care. It is interesting that years after the new market-oriented economy did away with that system, the Chinese government is working to bring back universal health care, and this time, for all its citizens.
Job security. With the unstoppable globalization and the necessity of outsourcing, many of America´s manufacturing as well as service jobs have been threatened. Job security, according to New York Times, had replaced wage increases as the top contract goal of many labor unions since the 1980´s. Also as AFL-CIO president John Sweeney once said in late 1990´s, "Never was the job-insecurity fear at a higher level." Closer to date and at home, job security was also the number one issue for Boeing machinists and workers on strike recently.
While many American workers demand job security, they may not know that China once upon a time really had job security for its workers. Dubbed the "Iron Rice Bowl," the government welfare system guaranteed one´s job security and pension. It is again interesting that the Chinese smashed that bowl in the new market-oriented economy, and with it, their iron job security.
But it is not iron, it is ironic. Just as Americans wouldn´t ever want to be seen dead practicing socialism, the Chinese, especially the Communist Party, had never wished to be caught dead practicing capitalism.
Yet, pragmatism ruled. As the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping famously put it, "It doesn´t matter if a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice." He must be smiling somewhere that his words now apply to America, too.
But there it was, the US government´s $850 billion bail out package of the Wall Street: the nationalization of a huge chunk of American capitalism! Paul Krugman, the New York Times columnist and Nobel laureate of economics called it "the most socialist move ever." David Sirota, a syndicated columnist, said America was now the new U.S.S.R.: The United States´ Socialist Republic.
While America faces great economic uncertainty, the nationalist and socialist approach of the rescue by Uncle Sam has, in fact, made me feel better on another level.
Socialism is a dirty word in America. As someone who lived in and breathed in socialism for the bigger part of her life in China, I have often felt more than a little inferior walking among the free-market-spirited Americans, pure from the stains, or brainwash, of socialism.
Because of Americans´ disdain towards socialism, John McCain has been calling Barack Obama a socialist and "redistributionist-in-chief," while he himself firmly embraced the nationalization of the failed financial institutions with a straight face.
Also because of their disdain towards socialism, many Americans, as Joe the Plumber, seemed surprised by the phrase "spread the wealth." Either they didn´t realize or admit, but wealth spreading is perhaps as American as apple pie, in one major way.
Progressive taxation, though taken for granted, is a such a practice. The six brackets of income tax say it as clear as day: from 10% on $0 – $8,025 to 35% on $357,701 and up. Same with the corporate tax: from 15% on $0 to $50,000 to 35% on $18,333,333 and up. That´s wealth spread or redistributed.
As various pundits pointed out recently, however, it was none other than Theodore Roosevelt, a forefather of the Republican Party, who started this tax policy. "A heavy progressive tax upon a very large fortune is in no way such a tax upon thrift or industry as a like would be on a small fortune…" he said a century ago, "such a tax would help to preserve a measurable equality of opportunity for the people..."
The new Emergency Economic Stabilization Act did remind me of the Chinese slogan, other endeavors, if not policies, in America have reminded me of Chinese socialism.
Health care. In 1993, First Lady Hillary Clinton headed the Task Force on National Health Care Reform, aimed to create a universal health care system led by the federal government all Americans. 37 million Americans were without health insurance. Fifteen years later, when that number grew to 47 million, Hillary Clinton was running for president and once again pushing for universal health care. This time, she called health care a human right, not a privilege that was given and taken away.
While many Americans supported Hillary´s "socialized medicine," they may not know that China once upon a time really had socialized medicine and that Chinese citizens, urban ones at least, enjoyed free medical care. It is interesting that years after the new market-oriented economy did away with that system, the Chinese government is working to bring back universal health care, and this time, for all its citizens.
Job security. With the unstoppable globalization and the necessity of outsourcing, many of America´s manufacturing as well as service jobs have been threatened. Job security, according to New York Times, had replaced wage increases as the top contract goal of many labor unions since the 1980´s. Also as AFL-CIO president John Sweeney once said in late 1990´s, "Never was the job-insecurity fear at a higher level." Closer to date and at home, job security was also the number one issue for Boeing machinists and workers on strike recently.
While many American workers demand job security, they may not know that China once upon a time really had job security for its workers. Dubbed the "Iron Rice Bowl," the government welfare system guaranteed one´s job security and pension. It is again interesting that the Chinese smashed that bowl in the new market-oriented economy, and with it, their iron job security.
But it is not iron, it is ironic. Just as Americans wouldn´t ever want to be seen dead practicing socialism, the Chinese, especially the Communist Party, had never wished to be caught dead practicing capitalism.
Yet, pragmatism ruled. As the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping famously put it, "It doesn´t matter if a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice." He must be smiling somewhere that his words now apply to America, too.
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