Health Care in China

Health care in the US is far from perfect, but so is China's health care. China has a system where they pay around 60+ percent on health care expenses for patients. The country tries to give every social class the same type of care. The problems for China could be that there are so many people living in one country, or that rich patients can get better care because doctors like them. This 2009 CBS News article explains major problems China's health care is facing. Here is an excerpt;

China's health-care system is in disarray, a side effect of the market reforms that have spurred private enterprise and rapid growth since 1980. Before then, state-owned companies offered cradle-to-grave care, part of a system based on danwei, or work units, that provided health, education, pensions and other benefits. But as the economy has grown more diverse, an increasing number of Chinese have had to fend for themselves, with only a porous government insurance program to help.

As U.S. lawmakers engage in a tense debate over health-care reform, Chinese authorities, too, are attempting to fix their system. Over the past five years, the government has tried to provide coverage to more of its 1.4 billion people. But even people covered by a minimal health insurance program are often left with big hospital bills and must pay for most outpatient services and medication. More than 300 million people do not have any health insurance.

There are similar problems of coverage for both China and the US. I hope that our proposed health care bill is further changed to evade the problems China is having.
On a separate note, my mom has first hand experience with Chinese hospitals, saying they included long waits and poorer service than US hospitals. This may be another downside to adopting a "socialized" health care program, but I still need to do more research into our health programs to make a more intelligent diagnosis.

U.S trade deficit is not really looking up...

New York Times reports that the trade deficit between the U.S. and China is still widening. The capitalistic nature of America is pushing American business to outsource and to buy products from China because of the lower prices of labor.

"The trade deficit grew to $46.3 billion, up from a revised $42.6 billion in July and exceeding forecasts for a gap of around $44 billion. The deficit with China accounted for $28 billion of the August shortfall, up from $25.9 billion the month before.
The widening gap with China comes amid rising concerns in Washington about China’s trade dominance and its effect on the global economic recovery. The Obama administration and some lawmakers are pressing China to allow its currency to appreciate more quickly, hoping it will temper Chinese exports by making them more expensive"

The article continues with:

“The only way this works in reducing the U.S. trade deficit is if U.S. consumers shift their consumption of Chinese goods to U.S.-produced goods,” said Dan Greenhaus, the chief economic strategist for Miller Tabak & Company. “You need to increase the appeal of U.S.-based goods.”

Even the thought of making U.S. based goods more appealing is difficult to conjure. Looking around my house, I bet three fourths have a label saying "made in China". Simply, American goods are more expensive in general and may by worse than their Chinese counterparts. One classic example is the automobile industry where Ford is having a horrible time while companies like Toyota are thriving in relation. The better reliability and price do drive home the unfortunate idea that America is not the best at everything.

China Blocks Earth Exports

A Chinese fisherman collided with two Japanese fishing boats while in mixed territory. The Chinese fisherman was taken by Japanese. As a result of this recent altercation between China and Japan, China has chosen to stop exporting crucial minerals to Japan until the man is returned.

HONG KONG — Sharply raising the stakes in a dispute over Japan’s detention of a Chinese fishing trawler captain, the Chinese government has placed a trade embargo on all exports to Japan of a crucial category of minerals used in products like hybrid cars, wind turbines and guided missile.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao personally called for Japan’s release of the captain, who was detained after his vessel collided with two Japanese coast guard vessels about 40 minutes apart as he tried to fish in waters controlled by Japan but long claimed by China. Mr. Wen threatened unspecified further actions if Japan did not comply.

This article also brings up this frightening statistic:

China mines 93 percent of the world’s rare earth minerals, and more than 99 percent of the world’s supply of some of the most prized rare earths, which sell for several hundred dollars a pound.

Japan requires China's earth exports, as Japan itself does not have many natural resources.  As a result of this dead stop in supply, earth metal prices are soaring up. The world is hesitant to dig into their own supplies of natural minerals because of the high cost of separating the wanted deposits from the unwanted and the dangers of releasing harmful chemicals into the environment. As a result, China now dominates the earth market which allows it to have almost complete control over supply and cost. China's monopoly of rare earth minerals is surely a subject that countries should stress more of.

Are electric cars the future?

New York Times Green blog reports how in the next few decades there may be massive improvements in electric car batteries. As it is, it takes hours to replenish the energy, but if improvements are continually made recharging could take place in minutes. What caught my attention was this excerpt:

In the end, Mr. Wilcke said, breakthroughs in batteries and electric cars may happen elsewhere.
“What we do in the U.S. doesn’t matter,” he said. “What matters is what China does. The Chinese government has a goal that 50 percent of all new cars sold in China by 2020 will be battery-powered. That is what will change the game.”

One of the biggest players in pollution  is China, so it is obvious that if they change their energy habits, the environment would take a step forwards towards the better. In Hot, Flat, and Crowded, Tom Friedman talks about how China and India are now consuming more energy than ever.

That (combination of population growth and greater wealth) is what's new about the forces propelling the Energy-Climate Era: They are demand -driven, as so many more people suddenly are, can, or will be living a middle-class lifestyle.

As more and more people come from the rural areas in China searching for the middle-class life, it is important that energy efficient energy is pushed forward in time for any more population booms. If the new electric car batteries are developed sooner than later they will be just in time for upcoming generations.