Re: [spiers] Chinese Government questions
I'm from China. Now I'm living in the States. I think describing China as a
capitalist economy with an authoritarian government is fair. I personally don't
think there is an oligarchy ruling over China. Or rather there is really no
ruling class in China. Moving from one class to another is not as rigid as many
people think. For example, going to a good college, meeting the right people
etc. can help move one person from one class to another. Remember, Mao was a
peasant, some people like to say " a rich peasant," he was able to mobilize 80%
of the population back in his days.
I personally think that capitalism can not stand on its own. Howerver, with a
relatively benevolent totalitarian regime, one can say that it can. To say that
China is still a Commuist country is ABSURD. The younger generation in China
don't even know what Communism means anymore. Many people in this country, on
the other hand, basically think that Communism is bad. Few can ever define what
Communism is.
It's such a big question. I hope my observation adds to the discussion.
Lily
--- mgranich
> How would you describe Chinese government? I know China is billed
> as a Communist country, but Robert Reich stated that China that is as
> Capitalist of a country as you can get.
>
> oneSo, can you describe China as having a Capitalist economy with a
> Totalitarian government? Is there a ruling elite like an Oligarchy
> OR, can a peasant from the country side step up and lead China?
>
> Can Capitalism stand on its own, severed from the political form of
> government?
>
> Anthony
>
> PS, Reich also felt at China's current growth rate, it would be the
> largest economy in ~25 years.
>
> AND,
>
> The biggest social problem in China are people leaving farms heading
> for the city looking for work and China is under pressure to keep
> the factories humming, building our import products.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Chinese Government questions
Chinese Government questions
How would you describe Chinese government? I know China is billed
as a Communist country, but Robert Reich stated that China is as
Capitalist of a country as you can get.
So, can you describe China as having a Capitalist economy with a
Totalitarian government? Is there a ruling elite like an Oligarchy
OR, can a peasant from the country side step up and lead China?
Can Capitalism stand on its own, severed from the political form of
government?
Anthony
PS, Reich also felt at China's current growth rate, it would be the
largest economy in ~25 years.
AND,
The biggest social problem in China are people leaving farms heading
for the city looking for work and China is under pressure to keep
the factories humming, building our import products.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Import Service Business Opportunity
Folks,
The word "monopoly" caught my eye, because it always means there is big money
for the small
business. This article says fingerprint technology is bogus and the FBI has a
monopoly on it. That
would guarantee that we pay too much and get too much, that the quality,
selection and service is
poor.
A team managed overseas could provide fingerprint matching for usa clients,
meaning perhaps
money could be made charging a superpremium over costs, which would be far less
than it costs
now in USA.
Say a fingerprint match costs $3500 in USA, and $200 overseas... one could offer
fingerprint
matches with full reports for $500, doing everyone a favor. Since people go to
jail for life or are
executed over a single fingerprint "match" this may be a popular service. Look
for a place where
they excel at extremely fine line drawings, they'd be naturals...
And think of how many people have been proven not guilty now that DNA evidence
excludes them
as the perpetrator. Every fingerprint conviction could be reviewed, and if, as
the article states, the
FBI inspector general found 25% of the positive matches were wrong, well, then
there may be a
whole lotta biz out there springing the innocent from prison. Heck, you could
charge $2000 with
a money back guarantee, "if we don't get you released from prison, you don't
have to pay." The
25% of convicts you spring from the slam woulds cover the 75% you could not
help. (I think the
math works...)
http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn02202006.html
One thing I thought was strange, the innocent victim, Mayfield, was told his
fingerprint was on the
bag in question. When his public defenders asked to see his fingerprint, and
the one the
government had (Mayfield was once a army lieutentant so the feds had his
fingerprints), the feds
said no, the fingerprints were a matter of national security. If both
fingerprints were the
defendents, how could it be necessary to keep them secret? I'd fire my
defenders.
John
Dubai Deal
Re: [spiers] Dubai Deal
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/24/business/24terminal.html?ex=1141448400&en=2820\
9a1f411f3ca8&ei=5070
Hutchison Whampoa, the world's biggest container port operator, for example,
is a conglomerate that is publicly traded in Hong Kong. The company's founder,
Li Ka Shing, is often referred to as China's richest man, but the company has
been priced out of recent bidding wars, in part because the Hutchison's mobile
phone business is cash-strapped.
John Spiers
The port operator with the most ports under management in the world is
Stevedoring
Services of America, (SSA) a Seattle-based outfit. (Stevedores manage a port,
longshoremen
work it, usually some govt entity owns the port, and US Coast Guard is
responsible for
security.) SSA manages ports all over the world including the middle east.
http://www.ssamarine.com/
Ports are centers of mischief worldwide, plus political paydirt playgrounds.
(Note the news
item at the SSA site, a senator gets a million gallon biodiesel fuel deal for
the SSA... never
mind it takes 1.3 gallons of fuel to get 1 gallon of biodiesel fuel).
I think the political class is offended the Bushes are going to arbitrage the
savings an
independently managed port will realize for a cut of the savings going the
Bushes. I say fair
enough...first come first served.
John
Compete on Design!
www.johnspiers.com
Calling all importers of contemporary home decor, housewares and sm
Re: [spiers] Re: Calling all importers of contemporary home decor, housewares and small furni
I am working in designs for apartment-living furnitures that are both functional
and of minimalistic styles.
Designs consider size, function and style...is there a market for this?
I am still showing my ideas around and gathering feedback.
Inday
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Dubai Deal
Folks,
The port operator with the most ports under management in the world is
Stevedoring
Services of America, (SSA) a Seattle-based outfit. (Stevedores manage a port,
longshoremen
work it, usually some govt entity owns the port, and US Coast Guard is
responsible for
security.) SSA manages ports all over the world including the middle east.
http://www.ssamarine.com/
Ports are centers of mischief worldwide, plus political paydirt playgrounds.
(Note the news
item at the SSA site, a senator gets a million gallon biodiesel fuel deal for
the SSA... never
mind it takes 1.3 gallons of fuel to get 1 gallon of biodiesel fuel).
I think the political class is offended the Bushes are going to arbitrage the
savings an
independently managed port will realize for a cut of the savings going the
Bushes. I say fair
enough...first come first served.
John
Calling all importers of contemporary home decor, housewares and sm
Re: Calling all importers of contemporary home decor, housewares and small furni
Some of the quantity requirements are daunting in China but we would
like to start sourcing directly and think we can eventually order
container loads of products since we can't seem to find domestic
importers.
The good thing about Thai products is that they have smaller minimum
order quantities. I find that the Thais do a good job of staying on
top of contemporary design separate and apart from traditional thai
handiware. I know for a fact that they borrow their ideas from the
European and Japanese designers and trendsetters as well. They seem
to cater to a European and Japanese market that has design sensibility
that hasn't been tapped into in the North American market.
As for Sur la Table, it is a great all round kitchen store but their
products are not unique. We carry some of their brands and can source
pretty much anything they carry. Unfortunately, some of their product
price points don't fit into our target.
Thanks for all your help. We look forward to hearing from importers.
Regards,
Amyn
Homewerx
--- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, "John Spiers"
>
>
> > Finally, John, in your course, you mention that it is possible for you
> > to determine where products are sourced from. We are big fans of
> > Target, Crate & Barrel and West Elm. They all produce great products
> > in China. Our luck with Chinese suppliers has been average. How do we
> > find out which suppliers they use? Any suggestions would be helpful.
>
> ***The fastest way is simply ask the hktdc to find out for you (they
know off the top of their
> heads... at www.hktdc.com, although the problem is these suppliers
are geared toward mass
> production and quality in the 5 million unit range... also, a fellow
who is intimate with selling
> to walmart tells me that walmart now auctions off new products, that
is to say, regardless of
> the source of the design, they do a live worldwide auction over the
internet to see who has
> best product... next time I am in vancouver I'll visit your store,
but I think you'd be bettter off
> figuring out where "sur la table" in seattle sources...***
> >
> > PS We found great design-oriented products at the Thailand Gift Show
> > in Bangkok. It was a great event and is coming up again in March if
> > anyone is interested. I warn you though that Thais compete on design
> > not price so their products command a premium. Unfortunately, the
> > price divide is too great and the Chinese are beating them on both
fronts.
>
> *** "occidental in inspiration, oriental in execution..." are these
thai designs thai or north
> american?***
>
> John
>
Calling all importers of contemporary home decor, housewares and sm
Re: [spiers] Calling all importers of contemporary home decor, housewares and small furniture
> Finally, John, in your course, you mention that it is possible for you
> to determine where products are sourced from. We are big fans of
> Target, Crate & Barrel and West Elm. They all produce great products
> in China. Our luck with Chinese suppliers has been average. How do we
> find out which suppliers they use? Any suggestions would be helpful.
***The fastest way is simply ask the hktdc to find out for you (they know off
the top of their
heads... at www.hktdc.com, although the problem is these suppliers are geared
toward mass
production and quality in the 5 million unit range... also, a fellow who is
intimate with selling
to walmart tells me that walmart now auctions off new products, that is to say,
regardless of
the source of the design, they do a live worldwide auction over the internet to
see who has
best product... next time I am in vancouver I'll visit your store, but I think
you'd be bettter off
figuring out where "sur la table" in seattle sources...***
>
> PS We found great design-oriented products at the Thailand Gift Show
> in Bangkok. It was a great event and is coming up again in March if
> anyone is interested. I warn you though that Thais compete on design
> not price so their products command a premium. Unfortunately, the
> price divide is too great and the Chinese are beating them on both fronts.
*** "occidental in inspiration, oriental in execution..." are these thai designs
thai or north
american?***
John
Re: Your idea..
organic frozen food for kids
Dear John et al,
I have spent a career of 20 years in international (and domestic) trade
of organic foods, including 12 years with US organic (frozen) food
pioneer Cascadian Farm which was bought by General Mills in 2000.
Because the term "organic" used in food labeling is regulated by USDA
imports must comply with US standards called NOP (National Organic
Program). See http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/indexIE.htm . This will
answer some basic questions.
I have both imported and exported organic foods. The idea of organic
foods for kids is not new one by any means, and there is much learning
to be had from those who have tried and failed.
Organic babyfood has been a huge success, but this has not translated
into success in organic kids foods. One factor may be that mom (the
customer) buys but the kid (the consumer) has a strong veto power over
what he/she eats; therefore you have 2 different audiences to please
with a single product positioning....
One last comment: This is a category where importing has more hurdles,
risks and likely costs, than producing domestically. A mix of domestic
and imported ingredients, assembled in the US, could take advantage of
the best of both, while giving you the control you need over the
consumer product.
I could go on and on, but I will leave it here. Angela, feel free to
contact me for a deeper discussion if you wish.
All best
Shel Weinberg
phone: 360 299 3579
mobile: 360 941 5443
shel@sheldonweinberg.com
-----Original Message-----
From: spiers@yahoogroups.com [mailto:spiers@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of john@johnspiers.com
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 8:22 AM
To: angelahall@bellsouth.net
Cc: john@johnspiers.com
Subject: [spiers] Re: Your idea..
Dear John, your idea of the indian medicine (for me sounds like organic
medicine) weakened my frozen organic meals for kids...I dont know...
I been looking for import of non organic frozen dishes, and there is
not
many imports, so the conclusion is that here is the best place of the
world,
***who knows, you'd have to research further... it may be the cost of
shipping a frozen $3 meal is too much compared to locally produced
frozen meals..who knows...it's your profession to learn how come...***
so it will be may be a product to be exported to Germany/Netherlands the
biggest consumers of organics..., or also for the USA (not Miami..),
but I
think that the big corporations could buy an usa organic company, and
could
launch very easy a product like mine...
***Yes, but why not you be the organic company they buy, like so many
others who did well by doing so well the big boys bought them after 20
years?***
On the other hand, I will have to deal with a frozen product..with all
its
cost..(I have no expereince in Frozen foods, and sounds mabe to much
trouble
for a small business)
***Yes, you will have to deal with a frozen product; no you will not
have to deal with all of its costs, your customers will have to deal
with all of its costs, and they can take it or leave it...; and trouble
and small biz go together... new is necesarily more trouble than
standard...this was an insight by Von Mises I think, that innovative
products are necessarily a more difficult, drawn out process.... it
makes sense to me, since the big boys cannot charge off their overhead
to the necessarily tiny market for innovative ideas, it is only we with
marginal overhead that can pursue these innovations.***
I am in a point of should I continue with this idea, a frozen organic
kids
meal for 3 o 4 dollar (end prize)..or something more for a small
business..
***a small business will introduce a home version of the nuclear power
plant; the size of a bread box that is safe clean, lights up your yrad
and home like a slot machine paying off, and makes your car fly a foot
off the ground, gps controlled at 300 miles and hour to the store. GM
will not come up with this. Neither will Toyota, with their appalling
hybrid cars. So yes, organic kids frozen meals are a small biz item.
And why not $9 meals...why do you think they have to be cheap? Whole
Foods is storming America and they are charging super premium prices.
I spoke to a women who hand tailors coats who said everytime she is
forced to raise her prices her unit sales increase.***
I love the organics, but does it has to be with the difficulties and
costs
of frozen foods??
***I love women, and I run into the same problems, all difficulties,
costs and frozen food... you learn to live with it.***
Your idea of the indian medicine, is to be sold through a Web site? I
liked
it because is in the Organic area..
***well, indian medicine is not my idea, I just repeated what others
with a passion told me...***
What do you think of my thoughts, should I continue..or start to
research
the medicine "ayurveda" etc..
***Run each rabbit into the ground... don't start after one and turn
after another that you see on the side... just chase one and if you
don't catch it, it's gone down a hole, then start after another...***
John
Compete on Design!
www.johnspiers.com
Yahoo! Groups Links
Calling all importers of contemporary home decor, housewares and sm
Hello:
We are a small but growing retailer based in Vancouver, BC called
Homewerx. We specialize in catering to urban condo dwellers who are
looking for functional, unique and contemporary home decor and
houseware products. What sets us apart from other retailers is that
we carry design-oriented products at prices that don't break the bank.
We do a strong business in glasswares, kitchen accessories, art,
candles, giftware and decor.
Interestingly, we find that product packaging is as important as the
product itself. I encourage all importers to keep this in mind.
We are finding it increasingly difficult to find interesting new
products in our categories. We believe that there is a demand for them.
Big retailers like Target are catching on to this trend. However,
people are always looking for something new and unique that mass
retailers can never provide.
If you are an importer that believes that you have products that can
meet this niche. Please contact me at amyn@homewerx.ca.
We presently have 5 stores but homewerx is a new concept store that we
are expanding. As we grow, we will aim to partner with importers that
share our design sense or directly import products ourselves.
To hear what others have written about us, read the following article:
http://sweetspot.ca/vancouver/archives/house_home/001227.php
Also, if you have any suggestions on how to more efficiently source
products like these, please let us know.
Finally, John, in your course, you mention that it is possible for you
to determine where products are sourced from. We are big fans of
Target, Crate & Barrel and West Elm. They all produce great products
in China. Our luck with Chinese suppliers has been average. How do we
find out which suppliers they use? Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks,
Amyn
PS We found great design-oriented products at the Thailand Gift Show
in Bangkok. It was a great event and is coming up again in March if
anyone is interested. I warn you though that Thais compete on design
not price so their products command a premium. Unfortunately, the
price divide is too great and the Chinese are beating them on both fronts.
Re: Your idea..
Dear John, your idea of the indian medicine (for me sounds like organic
medicine) weakened my frozen organic meals for kids...I dont know...
I been looking for import of non organic frozen dishes, and there is
not
many imports, so the conclusion is that here is the best place of the
world,
***who knows, you'd have to research further... it may be the cost of
shipping a frozen $3 meal is too much compared to locally produced
frozen meals..who knows...it's your profession to learn how come...***
so it will be may be a product to be exported to Germany/Netherlands the
biggest consumers of organics..., or also for the USA (not Miami..),
but I
think that the big corporations could buy an usa organic company, and
could
launch very easy a product like mine...
***Yes, but why not you be the organic company they buy, like so many
others who did well by doing so well the big boys bought them after 20
years?***
On the other hand, I will have to deal with a frozen product..with all
its
cost..(I have no expereince in Frozen foods, and sounds mabe to much
trouble
for a small business)
***Yes, you will have to deal with a frozen product; no you will not
have to deal with all of its costs, your customers will have to deal
with all of its costs, and they can take it or leave it...; and trouble
and small biz go together... new is necesarily more trouble than
standard...this was an insight by Von Mises I think, that innovative
products are necessarily a more difficult, drawn out process.... it
makes sense to me, since the big boys cannot charge off their overhead
to the necessarily tiny market for innovative ideas, it is only we with
marginal overhead that can pursue these innovations.***
I am in a point of should I continue with this idea, a frozen organic
kids
meal for 3 o 4 dollar (end prize)..or something more for a small
business..
***a small business will introduce a home version of the nuclear power
plant; the size of a bread box that is safe clean, lights up your yrad
and home like a slot machine paying off, and makes your car fly a foot
off the ground, gps controlled at 300 miles and hour to the store. GM
will not come up with this. Neither will Toyota, with their appalling
hybrid cars. So yes, organic kids frozen meals are a small biz item.
And why not $9 meals...why do you think they have to be cheap? Whole
Foods is storming America and they are charging super premium prices.
I spoke to a women who hand tailors coats who said everytime she is
forced to raise her prices her unit sales increase.***
I love the organics, but does it has to be with the difficulties and
costs
of frozen foods??
***I love women, and I run into the same problems, all difficulties,
costs and frozen food... you learn to live with it.***
Your idea of the indian medicine, is to be sold through a Web site? I
liked
it because is in the Organic area..
***well, indian medicine is not my idea, I just repeated what others
with a passion told me...***
What do you think of my thoughts, should I continue..or start to
research
the medicine "ayurveda" etc..
***Run each rabbit into the ground... don't start after one and turn
after another that you see on the side... just chase one and if you
don't catch it, it's gone down a hole, then start after another...***
John
Re: Product Info question
-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Cowley
To: WileyCCC@aol.com
Sent: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 18:59:20 -0800
Subject: Product Info question
Hi John,
First let me tell you how much I've enjoyed the class and your book
and how much I've learned. Thanks.
***You are very kind...***
My question. How do you find the best place in the world to have your
product made if your product doesn't exist? I'm thinking if a bicycle
accessory that I believe would solve a problem. But nothing like it
exists. Do I start with bicycle manufacturers or plactic manufacturers
or rubber manufacturers? Help me out please.
***Exactly, if not use, then material... an outfit that makes extruded
plastic items is the place if there are no bicycle load levellers ever
before (I made that up as an example..) and the HTS is also broken down
by material just foe these instances... the worldd center for bike
parts may, though, be desirous of sourcing as an agent that which they
have never carried before, in order that they may stay on the cutting
edge... keep in mind, we are not after cheap labor overseas, we are
after talented management... to have someone in Hong Kong source
plastic raw material from chongqing to be fed into extruded plastic
machines in Shenzhen, using molds cut in taiwan is where you leverage
the "cheap management" overseas to serve usa consumers...***
Also I've noticed that you import glass items. Is it safe to say that
once you establish a relationship with your customers(retailers) that
having something new is important but having something new that solves
a problem becomes less important. I guess I don't see how a different
kind of glass design solves a problem each and every time.
***So you find designer glass frivolous? I am hurt. Just like martha
Stewart, I make the dining experience just a little better. People
want to be delighted. A common error people make when entertaining is
they try to impress, which costs too much and often fails, when it is
necessary and sufficient to merely delight, which rarely fails and
costs only a little bit more. This problem must be solved each and
every time. What vexes me is martha stewart is better at it than I am,
so she makes more money than me. I hate it when things are fair... I
much prefer it when I not only have an unfair advantage, but when I am
guaranteed first place.
John
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Politics and Trade
Re: [spiers] Politics and Trade
On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:29:37 -0800 (PST), M A Granich
:
> Well, maybe no formally structured government, but I
> guarantee Icelanders organized and cooperated for the
> common good of their community.
>
***Exactly, that is the history of it...***
> > Pre-Revolutionary Spiers were sailing merchants,
> > landowners, slave owners. Henry Spires
> > (the spellings changed often before Webster and
> > Johnson standardized spelling) was given a
> > land patent in Virginia for 100 acres by the King in
> > 1744, and John Speirs got 600 acres 80
> > years earlier.
>
> The same King that granted Henry Spires land also had
> Pyphoria, a liver disorder only treated by an Orphan
> drug that is not profitable for a drug company to
> make. So, the government steps in and makes it
> possible for the drug company to make the drug and the
> people who are afflicted with Pyphoria are helped.
> Isn't public health a benefit of government?
***Drugs are "orphaned" because the patent system makes some too expensive...
when the
govt steps in they decide who gets help and who does not... work better left to
charities...***
stock market crash of 1929, before
> > government policy caused the
> > depression.
>
> Didn't unbridled unchecked capitalism cause the great
> depression? FDR is said to have "saved capitalism
> from itself" with his work progress programs that the
> Hamiltonians considered communism.
***Capitalism may have, but the fed reserve act of 1913 guranteed the bust of
1929... FDR
had excellent PR... check out Murray Rothbard on money...***
>
... which made inevitable the
> > end of slavery in USA. ...
>
> And the reason we had slaves was unchecked unbridled
> libido dominandi, and it was government to the rescue
> again.
>
***... well this is where it gets strange... the emancipation proclamation
applied only to areas
where the North had no power...which is an odd sort of emancipation... the
confederate
constitution outlawed any expansion of slavery, but the 13th amendment of the US
constitution expressly permits slavery in USA, the only limitation is only the
government can
have slaves. So no, the govt did not end slavery, and in fact, they made it law,
where it was
not before.***
> >So now we have an America capable of what the
> >revolutionaries fought, that Hamiltonian
> >imperial power. The Bushes, as do the democrats, no
> >matter who they run as candidate,
> >represent the Hamiltonian strain of USA politics.
>
> And what party represents the Jeffersonians?
No party...that is just it, just about everyone says they are jeffersonian, but
lives hamiltonian.
Just as orthodox confucianism is strong in Korea, perhaps orthodox jeffersonians
are strong
in say iceland.
John
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Boom Town -- Dubai !!!
Folks,
Check this article published in "The Guardian", UK:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1708287,00.html#article_continue
Best wishes,
Ismail Zehri
Las Vegas, NV
Politics and Trade
Re: [spiers] Politics and Trade
It is fascinating reading. I too could not put down till I finished reading it.
I have been passing some of your emails to my son at the University of Virginia.
He is majoring in Chinese and International Relations. He finds your articles
very interesting.
I like your viewpoint from both sides of the political spectrum.
Helen Lynch
-----Original Message-----
From: John Spiers
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: 16 Feb 2006 17:16:42 -0000
Subject: [spiers] Politics and Trade
Folks,
This essay is long, so I've also attached it as a .pdf if you want to download
it...
Politics and Trade
Once you start trading internationally, discussing politics with people around
the world
becomes part of the deal. Aristotle said for something to be interesting it had
to be different,
and certainly foreigner's views are different. And crafting worthy views can
be a fun
challenge too. Back in the 70's people trading both with the People's Republic
of China and
Taiwan were obliged to carry two passports, one to present in Taiwan to the
Taiwan
government and a different one to present to the communists, with each leery of
anyone
trading with both. In this instance having two USA passports was allowed by the
US State
Department, a different passport for each border. I recall being pressed in
Canton by one
particularly rude young woman, who asked me directly if I traded with both
Taiwan and
China. I wasn't going to lie, so I said yes, which gave her the opportunity to
raise righteous
indignation and begin a tirade. I cut her short by asking are not China and
Taiwan one
country? (Certainly both Taiwan and the People's Republic of China said so,
their argument
was over who was the legitimate government of China.) When Chairman Mao said
Chinese
should trade with the Americans, didn't that mean Guizhou and Zhejiang and Hebei
and
Taiwan and Sichuan and all of China? She considered this for a moment, and
then said my
politics were very good.
I wish that were true, for today President Bush says if we are not with him, we
are against
him, possibly equating himself with He whom he quotes with that phrase, Jesus.
Now I don't
doubt at all President Bush believes he is called to do God's will. Indeed, we
all are. I am
confident that like every single other politician called to do God's will, he
has flubbed the
effort. Politicians are not prophets, and we err when we give honor and power
and credence
due a prophet to a politician. In essence, this is the counter argument I give
my opposites
overseas when they want to hear me critique the USA. I critique the universal
problem of
giving politicians any power. And here, outside of say Switzerland, San Marino,
Singapore,
Andorra, the Vatican, Iceland (they managed nearly 300 years without any
government
whatsoever!) Liechtenstein, Hong Kong, etc., people all over the world give
their
governments too much power, contrary to self-interest of the governed.
The revolutionaries who formed the USA took the Greek and Roman experience, with
which
they were quite familiar, and applied it to USA. The essential America is
conforming to what
God recommended to Samuel in 1 Samuel 8-10, and as further informed by Socrates,
Jesus in
his "render unto caesar..." formulation, the barons at Runnymede in 1215, and
the Spanish
scholastics who argued for the right to revolution. Montesquieu's separation of
powers meant
to hobble government was the premier political thought in America, with Kant
taking it a step
further, pointing out a natural conflict of interest with lawyers, as officers
of the court,
serving in the legislative or executive branch. (How come that was left out of
the
constitution!?) Drawing lessons from these centuries of history there were three
premises of
the American revolution: that rights are God-given and inalienable, that
governments are
formed to secure those rights, and lastly, we can overturn the government which
fails to
secure those rights. The central fear was what Augustine identified in his City
of God, the
libido dominandi or "lust for power" that captures most of us, but is disastrous
when
leveraged with government power.
With Rome as a model, the Jeffersonians saw the Constitution as a way for the
common man
to be secure in his person and property as he pursued life, liberty and
happiness as in the
earlier Roman republic. The Hamiltonians saw it as a way for the elite to lead
the nation to
greatness as in the later Roman Empire. The tension between the two has always
been with
us.
George Washington in his farewell address warned of entangling alliances.
Cincinnati is
named after George Washington, who, like the Roman Cincinnatus went back to his
farm after
service, eschewing power for himself and his family. Admirable.
But rules reflect weakness. George Washington had to make such an address,
because there
was so much agitation for us to strive for "national greatness" by copying the
Europeans in
the competition for empire. To do so the Hamiltonians needed the ability to make
war
without the consent of congress and the ability to print currency without its
value constrained
by money (gold historically), but each were contrary to the constitution, and
the American
Revolution. In time they would get both.
Indeed, USA is considered exceptional in its form of government and relative
freedom, with
the people sovereign. George Bush does not represent USA, he is not our
"leader," in the
sense that so many countries see their top politician as "leader." He represents
nobody. Bill
Gates may represent Microsoft, but in no useful sense does the President
represent American
citizens. Our president is merely the CEO of one branch of the federal
government, a branch
ultimately under the congress, which represents the people to the federal
government, that
strictly limited entity. Or so the theory goes.
My view is probably just an opinion, but one with an orthodox pedigree in USA.
A pedigree
that goes back at least as far as the Bush family, who have been here since
before
revolutionary times as well as their progenitors, the Walkers and Prescotts.
Indeed they've
been here quite a while, almost as long as the Spiers.
Pre-Revolutionary Spiers were sailing merchants, landowners, slave owners.
Henry Spires
(the spellings changed often before Webster and Johnson standardized spelling)
was given a
land patent in Virginia for 100 acres by the King in 1744, and John Speirs got
600 acres 80
years earlier. Our lines run back to Scotland, to Arundel and to Howard, duke
of Norfolk, thru
Lawrence Washington, George's elder half-brother. There is even a medieval curse
on the
Spiers name, wherein no firstborn is ever male. Who cast the curse, why, or how
"no firstborn
ever male" is much of a curse, all is forgotten. Spiers were wealthy and active
in the
revolution, indeed, quite well-to-do financially until, at least in my line, the
fortune was
wiped out in the stock market crash of 1929, before government policy caused the
depression. I have copies of family papers, reckonings after some slaves were
auctioned off,
on Christmas eve, 1854. The reason we no longer have slaves is that word
"inalienable"
associated with rights, which made inevitable the end of slavery in USA.
Whether Jefferson
foresaw this effect downstream is debatable, but the fact is he wrote the words
and the words
led to the end of slavery, the ultimate expression of libido dominandi.
My grandfather is named Edward Howard Spiers (after the duke), and grandmother a
descendent of the Pope family, whose plantation is now the town of Pope's Creek,
Virginia.
And both my grandparents were Spiers, second cousins. As were, ahem, their
parents. All
rather Pharaonic.
When my father was de-mobbed from the navy in 1945 in Seattle, his father told
him to stay
here, for fear my father would marry a cousin in Virginia. A dutiful son, my
father stayed in
Seattle and married the Irish gal who handed him his walking papers at the navy
office. They
were disconsolate back in Virginia that my father married a Catholic. "At least
she isn't a
Jew..." grandad wrote, philosophically.
Privately this family history is no more important to me than the genealogy of
Gwyneth
Paltrow. But it is terribly important to some family members who keep careful
track of it all.
How else will my daughters assume their place in the Daughters of the American
Revolution?
The genealogy must be exact. There is a certain entitlement that comes with
being of
revolutionary stock, and we must not lose our patrimony through neglect. On the
other
hand, if one had an ancestor executed by Berkeley during Bacon's rebellion, then
perhaps
anti-tyranny is in the blood.
So both the Spiers and the Bushes go way back, and both know the history of this
country.
And everyone makes a choice, Jeffersonian or Hamiltonian? As many have observed,
we honor
Jeffersonian ideal, but we live in a Hamiltonian milieu, since the liberals and
conservatives in
USA politics are both Hamiltonian. Both want "national greatness" which for
either is merely
aesthetical differences in the exercise of libido dominandi.
Conservatives want to intervene overseas, think Fallujah. Liberals want to
intervene
domestically, think Waco. Moderates want to intervene everywhere. Think
Fallujah and Waco.
They are all Hamiltonians, to a degree. Radicals want to intervene nowhere.
Think Monticello.
The word radical stems from the word 'root' meaning the original and essential
part. I am
radical.
In pursuit of power, the political branch of the Bush family feels the need to
muddy their lines
for public consumption. Hence the move to Texas, the ranches, cowboy boots, and
the oil
industry. Our current president, Texan and methodist George Bush, was born in
New Haven,
Connecticut. He is about as Texan as Hillary Clinton is a New Yorker. Another
Bush, the one
who had Florida given to him, became a catholic, coincidentally very important
in a state with
a huge Cuban voting bloc.
The Kennedy's had to go the other way, putting on blue blood airs, attending
Harvard,
seeking high government service when they are potato famine refugees, rum
runners at that.
But since the Bushes are in power right now, I'll pick on them.
Our president's grandfather saw no particular problem selling oil to the Nazis
in spite of the
fact we were at war with Germany. Where he got caught Congress would seize the
assets. Five
of the Bush family companies were seized by Congress in this manner. Congress
invoked the
Trading with the Enemy Act and seized the Bush-Harriman-managed Thyssen entity
Hamburg-American Line, under Vesting Order No. 126. Thereafter, under Order No.
248, and
then Vesting Order No. 259, and ultimately Vesting Order No. 261 various other
businesses
were seized. None of this is secret, it is all in public records. There is
evidence there were
more going on, which were not caught. A lot of pilots were shot down in WWII in
the Pacific.
Extremely few had submarines dispatched to pick them up, as in the case of GHW
Bush. To
this day the Bushes are co-investors with Osama bin Laden's family. When
national greatness
is at stake, there are no rules.
The liberal side has nothing to crow about, Gore is no better than Bush when it
comes to
trading with the enemy. The Al Gore family was backed by Armand Hammer whose
convict
father was a founder of Communist Party USA, and who kept hard currency flowing
into
Soviet Union so Stalin could keep the gulags going. Armand Hammer and was given
the
Order of Lenin by Stalin. Check out the Gore's zinc mine to see where his
money comes
from, and what an enviro-disaster it is. (I can criticize Armand Hammer now
that his Museum
no longer buys from me).
Now clearly, I am no better than the Bushes, no worse. My grandfather was a
civil engineer, a
surveyor, like his ancestor George Washington. My grandfather led the crew that
surreptitiously surveyed Panama so that when the USA stole it from Colombia, we
would be
able to define precisely what we were stealing. If it were up to me each school
day,
kindergarten through twelfth grade, would start with a good stiff drink for each
student. This
policy would be no more bizarre than most other government policies. The problem
is the
power, and having it to exercise. And the leverage being 'government' gives to
power. The
American revolution was about limiting the power of the government to keep us
out of
imperial adventures, foreign and domestic.
Our soldiers are in Middle East because oil is there. The Bushes are in oil
because money and
power is there. Savings and Loan scam? Count Jeb in. Big league sports? Buy
George jr. a
team. The Bush oil company Zapata changed to fisheries when that seemed to be
important,
then it became a dot.com during the dot.com boom. If the real money and power
was in ice
cubes, then the Bushes would be there in a big way. And we'd be at war with
Greenland.
We'd have a no-fly zone over Antarctica. Global warming would be a Republican
issue.
Republicans have war on terror and painkillers, and democrats have war on
poverty and bad
weather. Both cost the same, both are useless. And both are good for feeling
superior to the
other. Bush promises freedom from terror. Gore promises better weather. Both
say big
government will deliver. From them we get more terror and worse weather.
Hamilton was very popular within that spectrum that was pro-centralization for
the purposes
of pursuing national greatness. Like any movement, the American revolution was
40% for
and 40% against and 20% undecided. The political spectrum was as wide as any
time in
history. The tension was very strong.
The counterrevolutionaries, the Hamiltonians, know exactly what to do to assume
power, and
it takes unconstrained "money" and the ability to make war without restraint.
Hamilton
created the First Bank of the United States, so controversial that is was given
only a 20 year
run. Jefferson resisted Hamilton. Eventually Aaron Burr shot and killed
Hamilton, this while
Burr was President Jefferson's Vice President of the United States. Perhaps VP
Dick Cheney is
bringing back the good old days.
Our legal history shows an evolution from the common law principle that if a
factory should
open and make mom's laundry dirty 30 miles a way, mom may complain to a judge
and the
judge stops the factory and makes it pay for new clean sheets for mom. 800
years of
common law and property law required the ruling. But in time the judges started
ruling for
the factory, since the factory was more important than mom's laundry, as a part
of the
change in legal theory preceding and accommodating empire. Thus the polluting
of rivers,
shoddy products, all sorts of mischief, attendant to and necessary for
imperialism, gained
traction. The victory for imperialists came with Lincoln and the civil war,
ending the
Jeffersonian ethic, or at least putting it into a deep sleep.
The constitution limits the right to create gold and silver coins to the Mint,
but in 1913 in a
legal fiction, congress created a private company (which reports to congress)
that controls
currency, the paper stuff. The reason for this is everyone knows a government
cannot be
trusted, ever, with control over money, so this legal fiction allowed the
imperialists a way
around the objection. (In Hong Kong, private companies print and issue
competing
currencies, not the government, the way it used to be in USA).
By 1951 Truman could enter a war without a declaration by congress, by calling
it a police
action. Congress still controls the purse strings, but the revolutionaries
assumed no standing
army, ever. With a massive military in place, that military-industrial complex
which General
Eisenhower named and warned us about in his farewell address, a president does
not need
any stinkin' congressman to go ahead and start a war. Commander-in-chief of a
million men
and a year's worth of supplies, we can be deep in the big money, obliged to
honor those
who've already died, before congress can rally.
So now we have an America capable of what the revolutionaries fought, that
Hamiltonian
imperial power. The Bushes, as do the democrats, no matter who they run as
candidate,
represent the Hamiltonian strain of USA politics. They are wrong, wielding
power gained
from foreign entanglements and war. It is counter revolutionary to side with
with the
Hamiltonians, and support the Bushes (or the Kerrys if he was in office).
Imperial power ends. It always has. Whether Persian, Maurya, Greek, Roman,
Chinese,
Moslem, Moghul, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Japanese or English, they all go
eventually.
And when they do, those "homelands" revert to their natural state. Is Italy
despised now that
it is no longer Imperial? Do tourists avoid Kyoto now? Is Patna miserable?
Will Los Angeles
be uninteresting when we inevitably bring our troops home from the some 136
countries
where we maintain a military presence (and not counting just marines as embassy
security)?
So how to solve the problem, if you accept it is a problem? Live and work, like
the
revolutionaries, as though our primary concerns were the good, the true and the
beautiful.
Introduce products that will still be here in 200 years, like Keillor's
Marmalade introduced in
Dundee in 1797, during the height of British Imperial power. This is necessary
and sufficient.
This is true of everyone self-employed, we who freely choose what field to
enter, then find
ourselves obliged to closely follow in order to serve our customers. In this way
we may feel
the urge of libido dominandi, but age quad agis, we can't get around to acting
on the evil
impulse. It is not enough for our constitution to be exceptional, we Americans
have to be
exceptional too.
Of course this is harder than simply picking up a gun and forcing others to do
you will, but in
that measure it is harder is the measure it is the more persuasive. Instead of
Americans
trying to become imperial masters, it is better that we model a better way for
the royalty try
to become like us, by starting a small business. Princess Kinga von
Liechtenstein has started
her own company, a fashion outfit. She could spend her life taking pleasure in
having others
serve her, but she instead will serve others. She is doing her part to make the
world a better
place.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Compete on Design!
www.johnspiers.com