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Jewish World Review August 4, 2011 / 4 Menachem-Av, 5771 Russian PM calls U.S. a ‘parasite.’ He should be so lucky By Dale McFeatters
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin flew off on a visit to a youth summer camp, where he devolved to the no-doubt-puzzled campers this thought about the United States: "They are living like parasites off the global economy and their monopoly of the dollar."
If we're parasites, we're pretty good at it. According to The Economist, we're the world's largest economy. Russia is eighth, below Italy and just above Spain, neither one considered economic paragons. In purchasing power, a key measure of standard of living, the U.S. is 12th. (The top of the list is dominated by economic enclaves like Qatar and Luxembourg.) Russia is 68th, coming in just a shade behind the Netherlands Antilles.
Russia is a resource-export economy. Its manufacturing sector makes very little that anybody else wants.
China, the world's second-largest economy, seems to manufacture just about everything, including stuff it shouldn't because some of its manufacturers are notorious counterfeiters of Western goods.
Now, according to The Wall Street Journal, the Chinese are counterfeiting not only the goods but also entire stores.
In the city of Kunming, a foreign blogger found a fake Apple store, right down to the details of the real outlets. In a novel twist on counterfeiting, the store was selling, without Apple's permission, real Apple products like iPads and iPhones.
Dairy Queen has a big imitator in China, down to the menus, cups and employee uniforms. The knockoff store did have the grace to call itself Dairy Fairy.
U.S. smoothie chain Jamba Juice, with no outlets in China, does, however, have an imitator, Jambo Juice. The Chinese proprietors told the Journal that the similarity in name, decor and offerings is pure coincidence.
The sandwich chain Subway has a copycat competitor, so faithful in its details, according to the Journal, that it offers sandwiches in 6- and 12-inch lengths even though China uses the metric system. Subway generously hopes that if the Chinese develop a taste for Western-style sandwiches at the knockoffs that they'll turn to the real thing.
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but the foreign firms would probably rather forgo the flattery in favor of royalties and licensing fees.
And as for Putin, if he worries less about the United States and more about his own country's manufacturing shortcomings, maybe one day Russia, too, will come up with products the Chinese think worthy of counterfeiting.
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• 08/03/11: Congress goes from one bind to another • 08/02/11: D.B. Cooper may no longer be a mystery • 08/01/11: Libya's latest weapon against NATO --- lawsuits • 07/29/11: He'll always be known as Hot Wheels Handler • 07/25/11: Recruiting children to save a dying town • 07/22/11: Bachmann's admirable medical candor • 07/12/11: Social Security's grave mistakes • 07/08/11: Debt crisis need not be constitutional crisis • 07/07/11: Startups entice new talent with kickball, treehouses • 07/05/11: Stranded tourists get rare treat • 06/30/11: The dollar Americans refuse to spend • 06/27/11: The hangman doesn't cometh
© 2011, SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||||
