Preface
Why is it that the United States has only 330 million people, but its spending power is stronger than China's 1.4 billion people?
Because Americans and we "don't live quite the same, at least not the same as ever." ”
In the 90s of the last century, many Chinese students chose to stay in the United States and obtained local citizenship after arriving in the United States.
We say that these students are ungrateful and have failed the careful cultivation of the motherland, but one thing to say, the temptation they face is too great!
Americans are too good at spending money, and money buys too much happiness.
So, how terrible is Americans' spending power? How far does the Chinese's spending power lag with theirs?
Where does the strength of the United States come from?
In the classic American TV series "Friends", there is a detail that is particularly worth remembering, that is, whether they have a job or not, they almost never worry about food, and the food in the refrigerator of a family can be taken as easily as picking up a toothpick.
Fragment of "Friends".
For the Chinese at that time, this was simply an eye-opener, the Chinese have always had extremely complex feelings about food, our fathers and the land have fought all their lives, and have maintained the continuity and hope of generations of blood on the land.
But suddenly, such a country popped up in the world, their Big Mac burgers wrapped in vegetables, cheese and meatloaf, plus a glass of Coke carbs, seemed to be able to sustain the consumption of mainland farmers for a day.
Not only that, when the Chinese people know that the beautiful country has the most powerful scientific and technological strength in the world, and the international prestige seems to be able to benchmark the strong Han Sheng Tang Dynasty on the mainland, that set of values is particularly easy to confuse young people who have not had enough experience.
It can be said that this is the "city on the top of the mountain" that was born at the time of the development of human history, and at that time, the golden age of that superpower was fascinating.
At the same time, in the process of reform and development, China is also facing up to the gap between the two countries, and then making up for this gap and seeking truth from facts to achieve prosperity and strength.
Although some people choose to stay abroad, the vast majority of people are still willing to build the motherland, so in less than 30 years, some people have asked the question that we did not dare to think about before, why are there so few Americans, but the spending power is amazing.
Yes, the former Chinese people felt that this was not a problem, because there were many Chinese at that time, but it was really not rich, the freedom of meat, eggs and milk of the Chinese people had not been a few years, and the older generation almost experienced the shortage of materials, so that the purchase of things still needed a ticket.
So when did we feel like we could be with the United States?
If from the spiritual level, in fact, the Chinese have never felt that they have left the stage of the world game, the Roman Empire disappeared, the Ottoman Empire also fell apart, only China has always been a "big player".
Although there are many shameful things in modern China, this kind of national soul that lingers in the hearts of the Chinese people has never been extinguished, and we always want to rejuvenate China, and the primary goal is to make ourselves stronger.
That's why, when the economic take-off really comes, we can seize this opportunity and become the world's second largest economy.
After the economic strength became stronger, some Chinese people began to think, China currently has 1.44 billion people, but the United States only has 330 million people, less than a quarter of ours, why their consumption power is much higher than ours?
The reason why the United States has a higher spending power than the mainland
In the eyes of many, the United States is still the world's only superpower, with a large number of high value-added industries, and it is these industries that can ensure that Americans can receive extremely high salaries.
Moreover, the US dollar has always been "popular in the world" as a world currency, and their "petrodollar" continues to reap the economic fruits created by other countries.
In 2022, the GDP of the United States will reach more than $25 trillion, and the per capita GDP will be about $76,000.
At that time, the mainland's GDP was about 18 trillion US dollars, and the per capita GDP was about 12,000 US dollars.
Image source: National Bureau of Statistics
In terms of per capita, the per capita GDP of the United States is six times that of ours, and in addition to these, the gap between the consumption of residents in China and the United States is more intuitively reflected in the total retail sales of consumer goods.
The total retail sales of consumer goods represent important data on the consumption of physical goods in the whole society, including food, clothing, catering services and electronic products that people need daily.
China is one of the most populous countries in the world, and in 2019, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 41.2 trillion yuan, which is currently converted to about 570 million US dollars, but if you average it, you will find that a Chinese only spends more than 4,000 US dollars a year.
In 2019, the United States spent more than we did, and they were $6.2 trillion.
And the beautiful country is young, an American can spend more than 10,000 US dollars a year, which is almost 70,000 or 80,000 yuan.
Economic Times, published on April 17, 2020
But does this really mean that the Chinese people are really not that rich, and the gap between them and the Americans is still far away?
No, the Chinese people have always had a tradition that foreigners do not understand, that is, love to save money, China is a big saving country, in 2021, the balance of household deposits in the mainland reached 103.3 trillion yuan, don't look at many remarks now that the house makes the people take out their wallets, but in fact, our savings rate is still amazing.
Moreover, Chinese save wealth to resist natural disasters and difficulties that occur at some point, while Americans are less able to resist risks.
The Paper-Yangcheng Evening News, released on May 8, 2022
When they face a crisis, there is little resistance, data show that more than 6 percent of American households have less than $1,000 in savings, not to mention the purchase of expensive commercial insurance, even if they have a cold and fever, they dare not go to the hospital to see a doctor, after all, American medical care is too expensive.
In the traditional thinking of Chinese, buying a property of their own is a natural thing, but Americans do not think so, they are not willing to take on commercial mortgages, so they would rather live in rented housing all the time, without the pressure of loans, the consumption of life will naturally increase.
The income of American residents far exceeds that of ordinary Chinese people, so it seems logical that their spending power is stronger than that of China, but in fact, Americans are very fond of waste, according to 2018 state media, they waste up to 150,000 tons of food every day, which is really a sin for the Chinese nation that advocates diligence and thrift, and extravagance and waste in our values is an out-and-out shortcoming.
And we should also see that the United States is a big user of credit cards, and they don't feel that there is any problem with tomorrow's money to meet today's consumption.
Seeing this, many Americans are easy to understand because of poor wealth management, which ultimately leads to no source of income, such as so many homeless people on the streets of the United States, most of them have had a glorious past before, but their reason did not overcome their desires, and they were finally buried in the trap of consumerism, and they were reduced to finding food only from the garbage can.
In addition, the United States also advocates the concept of "enjoying the moment" and likes to buy home everything they can and cannot use, so some Americans are "seriously indebted".
According to official media disclosures, as of October 8, 2022, the total debt of the United States exceeded 31.1 trillion US dollars, and if this huge debt is distributed to American residents, it is equivalent to an average debt of 93,000 US dollars per American, and at the same time, China's annual RMB deposits increased by 26.26 trillion yuan.
Xinhuanet, released on October 9, 2022
It would be unfair to see Americans who make up 5 percent of the world's population consume 23 percent of the world's resources, given that the food they waste alone could save many hungry Africans.
Everyone has the right to pursue happiness, and US President Barack Obama once said:
If more than 1 billion Chinese live the same life as the United States and Australia, then we will all fall into a very miserable situation, and the earth will not be able to bear it.
Obama doesn't understand the Chinese, in fact, we don't want to live the kind of life where the food is thrown away if we don't want to eat, the swimming pool is changed once, the water pipe is turned on for a day, and it will not be closed at all.
We only want to live the harmonious society that the Chinese idealize.
epilogue
We just want to eat better and dress better, unlike the United States, which seems to have "transmitted" the style of arrogance and indulgence to all its citizens.
Chinese always bear much more responsibilities than the United States, whether it is the parents' pension medical care, or the children's education, or even the dowry and bride price that need to be prepared when the children marry in the future, are all reasons that affect a Chinese family's reluctance to spend.
This kind of country with responsibility on its shoulders must have extraordinary potential, and the relatively "easier" Americans, because they have not experienced the problems of the Chinese, will not consider China's consumption concept.
Of course, until now, there are still lessons to be learned from each other, and different national conditions have different situations, and as long as the United States does not blind itself and preach hatred, it can still achieve mutual understanding.
What do you think about this, welcome to express your opinions!
The sources in this article are from:
1. "Who likes to save money more? The latest data is released", The Paper-Yangcheng Evening News, released on May 8, 2022;
2. "The People's Bank of China: RMB Deposits Increase by 26.26 Trillion Yuan in 2022", Beijing News, January 10, 2023;
3. "Financial Knowledge|Key Points: U.S. Bonds Are Growing Savagely"!", Xinhuanet, October 9, 2022;
4. "China's Total Retail Sales of Consumer Goods in 2019 41.2 Trillion Yuan", released on January 21, 2020;
5. "Is the moving fee missing by American companies?" Economic Daily-Cao Mingdi, researcher at Chongyang Institute for Financial Research, Chinese University, April 17, 2020;
6. "Americans waste 150,000 tons of food every day, fruits and vegetables are discarded the most", Global Network, released on April 20, 2018;
7. "Less than $1,000 in Savings, Americans Are So "Poor"?", Jiefang Daily-Shanghai Watch, published on October 26, 2015, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly, for reference only!