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So, last night I posted a review of the outstanding thriller Deadly Straits by R. E. McDermott. The book is about international terrorists using merchant shipping to, well, create terror. It's well worth the read, but I warn you - the book is hard to put down!
In other news, China's first aircraft carrier, the Shi Leng (ex-Varyag), has finally cleared the sea bouy and is undergoing sea trials. This is also noteworthy in that, although the USN has 11 aircraft carriers, we've apparently decided that only nine of them will be operational at any one time. On the one hand, we still outnumber the Chinese 9 to 1, and the Shi Leng is by no means operational. Even at full capability, it would be literally half as capable as a US carrier.
On the other hand, and the tie-in to McDermott's novel, China is clearly on the rise both commercially and militarily. Now, I'm not saying "OMG China is coming!11!!" However, what is making their increase in capabilities possible is their growing economic strength. This growth will not continue uninterrupted forever, as economic cycles have not been repealed.
But what concerns me is that we are missing the boat (as it were) on growing our own economy. We can and do have too much government debt. Yet we also have a crumbling infrastructure coupled with real over-dependence on foreign oil and cheap foreign goods (especially Chinese). These problems do not get solved except by government intervention. We need government to spend money on roads and bridges and raise the cost of foreign oil and goods.
Yet we argue about debt and more tax cuts while spending billions in Godforsaken Afghanistan. What's wrong with this picture?
In other news, China's first aircraft carrier, the Shi Leng (ex-Varyag), has finally cleared the sea bouy and is undergoing sea trials. This is also noteworthy in that, although the USN has 11 aircraft carriers, we've apparently decided that only nine of them will be operational at any one time. On the one hand, we still outnumber the Chinese 9 to 1, and the Shi Leng is by no means operational. Even at full capability, it would be literally half as capable as a US carrier.
On the other hand, and the tie-in to McDermott's novel, China is clearly on the rise both commercially and militarily. Now, I'm not saying "OMG China is coming!11!!" However, what is making their increase in capabilities possible is their growing economic strength. This growth will not continue uninterrupted forever, as economic cycles have not been repealed.
But what concerns me is that we are missing the boat (as it were) on growing our own economy. We can and do have too much government debt. Yet we also have a crumbling infrastructure coupled with real over-dependence on foreign oil and cheap foreign goods (especially Chinese). These problems do not get solved except by government intervention. We need government to spend money on roads and bridges and raise the cost of foreign oil and goods.
Yet we argue about debt and more tax cuts while spending billions in Godforsaken Afghanistan. What's wrong with this picture?
