Our denial

It was disheartening to hear about a news in Taiwan where people are fighting to preserve the "last natural river" in Ban Chiao city, Taipei county, to stop the government from burying it and make it into an underground drainage like many others. This is when I realised that in my memory, I don't remember a single "river" flowing through Taipei county. It also reminded me of the water way that used to lead from my place in Taipei to the outside. It was a big opened drain that the road twined with. For many years, with the surrounding factories polluting it and cars felling into it, it was regarded as a hazard rather than a resource to be preserved. We were also glad when the government sealed it by constructing a concrete road surface over it, officially making it "underground".

Now, reflecting back, it was an absolute shame. It is the typical "swipping under the carpet" mentality. Instead of fixing the pollution and controlling the surrounding development, we chose to simply cover it up. The water still flows the path it used to. It's still under the very cover that we drive on, but we don't see it anymore. I am pretty certain that people who moved into the area after the cover project will never know about the drain, about the pollution and about this lesson that we should learn.

Now I am living right beside a water way. It's a creek that channels the city's water run-offs into a bigger river. Unlike Taiwan, the creek is embraced here. Properties along it are desirable. People want to preserve it. I guess sometimes, resistance to change is good.

The New American Dream

The American Dream

My mom has wondered for a long time about American’s ability as consumers, that they have such big supermarkets, with such big shopping carts and everyone shops by the truck load. After 7 years of living in the US, I think I have figured it out.

If you are familiar with my recent posts, several events that took place recently have significantly shaped my view on the basis of the so-called American Dream. I am not talking about the ideology on which this country was founded upon. It’s not about freedom and human rights. Yes it is about dreams, but beyond that, it’s about a set of distorted values, of which its abuse has led to what Americans are about to face in their economic situation. Many say that the worst has yet to come and this is just the beginning. Many compare the current scenario to that of the great depression. To me, you can compare all you want, but all these are useless unless you have the courage to reflect on yourself.

In these 7 years in the US, I’ve worked in various types of companies and have observed how each approach their business differently. I’ve also participated as a member of this economy, from a student to someone who contributes and consume, and one who fights just like any other candidate on the job market to find the job that I will be investing my energy and effort in. All these, in midst of the economic crisis. All of these different experiences and observations have led me to one opinion. However this is certainly not a conclusion. I do not believe on conclusion when it comes to cultural issues. Culture changes with time, and so my opinion will change with time. This is what I have observed thus far, which I hope will change.

So back to the topic, what is this “American Dream” that I am talking about? Let’s look at what today’s America is known for, in her good times. Easily accessible supermarkets filled with pre-processed food. Drive-throughs for not just fastfood chains, but also for pharmacies and churches(Vegas). Cheap gas(relatively), trucks and SUVs. Big, wooden houses with 3-car garage and a big, nice, almost fake looking lawn. Not to mention all the money that it takes to maintain all these possessions.

Wait, did I say “possessions”? Sorry, my bad. Until the day the loan is paid up, it’s not yours. Sorry bud!

Buy now, pay later

So what has this got to do with the American Dream? Every thing. The new American Dream is not about building solid foundation to prepare for your dreams. It’s not about planting a tree now to prepare for the shade it will bring 20 years down the road. It’s about borrowing money, plug a grown tree today in front of your yard and enjoy the immediate shade, then worry about the next billing cycle. Americans don’t want a real dream, but the illusion of being in the dream. Look at the typical American home. It’s made of wooden structure, with side walls lined with plastic sidings while sandwiching foams for insulation, and plastic tiles for roofing. The average American building contractor has no knowledge or the skill to build a steel and concrete structure. American’s favourite venue, the strip-malls, are built with single-layered bricks without any re-enforcement with concrete or steel. This means that the roof is merely sitting on brick walls that are more like cookies when compared to the forces of nature. Even a five story apartment or condominium complex is made with the exact same wooden construction as a two-storey home. One would think that something this tall will be steel and concrete, but no, American consumers can’t wait. They can’t wait for the time to build their houses. More importantly, they can’t wait for the time for build their wealth to truly afford their dreams.

Detachment from the real world

Let’s pull back and go to the smaller things, the things that you find in an American supermarket. When I first came to the US, I spent my first semester living on frozen meals. It was fast and convenient. No it was not cheap as compared to self-made meals. It is certainly not tasty either. In fact, I got so sick of the microwaved-plastic smell that I have not had one since. NOT EVEN ONCE! But this happens to be one of the biggest sections in an American supermarket. Frozen food is definitely a mainstream product to American consumers. Frozen meat, frozen pre-seasoned meat, frozen pre-cooked meat, frozen vegetables, frozen ready-to-microwave vegetables, frozen ready-to-eat vegetables, assorted fruits, pre-sliced fruits, canned fruits… the list goes on. You can find anything pre-made, pre-seasoned, pre-cooked. The only difference between this and going to a restaurant is, you don’t have to pay the tips. “Cooking” becomes either a scary and troublesome process that everyone tries to avoid, or it can simply mean “pop-into-the-oven/microwave”. I have had people ask me, ”Why do you even cook when you can get cooked food so easily?”

(MS word crashes… damn microsoft!!!)

Let’s look at the food itself. Steak, beef petty, chicken breast, drums sticks, nuggets, chicken fingers, sausage, hotdogs, pork chops, fish fillets, cocktail shelled shrimps. What do all these have in common? They all have been processed beyond recognition. Oh wait, and the Americans are suspicious about the origin of their Chinese take outs?! I’ve met people who have no idea what fresh ginger root and garlic look like. I have met kids who point at the fish tank and refer the fish and lobsters as “SpongeBob”.(Hey SpongeBob is cool!) It is absolutely alarming to me that Americans don’t know their FOOD, one of the most BASIC elements of their lives! It bizarre me that many of my American peers think serving shrimp with their heads still on is a big turn-off. They also cannot understand the idea of eating a whole fish as opposed to a fillet. Man I will pay big bucks to eat my beef while staring at the very herd of cows where my beef was from. The on-site freshness is unbeatable. Why should we deny what we do? We eat. We eat food. The food is from the nature. Why are we trying to deny this fact by disguising it with over-processing, de-identification of its origin in attempt to say that it is more “civilized”? Please tell me how is this any more civilized than eating meat raw? How is a culture more civilized by denying the very thing that they do? Americans have detached themselves from the very world they live in, the very things they do and the very identity that they are in the name of speed, efficiency, convenience and cost. Note that “quality” isn’t in here, just like their demand on houses and cars.

Ok, then what do Americans do to achieve higher level of “quality of life”? Oh, one must look fit and healthy, so one must work out. What does that mean? Join a gym when you work out to be seen. If not, buy a “Bowflex” home gym system. Can’t afford it? It’s ok, only $29.99 a month! Oh and btw, it only requires 30min work out 3 times a week, and you will look like Mr. And Ms Universe in no time. Results guaranteed!
WOW, so many promises, definitely sounds like a great deal right? Hey, how about spend no money, in fact, save money on less and more healthy food, eat right, live right and have a more positive state of mind? Fit physical appearance is just like the wooden suburban houses that Americans live in. It’s not about the quality of state of mind. It’s not about the confidence from the inner self, but a deception of confidence from the outer shell.

The value of opportunity

Coming back to the current economic crisis and how businesses are dealing with it, it troubles me that rather than transferring their resources to research and development to prepare themselves for the moment when the market recovers and when consumers can’t wait to spend money, most businesses are more concerned with maintaining their current sales. In another words, they would rather take minute steps to meet today’s demand as opposed to prepare for the future when it matters. What does this tell me? First, it suggests that they haven’t realized where the opportunity is. They are not really interested in the true potential of themselves but only interested in milking every next bit of opportunity. Secondly, it can also mean that they’ve never intended to build a strong financial foundation all this while, and when such times comes, their pockets are empty. Hey, sound familiar? Yeah, that’s just like how some people borrow big loans to buy big toys, and when bad time hits, they lose everything. So the questions involved here are: 1. What do you do now in the midst of the crisis? 2. What do you do next? Seems that to American business, there is no next.

Just to further explain what I mean by “preparing for the time when it comes”. In times of recession, there is no way to avoid bad sales. Rather than spending money trying to market your products that won’t sell anyway, why not tighten your belt and shift your resources to research and develop products that people want when they can finally afford it? It means prepare for the moment when consumers have the money, and more importantly, the desire to buy something. The big question here, therefore, is, what have you got that is worthy for them to spend on? So, make sure you do your homework now and have a quality product when consumers most want it! It’s not about taking small steps to ensure survival. It’s taking revolutions and rethinking the new lifestyle and shift in mentality when the new economy starts. THAT’s when the real game of survival starts. Businesses that can’t adapt to the shift in demand WILL fail.

It’s a cultural thing

So many have blamed on China as a part of the reason for America’s failure, that the Chinese government have forced its currency to stay low, creating an imbalance trade condition. Well, if the Chinese currency is low, doesn’t that mean the dollar is superior? Won’t that mean more bang for the buck for the Americans to buy from China? I also haven’t heard about any Chinese holding American at gun point to force them to buy Chinese made products! If the Americans feel cheated, why did they deal with the Chinese? They asked for it! Let’s face it, American’s crave for “ownership” feeds directly into the Chinese’s crave for cold hard cash. I will never stop laughing to this interview with a Chinese factory owner in a TV documentary. He holds the product that he makes for American consumers in his hands and wonders, ”Who the hell needs a salad tosser?!”

Yeah, who? The Americans!

Why is it that the Chinese can do everything with chopsticks whereas Americans don’t feel right not having a salad tosser in their kitchens? In Chinese culture, borrowing is simply not a part of it. The Chinese spend with what they have, and therefore tend to be more conscious about what they spend on. If it is not a necessity, they won’t buy it, and that’s why the chopsticks are such versatile tools. It’s not the tool that makes itself versatile. It’s the user who makes the tool versatile. In American’s case, if they can’t afford a salad tosser, they take a loan to “own” it. Buy first, pay later.

Giving credit to where it belongs

This leads me to the credit system.

In Taiwan, a fire destroyed the factory of a small business. They’ve lost everything over night, and the only way to recover is to take a loan to rebuild itself. The owners have never taken a loan in their lives because like everyone else, they spend with only what they have. They went to the bank, the bank gauged their eligibility to the loan that they want by the value of the land(or collateral) that they still own as well as their financial records. They were granted the loan and are back on their feet. Will this be possible if this happens under the US credit system? Someone who have excellent financial record but have never taken a loan before, therefore do not have lending history will probably be denied the loan.

When it comes to business transactions, I was surprised that one of the things that the credit crisis is affecting is the loan that businesses take to buy supplies. Why is this a surprise? Well, at least in Asia when businesses deal with each other, between foreign clients, a Letter of Credit ( LC) is used. A Letter of Credit refers to the guarantee issued by the buyer’s bank that the seller will definitely get his payment. The amount of credit that the bank guarantees is based on how many assets the buyer puts with the bank, therefore there is no risk at all for both the bank and the seller. So in the US, there is no basis for what a loan is based on. To me, it’s rather a big joke that the credit score of a person is based on his lending history… I mean, of all things, you are awarding someone who borrows more with more loans? Shouldn’t the one who has better history of financial consistency be awarded more loan instead of the one who never has enough to pay for his purchases? It is very troubling to me that in the US, a person’s value is not judged by how much he actually owns, but by how much he borrows. This is what runs the financial system, and this is the value that is being embraced.

If there is one thing in the world that I will use to compare with the value of the new American Dream, it will be a house built on stilts (which I happen to be living in one). There is no foundation, just tiny poles that, rather say anchor, jacks a structure into the air, trying to be higher than it really is. The result is a house so stressed because of uneven supports that it warps with time until it eventually collapses. The American economy is definitely warped, but when will the collapse come? I don’t know. Actually, I don’t know whether it will be better if it does or doesn’t. Exactly how much does it take for a culture to learn and realize their fault? I don’t know. All I know is, I have yet to meet a single American that recognizes this yet.

So much talking, what now?

Solution? Ha! That’s more like it. Well Americans, tighten your belt, harden the #$%* up and pull through this deep sh*t. You still have to pay for what you owe. Stop looking at others to save your ass. Not the government, not those CEOs. It’s ridiculous to demand pay cut from the CEOs for your own misery. It is not about YOU as an individual. It’s about YOU as a culture, society and country. On the other hand, it is from the individual that the greater good is accumulated from. So stop pointing fingers and start looking at yourself and ask what can YOU do to save your own ass first. You have to learn the lesson as a culture, because culture is progressive. What you learn today will be passed down to the next generation. How you change in the way you spend will shape the society in the future. I have to admit that thankfully to my Chinese cultured parents, I don’t have any school loan when I graduated. I got a great education and started my career without having a 20-year loan payment slowing me down. Perhaps it’s not about saving for your own retirement. Perhaps it’s about giving your kids good education so that they will be grateful enough to support you when you retire. Again, it’s not about just yourself, because you don’t exist alone. We live in a system. To sustain ourselves as individuals, we have to find a way to sustain the system first. So Americans, the least you can do now is start learning how to use the chopsticks. If anything, it’s by far the most superior utensil in the history of human civilization, and even in times of total destruction of the human modern society, you still can easily find two sticks to eat with.

Happy Thanks Giving

God Bless America

/rant..... to be continued.