为什么中国人勤而不富?(1) 说中国人不富有,有些人可能会跟你急,特别是那些非常“爱国”却并不知道什么叫做爱国的“爱国者”。对于爱国的含义,在《奥巴马智取白宫》一书里面,我曾经做了比较深入的思考和分析。这个主题“太乏味”,也太不着边际,还是不谈为好。 对于什么叫做富有,什么叫做购买力,什么叫做时间投入的回报率什么的,我就不罗嗦了。为什么这些要素很重要,实在是因为它们和你财富的内涵和含金量有着太大的关系的缘故。财富不应该,也不能够是单纯的金钱数字。 即使是只讲数字,在表面上看上去“非常”富有的中国,当你面对一个个出手阔绰的大款的时候,有些简单的问题先问一问还是有点价值的。 第一个简单的问题是:这许多人中间,如果扣除和房地产相关的获利,他们剩下的到底是什么? 当然,你会说,从房地产捞钱也是本事,那也是响当当的票子。当然,你在说这话的时候,你很可能忘记了“时代造英雄”这句话,也不太可能会去思考:在这一代幸运之后,下一代呢?在你这为数比例很小的一部分幸运之后,那些多数人呢?在没有多数人富有的国度,你该如何打造一个强大的国家呢? 即使连这些也不管,只就仅仅关注与自己个人那点非常自私的个人利益,你再来扣掉他们手里靠自己合理合法获得的资产来投资、所获得的部分,还扣掉他们不可能出手,也不能够、不应该出手的自住那部分,那么,他们又还有多少价值真正的被累积了起来呢? 如果再继续深问一句:在房地产这个巨大的泡沫破灭之后,他们的处境会是什么?即使他们已经意识到房地产泡沫很可能破灭,他们又能做什么?在没有房地产泡沫可玩之后,他们还能做什么?靠继续炒作普洱茶、茅台酒来实现全民富有? 接下来就是第二个问题了:将眼光再高看一点,看看那些“巨富”们,那些亿万级的“富豪”,如果你了解他们的“内涵”,如果你去掉他们以各种名义借的、贷的和忽悠到自己手里,临时让自己指挥的那部分之外,他们还会剩下什么? 我从来就不相信一夜暴富的奇迹,也不相信不食人间烟火,却能够说中文的“神仙”。在短短的几十年之内,中国已经出现了太多次这样的“奇迹”,最终都被证明为骗子和忽悠。 我一再强调国内富豪的灌水问题,很多人和我争论,现在流行的“路跑跑”和开始流行的巨富自杀潮,看来是越来越证明我看法的正确性了。 除掉泡沫,除掉忽悠,除掉原本就不是自己的那部分,如果再除掉损公肥私的再分配结果,中国人又到底拥有多少财富呢?对于这个问题的答案,我们恐怕只有靠猜测来获得了。即使是中国这个国家,在扣除了这些,外加那数量巨大无比的,看上去价值连城,实际上已经一文不文的,为了政绩而建造起来的“辉煌战果”之后,中国实实在在拥有的财富,又到底有多少呢? 我连想都不敢想! 为什么,因为,我为中国普通民众这么多年的牺牲所获得的,实实在在属于自己的那部分的微小和差质量,感到可怜和可悲! 目前的中国,除了开始那几年实实在在打造的那部分之外,现在这几年的所作所为,更多的,在我看来,就是在自欺欺人,在自我浪费和相互忽悠。 如果你不相信我的判断,就将眼光放到普通的老百姓身上,再去好好看看,看看他们所获得的机会是不是更多了,他们所生活的环境是不是变好了,他们的生活质量是不是提高了,他们单位时间所获得的价值是不是增加了,他们是不是因此而能更为健康的多生活几年,那么,你就知道和明白,什么叫做中国的真正富有了。 不要以为我憎恨中国,如果你这么想,那么,你就大错特错。 我热爱我的祖国,但是,我为我那些为数不少的依然生活在祖国的普通人不服,为他们觉得不公、不平、不安! 是的,我和很多的“势利鬼”不同,我老是喜欢将视角放在普通人身上。对于我,他们的富有和幸福,才是国家富有和强大的真正基础。 中国依然很贫穷,普通中国人的日子过的不是越来越好,而是越来越差!中国正在成为一个越来越好看的纸老虎!有那么一天,我担心,中国会成为一个看上去强大无比,实际上不堪一击,同时又非常难看的纸老虎。 在中国的历史上,这样的日子,中国人已经过过好久好久。这一次,他们能够更幸运吗?我还没有看出来。 下面是一个国际间的,关于普通人生活中所投入劳动时间的效率的比较文章。和这些国家的普通民众相比,那些不得不每天工作十几个小时,每星期七天的普通中国人,即使他们获得了在自己看来,和在与同胞相比“还算不错”的薪水,那么,在他们有时间——很难!——来对比一下自己所过的日子和这里列出的国家人们所经历的,再算上自己想享受一下奔驰这样的,在发达国家比较普通的汽车车所必需付出的代价,外加自己根本就没有时间来享受这种消费品的实在的尴尬,等等如此之后,我不知道他们能够获得的,又到底会是什么样的结论。 是的,说了这一切,最终也就是一句话:中国到了必须改变的时候了。 再继续这样将日子过下去,有一天,中国人生出的孩子,很可能好大一部分都是弱智的低能儿! 到了那一天,即使你拥有再“伟大”的这和那,我不知道,你又能靠谁来运作,靠谁来实现你的“英明”和“伟大”?! 难道,就靠一个个和一代代的“空降兵”吗?! 年轻人就业率最低的十大州 Countries Where People Work Least July 18, 2012 by Mike Sauter As the global economic recovery grinds to a halt, many workers feel the increased pressure of holding on to their jobs and putting bread on their tables. Some may hold several jobs or simply put in more hours at work. Indeed, in 2011, for the second year in a row, the average hours worked per person increased in the United States. But this is not the case among all developed nations. In fact, while people in countries like the U.S. and Spain increased their hours worked, the average for developed nations fell slightly. Earlier this month, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its 2012 Employment Outlook. The outlook paints a picture of the current labor markets in 32 member states, most of which are located in the Europe. In several countries, the average hours worked per year has fallen by more than 20. Based on the OECD report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 countries where people work the least. The average American worked 1,797 hours in 2011, or about 34.5 hours per week. In the countries on our list, the average hours worked was 1,611 or less, or the equivalent of 30 hours per week. In Austria, the average employed person worked just 1,330 hours, or a bit more than 25 hours per week. Hours worked in some of these countries declined further over the past year. In Denmark, the average hours worked fell by 40 hours for each of the past two years. In Luxembourg, they fell by 51 hours between 2010 and 2011 alone. The changes in hours worked on average can be affected, in part, by an actual increase or decrease in the amount of time full-time employees spend at work. However, a review of the data shows that part-time employment is also a major contributor to these changes. Of the 10 countries with the fewest average hours worked, nine were among the top 15 nations with the most part-time workers relative to the total working population, and four were in the top five. Netherlands has the highest proportion of part-time employees at 37.2%. That is more than double the OECD average. In the United States, only 12.6% of the total workforce work part-time. The countries on this list are among the wealthiest in the OECD, which generally represents the more developed nations. Of the 10 countries with the fewest average hours worked, nine have the highest gross domestic product per capita. The exception is France, which has the eleventh-highest GDP. Exemplifying the wealth of these nations, wages are also extremely high. The average U.S. worker earned a little more than $30 per hour in 2011. In these 10 countries, workers earned at least $31.27 per hour, and as much as $48.82 (in Denmark) per hour. Mark Keese, head of OECD’s employment division, told 24/7 Wall St. that the wealth and productivity of a nation plays a large part in the structure of employment in the country. One component of this is the technological sophistication of industry. “Generally, richer countries can and should see reductions in hours worked … basically, you have stronger productivity performance and eventually you’re replacing workers with machines, which allow you to cut back on the number of hours of work.” 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the OECD’s 2012 Employment Outlook to identify the countries with the fewest hours worked in 2011. The 26 countries we reviewed were all members of the OECD. We excluded four because current data were not available. We also compared these countries via other metrics provided by the OECD, including GDP per capita, unemployment and a variety of other employment and quality-of-life data for 2011 or the most recent available year. These are the 10 countries where people work the least. 10) United Kingdom > Average annual hours per person: 1,611 > Average working hours per week: 31 > Average wage per hour: $31.27 (11th highest) > 2011 unemployment rate: 8% There has been a steady rise in annual unemployment rates in the United Kingdom. since 2008, when the rate was at 5.4%. Between 2007 and 2011, there was a 47-hour drop in the average annual hours worked in the U.K. This was paired with an average wage decline of 1% during the same time frame, even though there was an overall 0.5% increase in average wages for countries in the OECD report. The New Economics Foundation (NEF), a British think-tank, estimated in 2010 that a shorter workweek in the U.K. was inevitable if the government wanted to reduce unemployment. NEF stated there is an “an increasingly divided society with too much over-work alongside too much unemployment.” Indeed, the U.K. has the third-highest percentage of employees putting in 50 or more hours per week. 9) Finland > Average annual hours per person: 1,578 > Average working hours per week: 30.3 > Average wage per hour: $33.63 (9th highest) > 2011 unemployment rate: 7.9% In 2011, Finland’s unemployment rate was just slightly below the OECD’s 8.2% average. While other countries have lower unemployment rates than Finland, the country combines high wages for those who are employed, the average being $33.63 an hour, with a cultural appreciation for integrating work and leisure. For example, saunas are treated as a viable place for business meetings and even foreign diplomacy. Additionally, only 3.66% of those who are employed in Finland work more than 50 hours per week. As a result, Finns have 14.89 hours a day for leisure and personal care, more than two-thirds of those countries for which leisure data was collected. 8) Luxembourg > Average annual hours per person: 1,565 > Average working hours per week: 30.1 > Average wage per hour: $46.78 (2nd highest) > 2011 unemployment rate: 4.9% The number of working hours declined 3.2% between 2010 and 2011 in Luxembourg, much higher than the 0.2% drop for all the OECD countries studied. The country’s average annual wages during this time fell by about 2%. The country’s labor laws include a maximum of 40-hour work weeks, with few exceptions, and only 3.7% of employees work 50 or more hours per week. Luxembourg citizens enjoy a GDP per capita of almost $90,000, the highest of the OECD countries studied, and more than twice that of the next highest country, the Netherlands. 7) Denmark > Average annual hours per person: 1,496 > Average working hours per week: 28.8 > Average wage per hour: $48.82 (the highest) > 2011 unemployment rate: 7.7% In 2011, Denmark had a 79.3% labor force participation rate, well above the 73.3% rate for the United States. Though participation actually has declined in recent years, from a high of 80.7% in 2008, having fewer workers in Denmark has not led to longer hours for current employees. Instead, the residents of Denmark worked an average of 1,496 hours in 2011, down 2.7% from an average of 1,538 in 2010 and 301 hours less than the average American. The average Dane had 16 hours a day to devote to leisure and personal needs, more than any other country surveyed by the OECD. One possible reason people may not feel obligated to work longer hours is that the average hourly wage in Denmark is $48.82, more than all other countries observed. 6) Ireland > Average annual hours per person: 1,469 > Average working hours per week: 28.3 > Average wage per hour: $45.53 (3rd highest) > 2011 unemployment rate: 14.6% Suffering from the third-highest unemployment rate of the OECD countries studied, workers in Ireland who are able to keep their jobs have experienced a 5% reduction in their average annual working hours since 2007. Still, Irish workers’ wages averaged $45.53 per hour, more than double the average wage in Spain. The minimum wage in Ireland is high — as of 2010, it was $10.67. To compare, the U.S. federal minimum wage is $7.25. Economists and politicians in Ireland argue the high minimum wage is a barrier to job creation. 5) Belgium > Average annual hours per person: 1,446 > Average working hours per week: 27.8 > Average wage per hour: $38.90 (5th highest) > 2011 unemployment rate: 7.2% In 2011, Belgium’s annual unemployment rate fell to 7.2% from 8.4% in 2010. Not only does the country have an unemployment rate well-below that of the U.S., which had an unemployment rate of 9.1% in 2011, but Belgians also work far less than Americans. Compared to 2008, when employees in Belgium worked 1,469 hours on average, by 2011 they worked 23 hours less. Meanwhile, from 2009 to 2011, the number of part-time workers rose from 18.2% to 18.8% of all employees. Many of those who took these new positions were women, who constituted 79.9% of all part-time employees in 2011. That was more than all but two other countries. 4) Austria > Average annual hours per person: 1,431 > Average working hours per week: 27.5 > Average wage per hour: $36.63 (6th highest) > 2011 unemployment rate: 4.2% Last year, Austria had a 4.2% unemployment rate, nearly half the OECD’s unemployment rate of 8.2%. Despite this low unemployment figure, many workers could not find full-time jobs as 18.9% were part-time employees, more than the OECD’s average of 16.5%. Whereas some Austrians worked few hours, still others did exactly the opposite, as 9.02% of employees worked more than 50 hours a week. Austria has high average wages, at $36.63 per hour — well above the $30.30 per hour in the United States. However, wages only increased an average of 0.3% per year between 2007 and 2011, below the OECD’s average of 0.5%, while the number of hours the average employee worked has fallen by 3.7% during that time. 3) France > Average annual hours per person: 1,392 > Average working hours per week: 26.8 > Average wage per hour: $34.26 (8th highest) > 2011 unemployment rate: 9.3% The average annual hours worked for employees in France has decreased by nearly 100 hours since 1995. The French embrace their leisure hours, devoting an average of 15.33 hours to personal time, the fourth highest of the OECD countries reported. Some argue that French productivity is an issue, and compared to the average of 26 OECD countries reported, French workers spent about 17% less time at work in 2011. Yet, workers earned one of the highest average hourly salaries of the OECD nations, around $34.26 per hour. 2) Netherlands > Average annual hours per person: 1,336 > Average working hours per week: 25.7 > Average wage per hour: $42.67 (4th highest) > 2011 unemployment: 4.4% Workers in the Netherlands enjoy low levels of unemployment, high incomes and one of the smallest proportion of employees working 50 or more hours a week — at only 0.7%. GDP per capita is also third highest among the countries we reviewed. In the OECD report, the Netherlands had the highest reported proportion of part-time workers in 2011 at 37.2%. 1) Germany > Average annual hours per person: 1,330 > Average working hours per week: 25.6 > Average wage per hour: $35.33 (7th highest) > 2011 unemployment rate: 6% Every year since 2007, Germans had the fewest hours worked on average, with a low of 1,296 in 2009. One reason this number was so low is that in 2011 14.7% of all employees were temporary workers, while 22.1% only worked part-time, both above OECD averages. Those in permanent, full-time positions also had significant time for themselves, as only 5.14% of Germans work more than 50 hours a week, less than half the 10.86% of Americans who worked that much in 2011. The average German had 15.31 hours a day to devote to leisure, one of the highest figures among OECD countries. In 2009, the German government introduced a program that allowed companies to cut work weeks for employees, as opposed to firing them, in exchange for the government’s pledge to cover remaining wages. –By Michael B. Sauter, Alexander E. M. Hess and Lisa Nelson 年轻人就业率最低的十大州 |