Birth rates dropping in many countries

In many countries like Korea, Taiwan, China, Singapore and the United States, the fertility rates have dropped. China had the one child policy but many couples in big cities have implemented their own no-child policy.  Governments in Taiwan, Korea and Singapore have been urging people to have more children. Singapore has passed legislation to rewards the Chinese to have kids. Many people point to the cost of having a baby for reasons not to have one. Nowadays, many couples have dual incomes and feel that they will decide to have a baby only when they earn enough to sustain their current living standards. The younger generation have grown accustomed to spending their money traveling to different countries, eating at fancy restaurants and buying fancy clothes. Unfortunately, the more one earns and/or saves, the higher living standards rise as well. In addition, some couples do not want to lose the freedoms of enjoying their life traveling and playing which may need to be sacrificed when raising children.

Parents in the past generation were able to raise two to three children while only on a single income. Has the cost of living increased so much that couples today are unable to raise the children? Granted things have become more expensive but its mostly because the parents have made things more expensive. Parents want to get the most expensive toys and newest things to raise their children. However, is it really necessary? Children before played with hula hoops and played tag in the park. Maybe babies are just that much expensive because the parents make it that way. Granted, it is probably extremely difficult not to want the best for your children.

Spoiled children in China

I wonder what will happen to the future of China considering what the one child policy has done to how the children are treated. Since the late 1970s, large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai implemented the one child policy in response to concerns about the social and economic consequences of continued rapid population growth. However, this has caused the birth of the little emperor or empress of many families. With one child whom the parents and grandparents put their hopes and dreams on, they end up spoiling the kid. Part of this is due to the schooling system in China. Since schools are extremely competitive, children end up studying the entire day there without any time for other activities that American children have to luxury of participating in.

Kids in the United States grow up playing soccer, basketball, throwing paper airplanes, chores, etc. and as a result have many different hobbies when they grow up. On the contrary, the children in China only study. Their prime responsibility is to do well in school since the school system is so rigorous. Due to this, the grandparents and the parents end up doing everything for the little emperor/empress. Simple chores that American kids are usually required to do such as washing dishes, laundry, mowing the lawn are not performed by Chinese. As a result, many have grown up not knowing how to cook, clean the house, etc. Because of this, I wonder what will happen after the parents are gone and the emperors who are married to the empresses have to fend for themselves and also raise their child.

Clipping finger nails

When I was in China, it was normal to see or hear people clipping their finger nails in public on the bus or even at work. I am sure that Americans do this as well but I believe most people in the US find this extremely unhygienic, especially since sometimes these finger nails go flying off like a piece of shrapnel. Finger nails are usually not known to be exactly clean since dirt usually gets caught under them. Aside from the occasional broken nail or hang nail, I do not think clipping finger nails should be done in public. I'm not sure if this is considered to be one of the "rules" here such as standing in line though. Do others feel the same way?

Medical Privacy

Going to the doctors in China is quite strange only because there really is no sense of privacy. Essentially, it feels like being on line at the DMV in the US where everyone can hear and see whats going on. For instance, if you wanted to get your skin checked out due to some allergic reaction, there would be many other patients waiting on line in the same room so everyone there would see what was going on.

This is unlike the United States where you get your own little tiny room to wait in before they perform the check up. The doctors even ask if it is okay if the nurse can be in the same room as well.

It reminds me of how there is no privacy in China. I remember watching a Chinese movie (I don't remember the name of it) where a boy had his mail opened by his parents and he complained that there was no privacy. They just laughed.

When will the snow end...

This snow storm is insane. There is about 3 feet of snow and its heavy snow since its wet snow coming down. Apparently, the snow is coming down until Sunday. That is 4 straight days of snow.

The snow system started in New Jersey, went through NYC and out to Long Island. Then decided to come back to New Jersey and do a round trip. I guess the storm just doesn't want to leave any part uncovered.

I hear there is another snow system coming in next weekend.

Banks attempting to force Greece to default

Bets by some of the same banks that helped Greece shroud its mounting debts may actually now be pushing the nation closer to the brink of financial ruin.

Echoing the kind of trades that nearly toppled the American International Group, the increasingly popular insurance against the risk of a Greek default is making it harder for Athens to raise the money it needs to pay its bills, according to traders and money managers.These contracts, known as credit-default swaps, effectively let banks and hedge funds wager on the financial equivalent of a four-alarm fire: a default by a company or, in the case of Greece, an entire country. If Greece reneges on its debts, traders who own these swaps stand to profit.

As Greece’s financial condition has worsened, undermining the euro, the role of Goldman Sachs and other major banks in masking the true extent of the country’s problems has drawn criticism from European leaders. But even before that issue became apparent, a little-known company backed by Goldman, JP Morgan Chase

and about a dozen other banks had created an index that enabled market players to bet on whether Greece and other European nations would go bust. 

Its things like this that give bankers a bad reputation. It seems that they are attempting to force an entire country to go bankrupt in order to profit. With the global economy still struggling to recover, a country that defaults would delay any global recovery. It seems that the bankers are only looking out for themselves and trying to put bonuses into their pockets again. This time, at the expense of another country. 

I do not know what happened with the bailout since it seemed that 2 weeks ago, Germany agreed to help with. It seems that it is under question again.

Iphone apps removed from the Apple Apps store

In continuation of my last point, Apple has started banning many applications, like the Wobble Iboob, for its iPhone that feature sexually suggestive material, including photos of women in bikinis and lingerie, a move that came as an abrupt surprise to developers who had been profiting from such programs. Guess it just goes to show that when you piggyback off another platform to make money, you are at the mercy of their policies. It can be a good way to make money but one never knows when a policy could change that good flow of income. Facebook application creators often face this as Facebook is constantly changing their layout.