I think it's relative since yes in the West it's more expensive but you also make more salary on average.

My argument is that none of the world leaders are working for people, infact the opposite.

Pretty sure 95+ percent of us globally are all poorer than we were in 2018 while the elites and government leaders are wealthier and more powerful.

Don't forget how all the countries, except for a few like Sweden, acted identical during COVID. We should not be bickering between countries but instead stopping internal corruption and hyper consolidation of power.

I know for a fact that in my job I would be paid roughly triple in Singapore / Hong Kong and have better QoL than in Europe. The downside - absolutely no job security and permanent ang moh / laowai status. Plus you need to love Asia culture and all quirks that come with it which is a personal choice.

I cannot speak for China jobs as I don’t speak mandarin fluent enough to qualify for mainland job, but folks I worked with that sold crude and oil products to China made out like absolute bandits and are retired now.

This post was edited by Malopox on Oct 21 2024 11:08pm

Commodity traders are the ones profiting and retiring cuz they add zero value and skim just like hedge fund managers and the c-suite nepo class. I want an economy where I and others who work hard can have enough money to raise kids and have good job security.

China just like America of course has some people doing super well last 5 years but how about the rest of us ?

Thing I do appreciate about China a lot is their infrastructure investments, I wish America would follow suite and build a lot of high speed rail and other long lasting efficient infrastructure opposed to full battery cars that they taught me in chemical engineering 15 years ago wouldn't work...

Called energy density....too low for lithium ion....so why waste trillions on battery electric vehicles when experts knew in the past they were not going to work? Valuation scams to consolidate more wealth ofc...

If we don't stop the corruption in our institutions we are all fucked globally imo

I can argue with you to death that commodity traders are actually the literal fuel and grease that makes the economy spin, but that deviates from the topic of Russia/Ukraine and we should start a new topic about commodity trading energy transition.

This was a great piece explains the function of commodity traders and the value they bring. Unlike hedge funds - they literally are in the business of taking risk dealing with people that have no idea how to sell their stuff and bringing you cheap metals, food and energy.

https://www.trafigura.com/news-and-insights/publications/white-papers/2018/commodities-demystified-a-guide-to-trading-and-the-global-supply-chain-second-edition/

Energy transition to batteries is happening whether we like it in or not. Battery chemistry is getting better and better and we are firmly on our way to 1200wh/kg density (see recent Argonne polymer battery tech or solid state developments -https://www.anl.gov/article/new-design-for-lithiumair-battery-could-offer-much-longer-driving-range-compared-with-the-lithiumion).

We flew through LiNiMnCo and LFP chemistry in our lifetimes and we are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and closing in on jet fuel energy density. Once we surpass jet fuel, it’s a snowball effect from there.

This post was edited by Malopox on Oct 21 2024 11:26pm

I can definitely see the value in commodity traders. Just like c suite executives, a lot are making the world better. Just sad imo the income inequality and corruption hurting us all. And we can never focus on stopping the corruption through the justice system because we are all worried about war or the economy.

We are humans and are imperfect as we do not possess a hive mind or a super rational super being governing us (all hail our coming AI overlords!).

We are still driven by tribalism, egoism and emotions in the 21st century. Some cultures are much better at organizing in tribes and they start pulling away at scale.

The only way to transcend the everyday MSM propaganda brainwash is by traveling to other countries and living there for a meaningful period to really imbibe the culture and build meaningful social networks that can offer important cultural nuances as to why folks behave one way or the other.

Slightly difficult, the last I heard only 53 to 54% of US citizens possess a passport. Most don't travel far apart to Canada, Mexico and the carribeans.