Thanks for the insight Matt. It's obvious that asset values increasing while wages fall is a recipe for wealth inequality that the Taiwanese actually face. When Taiwan has to borrow in a currency other than their own while being a net exporter their currency is debased and people scramble to trade it for stable assets, and the Taiwanese like real estate for that purpose. Fortunately Taiwan's manufacturing is high tech and as you state the economic actors are nimble SMEs, so I think this could be fixed in part by enabling more individual access to hard assets with lower transaction costs like bitcoin in exchange for those exports. Taiwan's debt to GDP is especially low so it does not need to service relatively large amounts of foreign debt despite being a net exporter. Especially since Taiwan makes all of the chips to mine bitcoin and is constructing large reserves of stranded energy in wind which could be used for mining, they have a competitive advantage in this regard. I have heard many concerned about preserving and transporting their purchasing power in case of emergency as well, which bitcoin is designed for in contrast to real estate. Taiwan already has relatively huge quantities of gold reserves and a culture of saving, so I do believe such a shift is actually possible and at a minimum worth exploring more seriously.
A lot of this phenomenon is caused by politics. Hear me out.
There is no secret that CCP has infiltrated Taiwan with media propaganda, to brainwash Taiwanese into thinking that Taiwan is poorly run. Their goal is to bash DPP which is the incumbent Taiwanese government. The opposition parties also dance with CCP to bash Taiwan, hoping to discredit DPP.
The end result is that a lot of pro-China media bashing Taiwan constantly, and a lot of constituents believing that Taiwan is a poor loser.
Hon Hai doesn't account for 14% of Taiwan's GDP. That's laughable. Most of Hon Hai's revenue is in China. Taiwan accounts for a tiny % of Hon Hai's revenue.
And that article you cited about property prices and income is incredibly poorly researched. The author used NUMBEO as his source of statistics. Talk about bad journalism.
I enjoyed your analysis and insights. Having also lived in Taiwan for over a decade, I was curious to how your ideas matched up with mine. A kind tip: consider having someone proofread your work before posting. Sometimes a typo or wrong word choice can create an unconscious preconception of our ideas. (seperation? fruition?) Looking forward to more of your work.
Thanks for the insight Matt. It's obvious that asset values increasing while wages fall is a recipe for wealth inequality that the Taiwanese actually face. When Taiwan has to borrow in a currency other than their own while being a net exporter their currency is debased and people scramble to trade it for stable assets, and the Taiwanese like real estate for that purpose. Fortunately Taiwan's manufacturing is high tech and as you state the economic actors are nimble SMEs, so I think this could be fixed in part by enabling more individual access to hard assets with lower transaction costs like bitcoin in exchange for those exports. Taiwan's debt to GDP is especially low so it does not need to service relatively large amounts of foreign debt despite being a net exporter. Especially since Taiwan makes all of the chips to mine bitcoin and is constructing large reserves of stranded energy in wind which could be used for mining, they have a competitive advantage in this regard. I have heard many concerned about preserving and transporting their purchasing power in case of emergency as well, which bitcoin is designed for in contrast to real estate. Taiwan already has relatively huge quantities of gold reserves and a culture of saving, so I do believe such a shift is actually possible and at a minimum worth exploring more seriously.
This is so ture, now there is only two type of people in Taiwan, the Rich and the Poor. There is non middle class anymore.
A lot of this phenomenon is caused by politics. Hear me out.
There is no secret that CCP has infiltrated Taiwan with media propaganda, to brainwash Taiwanese into thinking that Taiwan is poorly run. Their goal is to bash DPP which is the incumbent Taiwanese government. The opposition parties also dance with CCP to bash Taiwan, hoping to discredit DPP.
The end result is that a lot of pro-China media bashing Taiwan constantly, and a lot of constituents believing that Taiwan is a poor loser.
Hon Hai doesn't account for 14% of Taiwan's GDP. That's laughable. Most of Hon Hai's revenue is in China. Taiwan accounts for a tiny % of Hon Hai's revenue.
And that article you cited about property prices and income is incredibly poorly researched. The author used NUMBEO as his source of statistics. Talk about bad journalism.
Surely only a minimal amount of TSMC revenue comes from Taiwan as well though. Or Samsung from Korea.
I enjoyed your analysis and insights. Having also lived in Taiwan for over a decade, I was curious to how your ideas matched up with mine. A kind tip: consider having someone proofread your work before posting. Sometimes a typo or wrong word choice can create an unconscious preconception of our ideas. (seperation? fruition?) Looking forward to more of your work.
Hi Tony, thanks and well noted for the tip