It’s official: America is now No. 2

[Geee]

Market Watch:

Hang on to your hats, America.

 

And throw away that big, fat styrofoam finger while you’re about it.

 

There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it: We’re no longer No. 1. Today, we’re No. 2. Yes, it’s official. The Chinese economy just overtook the United States economy to become the largest in the world. For the first time since Ulysses S. Grant was president, America is not the leading economic power on the planet.

 

It just happened — and almost nobody noticed.

 

The International Monetary Fund recently released the latest numbers for the world economy. And when you measure national economic output in “real” terms of goods and services, China will this year produce $17.6 trillion — compared with $17.4 trillion for the U.S.A.

As recently as 2000, we produced nearly three times as much as the Chinese.

To put the numbers slightly differently, China now accounts for 16.5% of the global economy when measured in real purchasing-power terms, compared with 16.3% for the U.S.

This latest economic earthquake follows the development last year when China surpassed the U.S. for the first time in terms of global trade.

[Cyber_Liberty]

And yet, the majority of the Chinese people live in huts with dirt floors. Maybe Ohaha should try his hand at lecturing the Chinese about "income inequality?" I'm sure they'd be most receptive to his lamentations.