For the past seven months, Korea's monthly trade surplus has been about $50 billion.
GDP has grown about 3% this year. Seoul is one of the most expensive cities to live in.
Yet, according to most Korean media, the economy is in shambles due to the increase in minimum wage to about $7 an hour.
The economy for small mom and pop restaurants and stores is bad, with many closing. However, this was the trend before increasing the minimum wage. The problem lies with high rents, high credit card transaction fees and very unfavorable franchise contracts (many would be illegal in the US). Also money does not flow downward into the local economy from the major corporations that export. They are not hiring, not investing and not paying their fair share of taxes. They are not even paying full price for electricity. Just hording money and buying real estate.
Property taxes are appraised according to the official value of the property which is a about 60% or less of the actual value and the rate is probably under 1%. So, in effect, rich property owners pay less than 0.6 percent. Rent is not even properly taxed. There is a tax brake if you report rental income. That's why the rich all have property, and why they hate property tax increases.
Something is not right in Korea.
At least, some are now seeing justice. During the past conservative administrations, Korean courts ruled against labor unions and laborers. Under the present progressive administration, a few are finally seeing justice.
There is legislation pending to extend the protection period for renters, so that landlords cannot raise rents exorbitantly, to ten years. There were cases where landlords would raise rents by 1000% or more, after the present protection period of 5 years was over.
I know many landlords who run businesses directly in their buildings, because there are no renters. Since they own the building, it is profitable for them to run businesses. For renters, the rent is so high, they cannot make any profit.
Theorists say there are areas of the universe with no time. Centers of black holes. Time before the supposed "Big Bang". Time stands still at the speed of light.
There could be a lot more things that transcend, or are independent of time.
Maybe we should get used to not having time. Pun intended. Just to exercise your thoughts.
According to how you try to measure the expansion of the universe, there are two different rates of expansion.
As you know, I doubt the Big Bang. I wonder about cosmic expansion.
Maybe cosmic expansion can be explained, in part, by all those photons, gamma rays and other stuff trying to shoot their way out of the universe. They have no mass, but do exert pressure. Like black holes, they have an element of timelessness about them. Time theoretically stops or becomes non-existent at the center of black holes. Anything traveling at the speed of light does something similar, I think. They say before the big bang, there was no time.
I told rich Korean acquaintances that I sometimes donate small amounts to charity in the hope that they would also. Most called me crazy. They tell me it's their fault that they are poor. I ask if it doesn't bother them that people are starving and in need. Most reply, "Not at all".
But Korea does have a couple of good leaders in government. Seoul Mayor Won-soon Park and President Moon.
Seoul has a program where they pay young unemployed several hundred dollars for a few months while they seek work. The Korean government just announced a program to pay about 500 dollars a month for six months for people with low income jobs.
Korean has a serious unemployment problem. In France and other countries, the young unemployed held huge demonstrations. I guess young Korean unemployed are more depressed than angry. The unemployment rate among young people must be 20-30%, maybe even more.
The amount of money that the Korean government, like many other governments, spends much more on business in the form of tax cuts, grants for research and development, and other subsidies than spending on the poor. Even business that are strong like Samsung, Korean Airlines and LG receive assistance from the government in many ways. Traditional Korean media almost never informs the public about this. They usually only concentrate on criticizing pro-labor, pro-low class policies as socialist that make it hard for businesses to survive.
The Korean government is trying to make it possible to import CBD oil for medicinal purposes, in response to demands from desperate mothers.
Even though the majority of the Korean population is for increasing minimum wage and reducing the work week, I have yet to hear or read any favorable comments in the media.
And most people consider Korea to be a democracy. It is a democracy in that Korea elected President Moon, but with regards to media, it seems more like a dictatorship.
The media is getting really vehement and trying to make increasing minimum wage and reducing the work week an issue. Saying that it is ruining the economy. I respectfully am of the opinion the economy is in shambles (the big corporations are doing well, as everyone knows) because of the policies of former Presidents Kun-hye Park and Myung-bak Lee. The conservatives ran the country for almost a decade, before President Moon. President Moon has been in office one year and they blame everything on him and the liberals.
The conservative calls progressives and liberals communists. Being a commie is illegal in Korea! You can get put in jail for being a commie sympathizer. So calling someone a commie should not be taken lightly. It is criminal!
It seems they are against anything liberal. They seem to be really afraid of pot smoking liberals. Talk about reefer madness.
