Washington Post, December 16, 2007 page F1

Americans spend less on other things as gas prices and health costs rise. That is the Opportunity Cost principle in economics. Financial statement of the average American household's net worth may seem to be large as incomes but expenses are large as well. Earn more and pay more in USA. In China,however,folks earn less but pay less as well especially the subsidies from the government are noticeable recently as per CCTV-4 news. My comment: If an American retiree receives US$1,000 per month from Social Security benefits,he/she can hardly survive due to high cost of living in USA. However,if it is exchanged in terms of RMB 7000,he/she can live comfortably in China. Such case is similar to retirees from California to live in Mexico but don't drink the water as I heard when I was in California. Comparative studies would be the crux of the matter for students of economics to optimize his/her finance and to maximize the purchasing power of money in different countries. Economics consists of clothing,food,lodging and transportation costs in simple and basic terms for all folks on earth in this mundane world. Francis Shieh a.k.a. Xie Shihao. Monday, December 17, 2007