You are comparing Apples to Oranges.. The countries you named have tiny populations.. That is one thing India has not managed well.. And the government is not punishing its citizens or anything.. I don't know why you think so.. And stop throwing terms like socialistic around randomly. That's not what is happening in India at all..
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Not that... Only talking about standard of living for general population...
No, I'm talking about trade policy. Of course every country is unique, but there are plenty of small poor countries that can't feed itself too. So using population size is just as much of a red herring as age of country (though 70 years isn't young).
Yes, the government IS punishing its citizens with these policies because it limits competition which keeps prices artificially high and merchandise selection artificially low. The only class these policies benefit is the upper class that owns a business.
And I'm not (sic) "throwing around socialistic...." I was clear about my use of that term referring to India's socialistic past, as it is a tool of socialist governments. I didn't say India is a socialistic country.
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Oil reserves! India doesn't have any, the others do.
No, India doesn't have oil. But it does have some of the world's largest sources for:
1. Natural gas
2. Iron
3. Coal
4. Manganese
Diamonds, limestone, copper, & mineral oil are also in good supply.
If you do a check on any of the international commodity markets you'll see there is a good market for these natural resources.
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Getting an Apple Store is pretty meaningless. Everyone has already seen what happens when a big name retailer moves into an area. Quite often all the other related stores and suppliers fold.
Right, because they can't compete. My dad had small string of stores in rural areas. Walmart did him in. But long shot of it is the people in those towns had access to more product at lower prices and also more employment in the stores and also related.
I remember the world before Apple Stores. Computers were rarely in stock, getting a diagnosis on a broken machine took a day, no way to get free walk-in help with a simple questions years after the warranty expired. A lot of independents went out but it wasn't for naught. Apple Stores have greatly added to the whole ownership experience. I rarely buy there b/c I can find Apple products less elsewhere (again the whole competition thing) but it's great to be able to go in for service and even get my device or machine back or exchanged same day. Never happened pre-Apple Store.
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There is so much fail in this.
The service economy doesn't offer a way to the middle class.
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The fail is that you think this one graph showing productivity and wages in a vacuum explains something as complex as the service economy -- as if there were no outside factors affecting wages or that there should be a 1:1 ratio between productivity and income.
That said, the U.S ranks #8 in standard of living and every country above it is also a predominantly service economy -- Norway, Australia, Swiz., Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland.