Capitalism is so appealing to many countries because it gives many people the opportunity to become very rich. You do need to be smart, fortunate in who you know and hard-working. It's not idyllic for everyone though because there are always going to be winners and losers in any system, capitalism is no different.
Hong Kong is the capital of capitalism in Asia. It is known as "Asia's World City". It has a maximum income tax of 16% which means it is very appealing to professionals in the US, UK, etc. There is no doubt that there are some insanely rich individuals in Hong Kong, I have lost count of the number of times I have seen a bugatti or a customised ferrari cruise past me. However there is also some really poverty here because there is very little support from the government for the poor, the other night I was walking home and I saw an old lady of about 80 or older pushing a trolley full of plastic and rubbish because obviously it was the only way she could get enough money to survive. It really makes one think about how unfair capitalism is.
The financial sector in Hong Kong is huge, it's where most of the money is made. The biggest bank in Hong Kong is HSNC. Today, i happened to be walking outside the HSBC head office, a huge luxurious skyscraper. Inbetween the two lions at the main entrance was this:
You can't really get an impression for how many people were here, but there were hundreds. There were others groups sprawled around the outside of the back of the building aswell. They were mostly women, they looked like they didn't have much money and possibly unemployed. What was extremely strange about this situation was that every time a banker walked out of the HSBC building everyone there would look up and boo and hassle the banker shouting insults at them. It was totally bizarre but highlighted that these people aren't happy about the unfairness in Hong Kong. One woman pretty much summed up the situation with a sign she was holding- "Richest in Asia, meanest in the world".
