A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-urbanization-drive-leaves-migrant-workers-cold-012351130--business.html

People often seem concerned about the rising cost structure in China. Whether these individuals have a social take or are hoping to profit from investment in China they have reason to be concerned. Yes it is true. Costs in China are clearly rising and the article above is one more example. Consumption is necessarily rising as cheap housing, deemed substandard or illegal by local Chinese governments is stripped away and replaced by higher cost housing; migrants are displaced. This certainly causes much upheavel for those who are displaced and has a social cost.  This also contributes to wage inflation and greater consumption as migrant workers are obliged to pay more for housing in certain locals or move on to lower cost areas. This in turn puts pressure on producers, holders of capitol, to raise wages or move production to lower cost areas. Regardless, this increases investment, costs, and consumption and ultimately contrbutes to a rising cost structure in China. Selfish investors at times seemed alarmed by this, as if they could expect both prices and wages to stagnate in such a rapidly developing economy. Ultimately as China continues to surge ahead this is inevitable. Inflation of wages and goods can reliably be predicted to rise at much higher rates than more developed economies and will thus contribute to these economies relative competiveness in a host of industries.