"A new survey shows that 1 in 5 Americans believe that God steers the economy. Mystery solved: God is Chinese." –Conan O'Brien

As true as this appears to be with public perception of the U.S.-Chinese relations over the past few years, statistic proves there is another "god" of the global economy.

Generation Opportunity, the largest non-profit, non-partisan organization in the United States, engaging and mobilizing citizens (ages 18-29) on important economic issues, released a poll in 2012. It found that "71% of young Americans are concerned that so many American jobs are going to foreign competitors like China." It cites additionally that "76% of Millennials view China as a danger: 48% as an economic threat." This is mainly because of the cheap cost of overseas labor and strict regulations on businesses, coupled with the lack of room for expansion or start-ups.

While the sentiment against Chinese economic growth continues to rise today, the United States and China both seem to have taken hits against their manufacturing sector. An article in Bloomberg Business calculates that between the years of 2002 and 2013 total jobs in the manufacturing index fell at 15%. In that same time, U.S. factory employment decreased 11%. The same article quotes that even though the job opportunities here at home seem to be outsourced to China, "China sure is doing a lousy job of holding on to them."

The loss of Chinese and U.S. jobs could account for the job gains of five other countries in the list of the top twenty world economies. Joe Carson, director of economic research at Alliance Capital Management, investigated this concluding that Canada, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan, and the Philippines all showed an increase in manufacturing jobs in recent years. Perhaps the 23% of unemployed youth should shift their focus off of China and turn to alternative explanations that match the analysis found over the past few years. After all, Daniel in the Bible writes "…people who do know their god shall be strong..."

Sources:

http://generationopportunity.org/press/top-foreign-policy-concerns-for-young-voters-include-china-and-national-debt-as-final-presidential-debate-looms/#axzz2dI9S8HvU

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aRI4bAft7Xw4

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf