Yes, I'm exceedingly exploited. So much so that I can barely keep my head above water. Yeah man, I'm drowning in this sea of exploitation.

The biggest problem is that I only earn enough money to eat anything I want, when I want. Next of course is the fact that I can barely raise enough cash to add fuel to my bicycle. And those damn noodle dishes, geez, I paid only three remimbi last year and now they're 3.2 - my God - how will I ever manage? Oh yeah, I better quit smoking -not for health reasons alone, but because damn it I'm paying the equivalent of 75 cents for a pack of cigarettes. And clothes? Don't even get me started on that subject. I've got eight suits hanging in my closet, all tailor made from excellent material,that cost me on the average around 36 bucks a shot. The last one cost me about 2 dollars more than the first one! Guess I'll have to stop being such a clothes horse. And the bike, oh man the bike; damn thing cost me nearly 800RMB - what a rip off. I just checked into the cost of one made specifically to my specs from the ground up. Yeah, you guessed it, way too much money - around 2,000RMB. Talk about a rip off. I'd only have to pay around 1200 dollars for the same bike back home - you do the math.

Okay, all kidding aside, the truth is that one should be somewhat concerned about salary situations in China. But forget about the inflationary aspect. It's simple - don't accept the low paying positions. I've been saying it here in the forum for a couple of years. If you're working for less than 6000, and if you sign a contract that doesn't include overtime payments and bi-yearly or yearly increases, you're getting ripped off and you're contributing to the system that will happily pay you little for a lot of work. And who can blame them - it's capitalism at its best.

No, inflation is not the issue. Gullibility is the issue. You will be told that you are making so much more than the locals and how the cost of living is so low that you can save money and so on and so on. If you buy into that old song and dance, you've got no one to blame but yourself; furthermore, I've got some swamp land in Florida that I'll be glad to make you a deal on.

It's the same deal here as it is at home. Don't sell yourself short. Moreover, if you accept low paying positions, it's also the same as home - you're just padding the pockets of the fat cats who are laughing all the way to the bank, and beyond that you're just setting the next guy up for the same situation.

Oh well, I know these words fall on deaf ears. Many of you will just keep on accepting those low paying positions because you want to "experience exotic China" and blah, blah, blah and then later you'll complain about the low salaries and the harsh conditions and the ball will forever be in their court. Meanwhile, some of us will watch our bank accounts grow because we're nobody's fool and we get paid a decent wage for what we've been trained to do.

The bottom line is that nobody will force you to sign your name on the, well, bottom line. The choice is yours.