That cost becomes a big deal when you're competing with people who decide not to tax their creative populations in the same way. Unfortunately for Americans, there's a huge gap between what we consider unacceptable, and what China disallows. That means the US tax can go up considerably before becoming uncompetitive.

At the same time getting into the "how stupid can you be and still come out ahead?" race opens up tremendous opportunity for others who are far more nimble, and are only too happy to place bets on which economic superpower will choke itself first.