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The Real Problem With Those Infamous Chinese Ghost Cities
Business Insider ^ | 05/18/2011 | Joe Weisenthal

Posted on 05/18/2011 10:07:01 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Bloomberg Television did a great little segment (via PragCap) about the infamous "ghost cities" of China. Those are those huge planned, mostly empty cities that Chanos likes to rail on.

The typical reaction seems to be: OMG, cities, where nobody is living!

But in reality, lots of real estate projects start with nobody in them, and then fill up over time. That's not that weird. Sure, these are city-size projects, but China is a big country undergoing bigger shifts.

The bigger issue is the country's apparent addiction to centrally-planned, investment led growth -- a development strategy that's creating inflation that's becoming seemingly untamable. Despite the talk about "rebalancing" it's really not happening. And at some point, the country will actually have created way too many homes (just like the US did, during its great government-subsidized, multi-decade boom), and it will have millions of workers who built those cities who don't know how to do anything else, and so on. And that will create serious problems.

In the meantime, until it becomes clear that really nobody is ever coming to those cities -- and it's not obvious that that's happening -- this in itself isn't a huge cause for alarm.

CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE BRIEF VIDEO OF CHINA's EMPTY CITIES.

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Society
KEYWORDS: china; emptycities; ghostcities

1 posted on 05/18/2011 10:07:05 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind
"But in reality, lots of real estate projects start with nobody in them, and then fill up over time"

Oh really? Entire cities? With roads and bridges and towering skyscrapers? Empty until people move in?

Libtards will say anything, no matter how stupid it sounds...

2 posted on 05/18/2011 10:10:54 AM PDT by Mr. K (this administration is WEARING OUT MY CAPSLOCK KEY~!! [Palin/Bachman 2012])
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To: SeekAndFind

But in reality, lots of real estate projects start with nobody in them, and then fill up over time.

Here Obama&Co. works in the reverse.


3 posted on 05/18/2011 10:11:58 AM PDT by Vaduz
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To: SeekAndFind

Yeah, right, wanah buy some cat food?


4 posted on 05/18/2011 10:12:06 AM PDT by TruthConquers (.Delendae sunt publicae scholae)
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To: Vaduz

Uh, uh.

There are over FIFTY CITIES that are STILL empty. And they are building more!

And sometimes the build something and then blow it up and...build it again!!!

China is a house of cards. They even have exploding watermelons!


5 posted on 05/18/2011 10:14:37 AM PDT by TruthConquers (.Delendae sunt publicae scholae)
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To: TruthConquers

I’ve read it’s being done to falsely pump up their GDP. I agree.


6 posted on 05/18/2011 10:17:37 AM PDT by Peter from Rutland
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To: Peter from Rutland

Yep. Growth at all costs forced down to the lowest level by central planning.


7 posted on 05/18/2011 10:21:50 AM PDT by meatloaf
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To: SeekAndFind

Who am I going to believe; this article pimping the world economic “recovery” or Google maps?


8 posted on 05/18/2011 10:26:54 AM PDT by 6SJ7 (atlasShruggedInd = TRUE)
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To: TruthConquers

It may also be part of a relocation scheme. They could take “internal illegal aliens” from the country who moved without permission to the major cities to the “approved” cities that are in places where China either wants to bolster territorial claims or needs workers for their next phase of development.


9 posted on 05/18/2011 10:35:13 AM PDT by tbw2
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To: SeekAndFind

“....this in itself isn’t a huge cause for alarm.”

In other words...its about the only other thing the Senate DemocRATS and ‘Bammy can think of to try to lower unemployment in the next 18 months....coming to an empty lot near you ..Stimulus IV.....Barack the Unemployment Terminator!!!


10 posted on 05/18/2011 10:35:26 AM PDT by mo ("If you understand, no explanation is needed; if you do not, no explanation is possible")
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To: SeekAndFind

Oh...I’m sorry. I thought this was a new tv show.


11 posted on 05/18/2011 10:35:59 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Mr. K
Oh really? Entire cities? With roads and bridges and towering skyscrapers? Empty until people move in?

"social housing." also known as the projects.
12 posted on 05/18/2011 10:39:44 AM PDT by absolootezer0 (2x divorced tattooed pierced harley hatin meghan mccain luvin' REAL beer drinkin' smoker ..what?)
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To: SeekAndFind

What a load of BS! Meanwhile most of their population, who live outside of major cities, lives in squalor.
Communism only works for the elite.


13 posted on 05/18/2011 11:55:32 AM PDT by vpintheak (Democrats: Robbing humans of their dignity 1 law at a time)
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To: Peter from Rutland

>I’ve read it’s being done to falsely pump up their GDP. I agree.<

CORRECT. Anyone attending B school knows that. The Aussie journal show just confirmed it.


14 posted on 05/18/2011 1:18:11 PM PDT by max americana (.)
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To: max americana

Empty, but maintained cities, are probably good for storage.


15 posted on 05/18/2011 10:51:18 PM PDT by clearcarbon
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