Posted on 08/10/2008 9:04:28 AM PDT by gorush
“
Lost Sovereignity, Oil-rich Fund Eyeing Foreclosed US Homes
“
I’ve not read the book (linked below), but the general theme is
that the more trade the USA does with Communist China...
the more the USA (at least the dealing companies) will tow the Communist
Party line.
I’d not heard this term before, but the phenomenon of a ChiComm influence
on the USA is called “reverse convergence”.
I suppose it means the USA thinks they are influencing Mainland China
to be more democratic and capitalistic...when in fact the USa is being
influenced to be repressive (quiet about ChiComm’s control-freak methods)
and less profitable as capitalists.
In the Jaws of the Dragon: America’s Fate in the Coming
Era of Chinese Hegemony
by Eamonn Fingleton
(Rating so far: 4.5 out of 5 stars)
http://www.amazon.com/Jaws-Dragon-Americas-Chinese-Hegemony/dp/0312362323/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218388071&sr=1-1
The money in your case is likely from Taiwan or Japan or the US itself.
The point is that China is absorbing huge foreign investments and it is indeed possible (and extremely common) for foreigners to buy land and develop properties there, in spite of political risk.
Where did you get that 10-year rule ? Where do you get any of your ideas on this matter ?
If some investor can make a go of obsolete US machinery, I see no reason why they shouldn’t buy it up and move it to China.
Where we are schmucks is in reducing our attractiveness to our local capitalists, such as in union-dominated industries, through over-regulation, and by permitting silly policies that create artificially high costs, such as Californias land-use restrictions.
Protectionism and the silly socialism that would be needed to keep these obsolete enterprises in the US would cripple the US economy.
Historically when foreigners buy American land they over value it (because they come from smaller countries than us and land is more expensive there) and take a major bath. We’ll see how this plays out.
The transfer of intellectual property and military technology overseas is not "downsides"? The elimination of strategically vital industries and infrastructure is not a downside? The dilution of domestic wages and resulting drop in revenue is not a downside? The loss of training opportunity for entrants into the labor pool is not a downside? The social cost of re-deploying displaced workers is not a downside?
I beg to differ.
Oh man I hope the Saudis buy up some of the dilapidated homes in Bridgeport and New Haven. I can’t wait to see them trying to collect rent from the Section 8 lowlifes who inhabit them.
“I am not sure how this is a bad thing.”
Maybe you feel comfortable with Arab Muslims buying up America, but I don’t. When they own enough of it, they’ll start telling us what to do.
I say we stop buying oil from the Muslims, which is only funding their buyout of America along with supporting international terrorists.
Worse yet, this is all being done using our own money. The trillions of petrodollars we send overseas, combined with the billions we send to China in trade, have created an international fund available to our sworn enemies to use against us. The Arabs, the Chinese, and now (it would appear), the Russians, plus the various noisy satellites of Marxism around the world are all uniting to erode our dominance.
First, we need to pull the plug on China. Stop trade altogether. Second, we need an energy policy that does NOT rely on Mideast oil. And third, we need to quit apologizing for being successful and be confident in protecting our own interests.
In other words, we need Ronald Reagan's America back.
Worse yet, this is all being done using our own money. The trillions of petrodollars we send overseas, combined with the billions we send to China in trade, have created an international fund available to our sworn enemies to use against us. The Arabs, the Chinese, and now (it would appear), the Russians, plus the various noisy satellites of Marxism around the world are all uniting to erode our dominance.
First, we need to pull the plug on China. Stop trade altogether. Second, we need an energy policy that does NOT rely on Mideast oil. And third, we need to quit apologizing for being successful and be confident in protecting our own interests.
In other words, we need Ronald Reagan's America back.
If these properties were foreclosed once they could be again.
The buyers of individual US houses are usually individual Americans. If they can’t afford the houses the investors lose.
There are always individual winners and losers in any economic system or economic change.
The net effect of foreign investment in any case that I know of is so strongly positive that on a national level there is no downside.
In every case you mentioned there is a corresponding and more significant gain -
“The elimination of strategically vital industries and infrastructure is not a downside?”
Traded for investment capital available to create even more strategically vital industries and infrastructure.
“The dilution of domestic wages and resulting drop in revenue is not a downside? “
The reduction in domestic prices and the increased domestic employment in other industries made feasible by greater availability of capital, leading to increases in revenue.
“The loss of training opportunity for entrants into the labor pool is not a downside? “
The increase in employment opportunities for entrants into the labor pool as a result of increased investment in other industries - strongly supported by the results of free trade in the US btw.
“The social cost of re-deploying displaced workers is not a downside? “
Good point - this points out the real downside - the political one. The benefits of protectionism are concentrated and identifiable, thus have a powerful political constituency. Free trade and investment have diffuse and contingent benefits, thus are less visible and more difficult to rally political support. The real downside is indeed the fact of human folly, our limitations of vision, narrow minds, selfishness and tribalism.
There are always individual winners and losers in any economic system or economic change.
The net effect of foreign investment in any case that I know of is so strongly positive that on a national level there is no downside.
In every case you mentioned there is a corresponding and more significant gain -
“The elimination of strategically vital industries and infrastructure is not a downside?”
Traded for investment capital available to create even more strategically vital industries and infrastructure.
“The dilution of domestic wages and resulting drop in revenue is not a downside? “
The reduction in domestic prices and the increased domestic employment in other industries made feasible by greater availability of capital, leading to increases in revenue.
“The loss of training opportunity for entrants into the labor pool is not a downside? “
The increase in employment opportunities for entrants into the labor pool as a result of increased investment in other industries - strongly supported by the results of free trade in the US btw.
“The social cost of re-deploying displaced workers is not a downside? “
Good point - this points out the real downside - the political one. The benefits of protectionism are concentrated and identifiable, thus have a powerful political constituency. Free trade and investment have diffuse and contingent benefits, thus are less visible and more difficult to rally political support. The real downside is indeed the fact of human folly, our limitations of vision, narrow minds, selfishness and tribalism.
I agree with you, if we let the collapse just do that, those that made common sense decisions to live within their means will survive, those who have made themselves rich with debt will be forced to live within their means.
But if we bail out the unwise with tax increases on the wise, the wise who have been living within their means will suddenly be buried with debt from the foolish. The wise will not have the means to rebuild the economy and the collapse will be far reaching.
The collapse will not just take out the housing market excess, but will extend deep into the nation’s infrastructure as there will be nobody left to rebuild.
If foreign nationals want to salvage their falling dollar by buying realestate in America we will have the falling market being propped up by our own money. Do not forget they have that money because so many bought toys with debt.
If they do not buy American, they will buy oil, and the dollar will slide even further. Times get easy, times get hard, but socialists never stop feeding. If we give in to steal from the rich to give to the poor, we will all be poor in the end.
We could really use a bottom in the housing market..real estate funds buying large blocks of houses may be the only way.
“our economic sovereignty is assaulted “
You (and all the other protectionists) sound just like the post-colonial Leninists I used to argue with back in the third world. They were wrong, thoroughly and completely, their arguments have been crushed by reality and subsequent events in hundreds of natural economic experiments around the world.
This entire world-view is completely mistaken.
Yes, definitely! Debt is not Equity...no ownership by debt-holders. And on sovereign funds buying up America's assets, it's inevitable. Paraphrasing Jeremy Siegel in "the Future for Investors" (p.203-221) 'the young in [USA and] emerging countries will buy the assets of the elderly in developing countries.' (a solution to the 'aging wave') In ppg. 218-221 he eloquently elaborates on why such 'transfer of wealth' is good...an 'opportunity not a threat'. Pick up a copy at your library...oh he published that book in 2005...and is still 'timeless' advice, he's an excellent writer!
I want to thank someone, but feel guilty doing so. Bad Karma and what....
The question is, why don’t/can’t Americans buy foreign real-estate? What’s wrong with this country where on the whole we are so poor, that we must sell, rather than being rich enough to buy?
And in the 1880's when the English were buying up everything in sight.
Americans and American companies do buy foreign real estate.
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