Peak China
“How China Made Its Housing Crisis Worse”
“Years of inattention to building an adequate safety net for seniors, the jobless and others in financial stress have left Chinese consumers afraid to spend.”
“In China the pension akin to Social Security in the United States pays about $410 a month to seniors who live in cities, and only $25 a month in the countryside. Public health care covers less than half of people’s costs. Unemployment insurance provides around $220 a month; the U.S. average is nearly $1,700.
China’s consumer safety net is full of holes, even when accounting for lower costs of living compared to the United States. As growth has faltered in recent years, and now as a simmering real estate crisis ripples through the economy, China is seeing the consequences of its failure to establish robust social assistance programs.”