If you want on or off the ping list send me a FReepMail.
There are seven major factors that are eroding the social and economic stability of the PRC
1. Excessive overuse of the factors of production -- The factors of production are whatever is used to produce goods and services but are primarily are land, capital, labor, and entrepreneurship/enterprise. Corrupt party officials demanding bribes to approve licenses, land sales, etc. increases the level of inputs to get the same output. In 2013 China used roughly 10 times the input as the US to produce the same product. This has to be made up somewhere.
2. Inefficient allocation of economic goods, activity -- This is related to #1 and can range from the outright theft of successful private companies to preferential treatment for inefficient state-owned businesses. This transfers wealth from the middle class to the party elite.
3. Stifling innovation in the middle class -- Lack of freedom of information and punishment of violators stifles innovation and creativity. People are not allowed to solve problems by themselves. They can't have people living without the CCP.
4. Lack of enforcement of regulations, standards -- This means that corners get cut without fear of authorities endangering health and welfare. Think of gutter oil and tofu dreg housing as examples.
5. A false economy: Debt based 'growth' is a cancer on the economy -- In a market economy demand attracts capital to meet needs and wants. The PRC is experiencing distorted development driven by political expediency. The EverGrande collapse in real estate is a good example.
6. Rampant pollution making China unlivable, causing social unrest -- Twenty years ago about 40% of China's waterways could either not sustain life or were unfit for human consumption. Today that number is up to 70% . Moreover, 80-90% of groundwater is undrinkable. China's air pollution is arguably the worst in the world. The CCP had to shut down industrial production for over a month before the Beijing Olympics so they could have blue skies.
Dystopian depression among the younger generation -- When young people lose faith in their nation and their future they stop having children. This is the PRC in spades.
China's economy has gone into a nose dive since the end of 2Q CY2023. They have gone from one bit of bad news after another to every bit of bad news all at once.
If you had asked me three months ago if I thought this would be happening I would have said, "No way."
While I want to see the CCP stressed and put upon I don't want it to be something they think they can't control. That leads unstable people to make REALLY bad decisions. The CCP is perfectly capable of making bad decisions on their own.
WWG1WGA
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)