This isn’t 1960. How is China unable to care for it’s own people? They make hundreds of billions/year in foreign currency earnings, and have as ONE if their assets over $1 trillion of US bonds. Unfortunately, that statement undercuts the credibility of rest of your post (with which I largely agree, BTW).
I don’t think that they have **completely** lost control of Kim, though. First, they can cut off his trade and any further flow if technology, to get his attention...and then remind him where his bread is buttered. Or, in the final analysis, they can have him killed and install someone more rational. JMHO. The ball is in their court.
I agree 100% that the last 3 idiot occupants if 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. are to blame for this whole thing... especially the last guy (who wasn’t really an idiot, but a 5th columnist. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kim wasn’t feeling slighted or insulted that the camel jockeys got $150 billion for rattling around their nuclear program, while he’s only gotten a few $billion her or their. This whole thing could be Kim saying, “Hey! What do I look like, chopped liver? I’ve got nukes and tickets, too!”
Damned auto-correct and lack of coffee. Besides a couple of typos and punctuation errors, the last sentence should be:
“Hey! What do I look like, chopped liver? I’ve got nukes and ROckets, too!”
I think you underestimate the number of Chinese still living hand to mouth in rural China vs. those that live in the large urban cities (that are chok full of pollution) and those working for slave wages in factories like, oh Apple.
By and large, China is not a "wealthy" country like America is. We have a large (yet diminishing...) middle class that makes up the bulk of this country. Can't say that about China.
China artificially grows its economy via currency manipulation, government funded building programs and more. There are small cities that have been built in China complete with housing, roads, electricity, water, etc.. that sit EMPTY and have been empty since being built because the overwhelming majority of Chinese cannot afford to live there.
So that is what I mean when I say China cannot take care of its own people. Two billion people are hard to house, feed, clothe, provide employment for, especially for hard line communists who still believe in central planning for everything. There's no "scale" to communism, it's always been and always will be a race to the bottom.
Thanks for allowing me to respond and clarify.