Monday, April 27, 2009

The Worst Scenario I

1. China's stimulus package, which emphasizes government investment on infrastructure, only leads to even worse over-supply of airports, highway, and industrial goods.

2. China's banks, following the order of the government, keep lending to projects with vague values, which leads to huge toxic assets just like those crippled the western financial system.

3. The real estate bubble might eventually burst. Although banks are lending to developers so that they can maintain the high selling prices without cash flow, although home-ownership is the foundation of family value in China, the current price still cannot hold as fewer and fewer people can afford it.

4. The golden age of Made in China is gone. Protectionism becomes wide-spread as politicians around the world blame international trade for the job loss in their own countries. Factories in China also lose competitiveness because their exploitation of cheap labor has reached a limit, and they don't have the creativity or technology to raise the quality and appeal of their products.

5. Unemployment reaches unprecedented level and people's income drops. Neither peasant workers nor college graduates can find jobs. The only people whose jobs and income are not affected are government officials. Social unrest might follow.

6. All the money injected into the financial system leads to inflation.

7. Environment protection becomes even less a concern for the society as the priority was given to economic development at any cost.

8. Government officials continue to send their kids and money abroad, so they don't need to worry about the future of the country they rule.

To be continued.

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