Chinese Stimulus Program: Shovel Ready Graves

It said that the increase in evictions stemmed in part from a construction boom stoked by a government stimulus program implemented to ward off the effects of the 2008 financial crisis.

The loosening of credit allowed local governments to take out loans on an “unprecedented scale,” but local governments soon found themselves unable to continue financing the projects, “so they sank deeper into debt,” Amnesty said.
 

Wait...what?  China implemented a stimulus program to ward off the 2008 financial crisis?  Then, local governments took advantage of this by grabbing the easy to acquire loans, but overshot the moon, and needed to do some damage control?   That sounds feasible...as does the way they proceeded in damage control.

BEIJING: Violent forced evictions are increasing in China as local governments seek to pay off debts by seizing land and selling usage rights to property developers, Amnesty International said in a report on Thursday.

The report, Standing Their Ground, said that growing numbers of Chinese have been forced from their homes in both rural and urban areas, with evictees sometimes beaten, imprisoned, or even killed at the hands of authorities.
 

The thing about Communist China is that the people don't own the land.   The land is owned by the State.  However, residents can lease the land (buy and sell rights on usage) for as long as 70 years.  But, as is the case here, the State can grab it right back whenever they need it and good luck to the "squatter" in the process.  Most of the violent protests across China (which the US Media routinely ignores) are a result of these forced evictions to benefit the State or local province.

So...big deal...right?   Who cares...it's China.   And, no...I'm not going to give you some song and dance about that could happen here.  It won't because there are still too many folks who treasure the 2nd Amendment.  But, I thought it would be interesting to see how the US media portrays the Chinese handling of the 2008 financial crisis.

Here's Time Magazine's Tony Karon:

One of the great ironies revealed by the global recession that began in 2008 is that Communist Party–ruled China may be doing a better job managing capitalism's crisis than the democratically elected U.S. government. Beijing's stimulus spending was larger, infinitely more effective at overcoming the slowdown and directed at laying the infrastructural tracks for further economic expansion.
 

Heh...Tony and Time love those Commies.