For all the impressive economic gains – and they are spectacularly impressive – that China has made since 1984, it is still a country rife with extreme poverty. Not only is poverty a major social problem in the countryside where about 60% of the population live, but also in the urban areas where oases of excessive wealth cannot cover up manifest signs of poverty.
Yet, the Chi-Comms who hold about US $ 1.5 TRILLION *(yes, that’s twelve zeros!) in foreign currency reserve are not even spending, say US $100 billion (less than 10 percent), to alleviate poverty. No one is asking them to become spendthrift Americans. But hording so much money for a rainy day, when it is pouring outside, is outright indecent.
*Compare this reserve balance to the United States government’s total debt burden of about US $ 9.0 TRILLION (see FR’s entry on the US national debt clock)!!!
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