China Owns Us: How the Chinese Are Buying Up America - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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The People’s Republic of China isn’t exactly a favorite of the American public. Since the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak of early 2020, Americans are questioning whether or not all of that cheap plastic junk from Wal-Mart doesn’t come with a hidden cost.

It’s not just about the virus: There is also the spectre of deindustrialization, which has been a social disaster for the United States, particularly the rust belt. What’s more, Tucker Carlson and others reported during the early days of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak that the United States was dependent on China for basic medical supplies, such as penicillin.

Carlson’s comments are incredibly important, especially when we begin drilling down further into just how reliant the United States is on China: 97 percent of all antibiotics and 80 percent of all active ingredients in American pharmaceuticals come from China. In 2017 alone, the United States imported a whopping $4.6 billion in foodstuffs from the People’s Republic of China.

The corporate press has largely been silent on this matter, which isn’t surprising: They have a long history of sympathy for the People’s Republic of China and virtually all enemies of America and liberty. But there is also a deep presence by the People’s Republic of China in the United States, both in our media and in our economy, specifically in the real estate market.

If it sounds insane to you that United States laws allow a hostile foreign power to own both media and land in this country, well, you’re not alone. And while it might sound like we’re making a mountain out of a molehill, if you read the following article you will probably be amazed at just how deep the rabbithole of Chinese influence in the American media and economy goes.

This is nothing less than the defining national security issue of our age.

China Buying U.S. Land: How Much Land Does China Own in the U.S.?

American prosperity has largely been built on a dual foundation: cheap land, expensive labor. Until Ted Kennedy’s Immigration Act of 1965, Ronald Reagan’s Amnesty of 1986 and NAFTA opened up the floodgates of Third World immigration (both legal and illegal) this formula basically held firm.

When there was not enough labor, employers had to pay more rather than simply importing massive amounts of cheap labor from countries with little in the way of worker protections.

The same laws allowing for a massive influx of cheap labor have also destabilized the American real estate market: More buyers means more demand means higher prices for those looking to buy a home.

There are a myriad of social consequences from this, chief among them that family formation is more expensive and thus less attainable for the average young American worker in the 21st Century than it was in years past.

But beyond this, there is the problem of allowing foreign nationals to own real estate in the United States, a practice that is outlawed in a number of countries. Where foreign nationals are allowed to own real estate, there are often restrictions on where they can buy and how much they can own.

The reasons for this hardly need explaining, but we will do so anyway: First, the citizens of a nation have first claim on the land there. Second, it is potentially dangerous to allow too much of a nation’s land to fall into the hands of foreigners.

Currently 30 million acres of American farmland is owned by foreign investors or fully 2.2 percent of all American farmland. For context, that’s an area roughly the size of Mississippi or Pennsylvania These are effectively absentee landlords who own some of the best real estate in the United States.

For its part, China owned 191,000 acres worth $1.9 billion as of 2019. This might not sound like a lot, but Chinese ownership of American farmland has exploded dramatically over the last decade. Indeed, there has been a tenfold expansion of Chinese ownership of farmland in the United States in less than a decade.

Six states — Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Dakota and Oklahoma — currently ban foreign ownership of farmland.

Massive Chinese investment in American farmland is troubling for one very obvious reason: It puts the food security of the nation in the hands of a hostile foreign power. But there is also the social cost of allowing foreign buyers who have effectively unlimited resources to compete on the real estate market with smaller domestic buyers.

It is understandable if no one reading this has any tears to shed for Big Aggie, but the real victims of this are smaller landholders. For those concerned about environmental issues, ask yourself who is more likely to practice good stewardship of the land — American farmers or Chinese bureaucrats thousands of miles away.

Chinese Real Estate Investors in the U.S.

In addition to their farmland holdings, China owns more residential real estate than any other foreign country, which has a significant impact on the real estate market on the West Coast. Sound far-fetched?

According to Market Watch, “Chinese buyers accounted for roughly 25 percent of total foreign investment in U.S. residential real estate.” Canada was far behind at a relatively scant 9 percent.

The article specifically mentions Chinese investment in California real estate as a driving force behind high housing prices in the Golden State. It’s worth noting that many of these properties are owned as rental properties by absentee landlords. Again, who is going to care more about the quality of tenant life?

An American down the street or a Chinese bureaucrat thousands of miles away?

To continue reading China “Pwns” Us: How the Chinese Are Buying Up America, please visit Thought Grenades, the blog on Libertas Bella.
#15152312
Godstud wrote:Hey, it's the Capitalism that you Americans love so much! ENJOY!!!


See what lack of regulation does for you? Is China in danger of being bought up by USA?


:lol: :lol: :lol:

Don't disagree but Canada has the exact same problem. Go real estate shopping in Vancouver and tell me what you see.

These foreign investors buy condos and houses, hire someone in the city to look after renting it out for them, and make big bucks.
#15152325
@Unthinking Majority I know it's a problem in Canada, too. Strangely enough many other countries don't allow foreign ownership for exactly these reasons. That would interfere with rampant Capitalism, though, wouldn't it?

Thailand allows leasing, but no foreign ownership of land. I suppose they thought ahead, a bit.
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Godstud wrote:@Unthinking Majority I know it's a problem in Canada, too. Strangely enough many other countries don't allow foreign ownership for exactly these reasons. That would interfere with rampant Capitalism, though, wouldn't it?

Thailand allows leasing, but no foreign ownership of land. I suppose they thought ahead, a bit.


Indonesia has this laws too, but they prevent foreign investment.
#15152354
A consequence of the low American saving rate and high Chinese saving rate (and the high saving rate of other countries).

It's not necessarily a problem for the US. I mean the gap between US GDP and GNP (gross national product) is only 1%, so little income actually goes abroad.

The US' NIIP (net international investment position) is steadily decreasing though. Not that the rest of the world could enforce its property right in the US (funny thought), but a sudden outflow of capital respectively stop of inflow could cause quite a crisis.
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AFAIK wrote:OP's article fails to mention rare earths. China produces ~80% of them since other countries are reluctant to endure the environmental costs and risks to public health that producing them brings.


They're hoarding those minerals while the Dems talk about 86-ing internal combustion engines. I'd say everything is going according to plan.
#15153434
Uhh, sure...

If open conflict erupts, all those Chinese owned properties will get taken. This is particularly dumb where farmland is concerned. China needs a lot of food, that adds an incentive for them to play nice, lest they lose what we grow for them.

There are problems to be managed, but you do that indirectly for the most part. Invest in education, in R&D, and support for new tech businesses (we should have done a lot more to support solar). This has been the reality for as long as you guys have been alive. There is very little made that isn't supported by some country to hold onto market share.

We do need to do more about security. Letting Moscow Mitch get compromised by the Russians over a crappy aluminium plant is a national disgrace because we let it happen, and that we haven't shown McConnell the door for doing it.

Capitalism isn't just international trade, but it get started because of international trade, and it's been a crucial part of it since the beginning a few centuries ago.
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late wrote:Uhh, sure...

If open conflict erupts, all those Chinese owned properties will get taken. This is particularly dumb where farmland is concerned. China needs a lot of food, that adds an incentive for them to play nice, lest they lose what we grow for them.

There are problems to be managed, but you do that indirectly for the most part. Invest in education, in R&D, and support for new tech businesses (we should have done a lot more to support solar). This has been the reality for as long as you guys have been alive. There is very little made that isn't supported by some country to hold onto market share.

We do need to do more about security. Letting Moscow Mitch get compromised by the Russians over a crappy aluminium plant is a national disgrace because we let it happen, and that we haven't shown McConnell the door for doing it.

Capitalism isn't just international trade, but it get started because of international trade, and it's been a crucial part of it since the beginning a few centuries ago.


True. Chinese buying up land in the US is not a risk free venture for them.

The US should charge higher taxes on that land though.
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Rancid wrote:
The US should charge higher taxes on that land though.



We need to start the transition away from industrial agriculture to one of sustainable small to medium sized farms. Not sure how taxes would fit.

Most of our farmers are Boomers. That is a problem, and if there is anyone talking about the need to replace them soon, I don't know about them.

A lot of the new diseases come from industrial agriculture...
#15153442
late wrote:
We need to start the transition away from industrial agriculture to one of sustainable small to medium sized farms. Not sure how taxes would fit.

Most of our farmers are Boomers. That is a problem, and if there is anyone talking about the need to replace them soon, I don't know about them.

A lot of the new diseases come from industrial agriculture...


Sure, I don't disagree with what you are saying. IN the meantime, tax the Chinese owned land higher.
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late wrote:The weird thing is that countries try hard to encourage foreign investment. Not in everything, of course, but investment does add to an economy.

I haven't seen a good argument for punitive taxation of Chinese investment.


It's more like a hotel tax. Shift the burden of taxation to others that can afford it. It can also depend on what the land is used for. It would also be bad to have foreigners raise property values and rents if they buy too much. So this can work against affordable housing efforts. There can be negatives depending on what and where the land is being bought.

It's not about being punitive, might as well squeeze more money from them if you can.
#15153513
Rancid wrote:
It's more like a hotel tax. Shift the burden of taxation to others that can afford it. It can also depend on what the land is used for. It would also be bad to have foreigners raise property values and rents if they buy too much. So this can work against affordable housing efforts. There can be negatives depending on what and where the land is being bought.

It's not about being punitive, might as well squeeze more money from them if you can.



Let me know when they plow Central Park.
#15184233
I saw the same arguments, almost word for word, back in the 80s. The 'bad guy' was Japan back then.

Attracting foreign capital is something you want in a capitalist economy. After WW2, Ike and the others deliberately developed a global economy. If China has invested a trillion here, they are not going to destroy what they own. That was deliberate, countries that do business almost never go to war.

The problem here is that, in one sense, there is *no* problem. We are in economic competition with China. Instead of getting all whiny and bratty, compete. We used to be really good at competing. It's not hard, you educate your kids, take care of the country and invest in the future. We used to be the best at doing that.

Time to stop whining and get with the program...
Last edited by late on 06 Aug 2021 17:36, edited 1 time in total.

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