Ghost cities

When I studied economics and understood how building infrastructure could stimulate growth, I jokingly said a community could build a large concrete elephant and cause a local economic boom. Little did I know that some 20 years later China would do something close to that. Throughout China today are hundreds of large modern metropolitan areas called ghost cities. They contain high rise apartments, business sky scrapers, park and transportation facilities. What they lack is people. While they are slowly filling up the process has been painfully slow. One city described as poster child and the best example of the programs success is Mexi Lake City. Built in 1993 to accommodate 500,000 the population today is 100,000. After sitting their for 26 years it is in need of repair. Many of the other hundreds of cities are worse when it comes to having inhabitants. It is estimated that there are 63 million empty apartments throughout these cities not to mention the other facilities not be utilized. All of this infrastructure was debt financed and China's debt now exceed 300% of their GDP. By contrast USA debt is 105% of |GDP. This is just one more example of how difficult central planning can be in communist countries.