this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2025
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traingang

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Post as many train pictures as possible.

All about urbanism and transportation, including freight transportation.

Home of train gang

:arm-L::train-shining::arm-R:

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LANDLORDS COWER IN FEAR OF MAOTRAIN

"that train pic is too powerful lmao" - u/Cadende

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[–] huf@hexbear.net 80 points 4 days ago (1 children)

DIPPING INTO THE MARKET

MOTHERFUCKER THEY BUYING HOMES FOR TO LIVE IN LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE

NOT REPTILES

AAAAA

[–] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 25 points 3 days ago

porky-scared-flipped: “live in…house…? That’s such a weird…alien concept! Where’s the invoooooost!?!? Why do browns hate money so much?”

[–] godlessworm@hexbear.net 61 points 3 days ago (1 children)

90% of chinese people already own their home anyway and don't view their homes as an appreciating asset the way westerners have been brainwashed into viewing them, so this wont hurt anybody who already owns a home and will only help those who have yet to get on the property ladder.

china stays winning meanwhile you cant scroll on american social media more than twice without seeing something pop up from someone crying because they can't afford rent food or both

[–] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 34 points 3 days ago (1 children)

China sees scarcity as a problem to be solved

America sees abundance as a problem to be solved.

[–] godlessworm@hexbear.net 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)

facts, plus america sees scarcity as an opportunity to exploit

westoids seek to create scarcity whenever possible

[–] Infamousblt@hexbear.net 46 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Wait wait so prices went down which means more people are buying homes and that means that actually the economy is still working because goods are still being bought and sold? surprised-pika-messed-up

[–] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 15 points 3 days ago

MFW China is everything capitalism THINKS it is.

[–] xiaohongshu@hexbear.net 35 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

The problem is a lot more complex than what people are making it out to be.

Way too many people and corporations had invested into the property speculation frenzy post-2014 and now they are losing a lot of money as the bubble starts to burst (which also explains the slumping consumption since Covid).

Note that the sales value of new houses had plunged by 17.1% (blue line) and the area (floor space) by 12.9% (yellow line):

Pay attention to the difference between the sales value and area: the value of newly built houses is falling off at an even greater rate than previously built houses of the same size.

Local governments that had anticipated to profit off the land premium also ended up making loses and found themselves unable to repay their accumulating debt.

And the falling property prices have translated into diminishing expenditures in social spending. Just compare the expenditures of the national budget from 2024 and from 2023:

Spending on education increased only 2% last year (it was 4.5% in 2023).
Social welfare spending increased by 5.6% (was 8.9% in 2023).
Healthcare spending fell by 9.1% (was -0.6% in 2023).

We are in a complex crisis with no easy way out: either save the property prices and keep expanding the bubble further (which will make the eventual burst that much more painful), or let the property market crash and households, corporations and local governments lose a huge ton of money (which means plunging consumption and government spending and straight into recession).

The mood from this Chinese New Year reflected as much the current predicament of the economy - literally everyone I know has curbed spending on New Year’s celebration and the fanfare was nowhere near the level we had in the previous years.

[–] merthyr1831@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago

thank you for this! it's good to learn about these crises from a lens normally hidden from us

[–] SkingradGuard@hexbear.net 18 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I had thought the government is intentionally is allowing this to happen to avoid a catastrophe by expanding the bubble? Maybe I got my wires crossed, because from your comment it seems that they're trying to figure out a solution.

[–] xiaohongshu@hexbear.net 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

For me the fundamental problems are that

  1. China’s central bank has no mechanism for debt cancellation, which has resulted in the perpetual refinancing of the debts (borrowing cheaper to pay back expensive interests) and thus its vulnerability to the Federal Reserve interest rates (the US practically controls how easy China’s local governments can pay back their debts)
  2. The government operates its spending as if it is still in the gold standard era but with dollar as the reserve currency. It has very limited ability to expand its base currency without earning foreign reserves or through issuing collateral backed debt (e.g. repo, SLF, MLF etc.) so they cannot directly print money to increase the people’s wages to spend. (Of course, this also has to a lot to do with the government committing to an export-oriented economy)

It’s trying to solve the problems with your hands tied.

[–] SkingradGuard@hexbear.net 3 points 3 days ago

Right. Very insightful

[–] crime@hexbear.net 34 points 4 days ago (1 children)

the maoist uprising against the landlords was the largest and most comprehensive proletarian revolution in history, and led to almost totally-equal redistribution of land among the peasantry

what if we did this but globally lmayo

[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 30 points 3 days ago (2 children)

The house market is the only one that prices are tried to keep artificially hi and everyone is ok with it.

[–] Cimbazarov@hexbear.net 17 points 3 days ago

Since the western "middle class" do not own as much capital as the upper class and have to make most of their living off their labor, they don't have as clear a path to retirement. Owning a property that appreciates in value is instilled in them as the path to financial freedom.

I think it has to do with the fact that no alternatives are ever presented (pensions are attacked and defunded, social security defunded etc.) so they can't even comprehend a world where you don't have to accumulate as much as possible before you hit retirement age.

[–] Alaskaball@hexbear.net 22 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Really gotta stop platforming the acp fascists here.

[–] Lyudmila@hexbear.net 16 points 3 days ago

Beginning to think we need to compile a list of these nazbol freaks so people don't get confused and post accidentally.

[–] FALGSConaut@hexbear.net 25 points 3 days ago

ooooooooooooooh nooooooo not the investor won't anyone think about the downtrodden investors

[–] Guamer@hexbear.net 21 points 3 days ago
[–] ProletarianDictator@hexbear.net 18 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] Cimbazarov@hexbear.net 19 points 4 days ago
[–] AssortedBiscuits@hexbear.net 12 points 3 days ago
[–] QuillcrestFalconer@hexbear.net 12 points 3 days ago

The cost is 7% cheaper

[–] piggy@hexbear.net 11 points 3 days ago

Me when the Chinese line goes down

sicko-charging

Me when the American line goes down

sicko-tear

[–] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 9 points 3 days ago

porky-scared-flipped: “Won’t somebody think of the invoooosters! Muh heckin liquid equity assets! Noooo! I can’t boooood mah woooooth!”