Elizabeth Warren has been drawing heavy criticism after her current TV advertisement suggests that China’s economy is better than that of the United States. It could be argued that it is, but at what cost?
Warren claims that while we spend 2.4% of our GDP on infrastructure, “we can do better.” A Boston Herald editorial explains:
Well, of course, we could, but see here there’s this little thing called the rule of law, and the Constitution and all that other messy stuff that makes this nation the kind of place most of us would rather live in than China — potholes and all.
It’s easy to build in China. Take, for example, the massive Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower project. Of course, it also required the relocation of at least 1.2 million people and the submersion of two cities and hundreds of towns. No problem in a Communist dictatorship.
Nor have the Chinese forgotten their public transit system. The Wall Street Journal reported just this week that the nation’s railway budget was increased by 16 percent and the Railway Ministry expects to spend some $73 billion on infrastructure investment. However, that same ministry has also been accused of sacrificing safety in its drive to get things done quickly. A year ago its new bullet train crashed, killing 40 people and injuring 192.
But then China won’t really need to be worried about annoying lawsuits resulting from the crash, now will it?
If one wants to compare the United States to other countries, China is probably not the best place to start.
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