April 24, 2011

The Chinese Role Model Collapses on the Progressives

By Ed Lasky
For years, China's high-speed rail and green energy programs have been portrayed as miracles that America must follow to remain "in the game."  During the last two years and counting, American taxpayers have been put on the hook for tens of billions of dollars as Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress promote agendas that would supposedly emulate China and lead us to Nirvana.  What is the trouble with this picture?  It has been one giant mirage.The Washington Post runs a column by one of their finest journalists, Charles Lane, that honestly portrays the Chinese high-speed train project as being a high-speed boondoggle mired in financial and other problems:For the past eight years, Liu Zhijun was one of the most influential people in China. As minister of railways, Liu ran China's $300 billion high-speed rail project. U.S., European and Japanese contractors jostled for a piece of the business while foreign journalists gushed over China's latest high-tech...(Read Full Article)