Well, it's not quite that simple or true everywhere, but to some extent, yes. There are now more billionaires in China than in the U.S. Add in the Persian Gulf, Russia, Brazil, and all sorts of places in the world. Most of those countries have higher levels of inequality than the US, so the economic growth you see in them is working especially well at producing a dramatically larger group of global rich than at bringing everyone in the world up to a middle-class lifestyle.
Many of those global new-rich worry about political stability in their home countries, and figure that owning property in the US or similar countries is a good hedge. What you see in CA is also happening in Miami (Latin America), NYC, and even more so in Vancouver, BC or in London. In London, there are huge new luxury condo towers going up marketed entirely at foreign high-net-worth individuals looking for a second home / investment property in the UK.
It is also similar for spots to attend universities -- foreign students pay full tuition, zero aid, so they are hugely profitable. Some public universties in the U.S. now have students from China alone making up 10% of their student body, with 30% or more total overseas students. Admissions standards for in-state students have gone up to reduce the number of local, unprofitable students being allowed in. Again, this is a big move at state universities, not just private ones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Podo944
Average families are now competing with a "global" market... we're fooked!  |
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