"That's the problem........because nukes have grown in size, it wouldn't take a global, nuclear war to end up in a nuclear winter."
Not true. For the most part, typical yield has decreased considerably. There were much bigger bombs during the 1950s than exist today. Big bombs were fashionable because they had to be. Guidance systems meant that if you came within a mile of the target it was pure luck. So the bomb was scaled to still be able to kill the target. Better guidance meant that the bombs could be smaller and still "useful". Personally, I don't think nuclear weapons have much military value any way, even small ones are too big. It is like torture, you might come up with a contorted case where it/they might have some use, but the blowback is going to be painful...
"Please, I don't even want to go there."
You better. China in essence doesn't have a financial system. Do you remember when Japan bellyflopped in the early 1990s? And has been trying to sit up, standing is not even a dream, ever since? China is walking down the same road. For the same reasons. Loans are not done by evaluating risks, they are done on the basis of personal contacts. And that means there is a huge, and growing, pile of debt that may or may not be paid off. Given the pace of construction, it is unlikely that much of it will ever be profitable. At some point, the house of cards is going to tumble and the government loses the mandate of heaven. |
