12/11/2014
By Charles Payne

“China has surpassed America” is a headline that didn't make the front page of many US newspapers, but the IMF made it official that an economic output in China this year will be $17.6 trillion and $17.4 trillion for us.

Even if we stick to old-fashioned GDP measures, China is only a few years away from the top spot.

By 2020, they will have erected so many amazing skyscrapers, many which will surpass the new Freedom Tower, knocking it off the top-ten list.

I realize China posted some ugly economic data overnight, and recently launched into a money printing scheme to pump up its economy, but they have been on a 30-year mission, and it is remarkable.

If America thinks resting on its laurels or guessing China will derail, then it is a gigantic mistake. I like being number one and it is not about being egoistic.

There are amazing benefits, including the world's reserve currency.

Let's Get our Act Together

Politically, I am not a fan of Lawrence Summers, but his op-ed in the Financial Times on December 7 was spot- on. It was not just about the crumbling infrastructure, but how it has led to "lost collective faith."

His examples are of an escalator at LaGuardia Airport will not be fixed until next spring, and a bridge spanning 100 yards that separates downtown Boston and Cambridge, which has been under repair for two years and traffic is not scheduled to resume until 2016. 

A couple weeks ago, the 50^th anniversary of the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York was celebrated; an architectural marvel that still holds records and is a wonder to behold...although at $15.00, it is not a cheap thrill or toll.

Then, there is the 48^th Street Water project scheduled to go on through 2017. I drive up this street each working morning and its going to run over time by years. There are numerous problems, including some Larry Summers would approve.

Take a look at this photo:

There are times when there are as many as four vested-traffic guards, who are there to reiterate what the traffic light is saying. On this particular morning, a city traffic cop was in the mix, too. Those other guys, who are usually black or Hispanic, (I am sure politicians take credit for giving them jobs) with their backs to the construction going on, will not learn anything about construction or earn the kind of money needed to change their lives.

It seems fine for most since it is an easy job, other than standing for long hours, and you can always smoke a cigarette and listen to your Beats. Of course, even if they were facing the action with clipboards, they would learn little since the construction guys do a lot more milling around than earth moving.

Your taxpayer dollars are being wasted and our “collective faith lost.”

Charles Payne
Wall Street Strategies

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