LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Car Dependency: It needs to end

BY MAYA SCHWARTZ

The phenomenon of car dependency is taking over our lives. Cities are demolishing historic buildings in order to build more roads, people are spending more money on gas than ever before, and people’s homes are being taken away to construct new roadways. In the future, it is likely most cities will consist of nothing but roads, made to serve cars instead of people.

Along with ruining the landscape of the world, car dependency will eventually destroy our climate. Cars are one of the biggest contributors to global warming, releasing

WILL CHINA’S HANDLING OF REAL-ESTATE QUESTIONS HINDER economic growth?

BY THOMAS RIVEROS

billions of tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. These gasses could end up negatively affecting our climate, disrupting the balance of nature and making the Earth uninhabitable for humans.

So, if humanity wants to survive far into the future, we need to stop depending on cars. •

You Are Getting Probed

BY NOLAN REDHEAD

I urge readers to take the following claims seriously.

The Pentagon released documents that they were using mind control research on troops. There is now evidence that 5G waves are used to control human and animal brains. What is stopping the government from testing this

Over the past year, China has experienced a decline in its housing market. Concerns have grown over whether the decline will continue and if it will spread to other industries. Today, property development accounts for around 2530% of the Chinese GDP. The main reason for its outsized share of GDP is that China’s urban population has been growing tremendously since the 1990s when farmers began moving to cities to work in factories. In 1998, the Chinese government introduced the presale system that allowed property developers to sell apartments before they were complete. The buyer gave a down payment and paid monthly mortgage installments as the apartment was constructed. This system meant the property developers got all of the money upfront and could do whatever they wanted with most of it before they had to worry about finishing the project. This law, along with excessive amounts of debt, meant developers grew expeditiously, selling millions of apartments.

One of the primary issues with the Chinese Communist system is that it creates incredibly high GDP growth targets, and uses whatever means necessary to achieve them. What these have caused over the past ten years is overinvestment into projects that cost more than they contribute to the economy.

theory on the general population?

As for protecting one’s self from 5G dangers, the idea of wearing a custom tinfoil hat to prevent 5G waves is heavily suggested. Although getting a custom tinfoil hat could get expensive, an easier and more affordable way to protect yourself is to make one out of aluminum foil. First take one yard of foil out of the roll, shiny side up. Then, wrap it around

An important way the Chinese government works towards its targets is through Window Guidance, which is a policy that allows The People’s Bank of China to compel other banks to extend credit to certain sectors of the economy (specifically real estate). With such a large amount of cheap money, developers let their balance sheets run wild.

In 2020, the CCP realized that property developers were creating economic instability through excessive borrowing. To remedy this issue, they decided to implement the Three Red Lines policy which forced developers to clean up their balance sheets. However, many were far too indebted and, as a result of lost funding, many projects were halted. Even though their houses were not being built, people were still expected to make their mortgage payments. Consequently, many stopped paying them entirely. In December of 2022, the world’s most indebted property developer, China Evergrande, defaulted on its U.S. dollar bonds. Although the company has not yet collapsed, it seems inevitable unless the Chinese government steps in. The company is in a total of 300 billion dollars in debt which is equivalent to around 2% of China’s GDP.

It seems likely that the Chinese government will take over Evergrande and other failing property developers. China appears to be moving towards a more state-centered economy, which will likely decrease its overall growth in the coming years. • your head counterclockwise. This stylish new hat will protect you from future threats.

I would like to hear conspiracy theories from you, the reader. Please submit a picture of you in a tinfoil hat to thehowler@ allendalecolumbia.org and your favorite conspiracy theory to be featured in the next issue. •