Dear Village Board

Dear Village Board, 
 
Since building empty cities to prop up economic growth in China is the 
order of the day - why not also here, in Mount Pleasant? The model 
seems to work.... for now.... 
 
"Fancy villas, high-rise apartment blocks, lakes, parks and sprawling 
road networks: Ghost cities in China have it all. Just one crucial 
element is missing — the people. 
 
Built for a population that never came, about 50 of these surreal 
sites lay desolate across the country. But still the construction 
continues. 
 
These new cities are usually built in rural areas on the outskirts of 
existing cities. 
 
Designed for populations numbering in the hundreds of thousands, the 
mass construction projects can include towering high-rise 
condominiums, huge shopping centres, city squares, street lights and 
replicas of cities in Europe and elsewhere. 
 
"The phenomenon very much has been driven by the debt splurge that 
really kicked into gear after the global financial crisis," Mr McMahon 
said. 
 
"Local governments around the country tried to juice and stimulate 
their economies by building more infrastructure and stimulating the 
property market." 
 
This seemingly wasteful construction is carried out by both 
state-owned firms and private companies". 
 
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-27/china-ghost-cities-show-growth-driven-by-debt/9912186 
 
Meanwhile Foxconn plans to lay off 50,000 workers due to slumping 
demand for iphones. In addition - the carnage of daily job cuts 
continues across the economy - while the price for fossil fuels 
remains too high for consumers, but too low for producers. 
 
The Yellow Vest Protests continue in France, Venezuela is a 
Humanitarian disaster, and Zimbabwe is in total shutdown. 
 
Zimbabwe is once again at the brink of economic collapse, making a 
mockery of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s claim that the country is 
open for business. 
 
As Bloomberg reports,  many shops and factories have shut their doors 
because of a lack of customers and those that continue to trade are 
open to haggling over prices to secure hard currency. At an appliance 
shop in the capital, Harare, a salesman whispers that a Whirlpool 
Corp. washing machine priced at about $5,000 if paid for 
electronically will sell for $1,500 in cash, while at a nearby 
electrical warehouse, a $600 invoice is whittled down to $145 for 
payment in dollar bills. 
 
But, as OilPrice.com's Tsvetana Paraskova reports, Zimbabwe is on a 
three-day nationwide strike and protests are erupting in the streets 
after the government of the southern African country doubled fuel 
prices, making gasoline sold in Zimbabwe the most expensive gasoline 
in the world. 
 
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-20/it-feels-apocalyptic-letter-zimbabwe-where-country-remains-total-shutdown 
 
I note that Tesla is laying off 3,000! GM and Ford - also getting rid 
of thousands and closing down production facilities in USA. Take a 
look around at the employment carnage which is on going in USA. 
 
http://www.dailyjobcuts.com/ 
 
When the Foxconn miracle fails to materialize - sure hope you have 
that "Plan B" ready.... 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Tim & Cindy