Andrew Dubois

"China" evokes images of bamboo-eating pandas and tranquil Buddhist temples. The truth, however, is less ideal. Smog covers the streets of all major cities, the product of an overly industrialized nation. In the past, the industrializing has led to profit and relative prosperity. However, China is quickly reaching max capacity in infrastructure.

Construction plays a huge role in China's economic expansion. In the past twenty-five years, small towns have grown into huge cities with populations of over ten million people.

These massive construction projects do actually help China's immediate economy, but only act as a short term defense against unemployment increases. These projects employ thousands of low skilled workers until the project is completed and then it sits empty and the workers sit unemployed.

This has led to overcapacity in infrastructure on a huge scale. Vacant apartments, offices, and shopping centers litter the major cities. Beijing's The Place is one of the world's largest shopping centers, yet it remains empty, along with other similar projects across China.

The "build-it-and-they-will-come" model is clearly not working. This should come as no surprise to the Chinese government as clear warnings have been sounded. In 2009, Wang Shi, chairman of China Vanke, warned that a significant bubble was forming. Then, in August of 2010, officials in Chaoyang released figures showing that half of all vacant real estate had been empty for at least three years.

The issues in China's economic infrastructure will have worldwide implications if they aren't addressed. The Swiss economy is already feeling the blow back from the bad global economy. Not because their economy is bad, but because it is too good.

Switzerland is famous for its economic and political stability which is why people are flocking to invest in her Franc. Both the US Dollar and European Euro have dropped thirty percent against the Franc this year alone. A higher Franc value means Swiss exports are more expensive in foreign markets and international consumers might do business with cheaper countries.

Urs Eberhand, deputy director of Switzerland Tourism, said to NPR, "We are trying to convince people who might be afraid that it might be too expensive, to put them a little bit at ease so that you can still come to Switzerland for a really affordable price."

However, the general public remains skeptical of these statements. The exchange rates will cause any rational American tourist wanting to visit Switzerland to rethink their decision. In light of recent events, the Swiss are considering temporarily binding the Franc to the Euro.