Originally Posted by
Manwell
Those who are defending Chinese buying out our assets, including a military training base, simply don't understand the full scope and size of the problem. On the other hand, maybe they do know the size and scope of the problem intimately, because they're part of the problem. When times are tough, a job is a job, right?
Perhaps those that can’t delineate between buying an asset and starting a business are perhaps the ones that don’t understand the problem.
We are talking about the Chinese starting flying schools. I have not seen a single person posting here that is supportive of enabling the Chinese to be able to purchase strategic assets like airports, or ports, or telecommunication networks - so stop trying to confuse the issue.
A minor point but to claim that Tamworth is still a military training base is a stretch too considering that BFTS shuts up shop and moves completely to East Sale in a few months.
And the final point - a job is a job when times are tough. That is totally correct - have you ever been unemployed and not knowing where the next pay cheque is coming from? Do you know many (any?) people in some of these rural towns that are being significantly affected by drought? As I’ve stated before - the Chinese starting a business results in significant economic benefit to that town. And yes jobs - because without jobs, and without the people in those towns being employed, the whole fabric of the community slowly dies.
You could probably say something similar to this happened to Virgin itself. It was struggling for cash a few years ago when times were getting tough - and the foreign (one, and then two Chinese investors) came in and supplied equity into the business. As such the airline continues, 10,000 people still have jobs and each of those people themselves spend money, pay tax and contribute to the economy. So yes - it’s about jobs.