tts/scripts/podcast_script.txt

Sonia (Host): Okay, let's pivot to the money. 2008 changed everything. But you have a very unique take on *why* it happened. You argue that the root cause wasn't just greed, but the **Tax Code**. You said American homeowners are essentially 'tenants of the State' because of property tax, while Chinese buyers treat houses like 'concrete safes'. That's a bold claim. Why did this tax difference shield China from a subprime crisis back then? And... I have to ask about the gossip. You mentioned **Jacky Cheung**—the 'God of Songs' in Asia—lost a fortune in this mess. How does a pop legend, a Chinese math genius named David Li, and the launch of China's **ChiNext** (startup board) all fit into the same story?

Author: It sounds like a movie script, doesn't it? But it's all connected. First, the **Tax**. In the US, holding a property costs you 1-3% every year. If you buy 100 houses and keep them empty, the taxman will bankrupt you. So, Wall Street *had* to invent a way to turn these 'costly assets' into 'cash flow'—that's why they created MBS and CDOs. They had to securitize it to sell it. In China? No holding tax. You buy it, you lock it up, you sleep on it. No need for complex derivatives. That simplicity saved China back then. But Wall Street needed a magic trick to sell those risky loans to the world. Enter **David Li** and his **Gaussian Copula**. This genius formula basically 'deleted' the correlation between defaults. It told investors: 'Don't worry, if John defaults, Mary won't.' It turned a basket of rotten apples into AAA gold. That's how **Jacky Cheung** got trapped. He didn't buy junk; he bought 'Lehman Minibonds' that were rated AAA because of this formula. He lost something like 40 million HKD! He wasn't greedy; he was blinded by bad math wrapped in a triple-A suit. And here is the twist. While Jacky was crying over his losses and Wall Street was melting down, Beijing looked at the rubble and realized: 'The old way—making shirts and toys—is dead. We need our own Google, our own Apple.' So, right in the middle of the financial tsunami, in 2009, China launched **ChiNext** (the GEM board). It seemed crazy at time, but it was a desperate pivot—from being the **World's Factory** to becoming a **Tech Powerhouse**. That crisis forced China to change lanes.
	Sonia (Host): Okay, let's pivot to the money. 2008 changed everything. But you have a very unique take on why it happened. You argue that the root cause wasn't just greed, but the Tax Code. You said American homeowners are essentially 'tenants of the State' because of property tax, while Chinese buyers treat houses like 'concrete safes'. That's a bold claim. Why did this tax difference shield China from a subprime crisis back then? And... I have to ask about the gossip. You mentioned Jacky Cheung—the 'God of Songs' in Asia—lost a fortune in this mess. How does a pop legend, a Chinese math genius named David Li, and the launch of China's ChiNext (startup board) all fit into the same story?

	Author: It sounds like a movie script, doesn't it? But it's all connected. First, the Tax. In the US, holding a property costs you 1-3% every year. If you buy 100 houses and keep them empty, the taxman will bankrupt you. So, Wall Street had to invent a way to turn these 'costly assets' into 'cash flow'—that's why they created MBS and CDOs. They had to securitize it to sell it. In China? No holding tax. You buy it, you lock it up, you sleep on it. No need for complex derivatives. That simplicity saved China back then. But Wall Street needed a magic trick to sell those risky loans to the world. Enter David Li and his Gaussian Copula. This genius formula basically 'deleted' the correlation between defaults. It told investors: 'Don't worry, if John defaults, Mary won't.' It turned a basket of rotten apples into AAA gold. That's how Jacky Cheung got trapped. He didn't buy junk; he bought 'Lehman Minibonds' that were rated AAA because of this formula. He lost something like 40 million HKD! He wasn't greedy; he was blinded by bad math wrapped in a triple-A suit. And here is the twist. While Jacky was crying over his losses and Wall Street was melting down, Beijing looked at the rubble and realized: 'The old way—making shirts and toys—is dead. We need our own Google, our own Apple.' So, right in the middle of the financial tsunami, in 2009, China launched ChiNext (the GEM board). It seemed crazy at time, but it was a desperate pivot—from being the World's Factory to becoming a Tech Powerhouse. That crisis forced China to change lanes.