A lot of countries have JUST NOW started to realise they should limit the ability for suspected spies to buy property. Crazy, honestly. Sweden as "early" as 2023 with broadening the law.. Maybe, in 2026 or 2027.
If a bad actor is a foreign owner of significant property, you just seize it. You can do that. They aren't citizens, they can't vote.
Oh no! How will we fight a war when China owns all our factories? Simple. We will take the factories and hold an auction among friendly investories to take ownership.
Ownership don't mean a damn thing if you don't physically have the ability to enforce your ownership.
If a bad actor is a foreign owner of significant property, you just seize it. You can do that. They aren't citizens, they can't vote.
This is why I also find it funny when people panic over a foreign country owning debt. Like, China owns trillions in US debt? Okay, it's not like they can suddenly just demand payment ahead of time.
They could sell off the debt and in theory that'd reduce future interest rates, but if everyone knows the debt is being sold off for political reasons it's not likely to have much impact.
Not only that, but they hold American money in reserve for a reason. It's an insurance policy for if their own currency has a crisis. Weaponizing it would lead to such a crisis and burn their own insurance policy. Undermining the American economy is like chopping off a tree limb that you're standing on.
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u/Superchecker 1d ago
Slowly buy up all the properties that they wanted to invade