China’s ‘Cash-for-Clunkers’ Underlines Need for Structural Reform

China’s latest effort to boost consumer spending—a subsidy program dubbed "Cash-for-Clunkers"—is giving households incentives to trade in old gadgets, cars, and appliances for new ones. While it’s working (spending is finally ticking up), the bigger takeaway is that this kind of short-term fix can’t paper over deeper economic cracks. The real challenge? Structural reforms to sustain growth without constant government lifelines.