Raising sales tax top priority japan

[kazekirifx]

Japans big problem is the shrinking population is simply not enough to cover the huge amount of old people who get nice pensions and free medical care.  Once that huge group dies off though, things will be interesting to see...

That's not happening anytime soon. Their number is still growing and will continue to for a while.

[SamIAm]

Japanese sometimes refer to their own country as a "civil servant paradise". People in the public sector make, on average, more than twice as much as people in the private sector. Although like the debt, this isn't a unique problem, it is a relatively deep one for Japan and is probably another thing in need of reform.

The medical system in Japan basically works, if you ask me. It's not perfect, but people pay insurance based on their salary and no other conditions, and with that insurance, treatment tends to cost about 10% of what it does in the US. It's a model that the US should think about adapting.

And as for the US, I think cutting the defense budget clean in half (where it will still be larger than any other nation's) might be a reasonable compromise and do a lot of good.

For a guy like me, living in Japan is mostly very easy. It's safe, you can get whatever you want, and being a white male here admittedly has a number of perks. Once you learn the language, learn to read social cues, and figure out how to stay on people's good sides, you can get along well enough. The catch is that, in my case at least, I refuse to become Japanese. People always say that you can't do that anyway, but these days, you can go 99% of the way if it works for you. For me, it doesn't. I'll always be an outsider, and deliberately a very distant one. While in one sense the contrast is very stimulating, it's nevertheless a tough way to live. I love my friends, and I still feel like I'm having an adventure, but if times get tight, I'm out of here.

The single biggest thing I struggle with is whether I could be happy getting married and having a family here. It's the most feasible place to do it right now, but it would mean that my own kids would take on a lot of the values that I find unacceptable.  

[RegalSin]

Greece can stay sniffing it's fart up it's own arse, for all I care.

Seriously....Japan has already rose in prices. Also they had a big horror from the earthquake, to recover from. So that is not a big deal. I see things that I want every fricken day, but right now I am focusing on other things.

Japanese are nationalist, and eat the whale meat. So even if I was set foot their, where is my Tenchi house, my Harem, my footclan, or whatever.

All of this was caused by Bush II and his crap war on the Orient. USA spending over threw Israels spending on war efforts, and lives all together.

[SuperDeadite]

Why dont they cut spending instead of raising taxes?

You're right. They should just let that nuke plant melt down and let God sort em out.

The nuke plant did melt down. The government tried to tell everyone that it wasnt that bad. If youre saying that some government programs are worthwhile, I agree. But to say that every yen the government spends is necessary is probably totally unreasonable.

Considering the state of the USA, spending cuts are clearly the stupidest idea ever.

Japans big problem is the shrinking population is simply not enough to cover the huge amount of old people who get nice pensions and free medical care.  Once that huge group dies off though, things will be interesting to see...

Only problem is the medical care isnt really free.

As far as the US, I think we would do very well to slash our military budget and close down all of the bases we have all over the world. I think we have plenty of other areas where massive spending cuts are in order. I dont know much about what Japan's government spends its borrowed money on but with such a massive debt its obvious that the medical care isnt free...

I don't think you understand what I mean.  See the JP system works like this, you pay into the national insurance program you're whole life.  Once you reach a certain age and retire, you no longer pay a dime for medical care.  That money is paid by those who are younger and still working.  The problem is that there are way more old people then those actually paying into the system, hence debt.  The first step is putting some restrictions on the old people.  Japanese are hypochondriacs in general, and the really old ones tend to go to the doctor EVERY day.  EVERY SINGLE DAY.  So the debt goes up and up.

[Necromancer]

As far as the US, I think we would do very well to slash our military budget and close down all of the bases we have all over the world. I think we have plenty of other areas where massive spending cuts are in order.

Another teabagger, eh?  Riddle me this, batman: who will you blame when millions of people consequently find themselves unemployed, collecting tax funded benefits and no longer paying a dime into the tax system?  I know - we can 'fix' that with even more massive spending cuts!

That isn't to say that I'm against spending cuts - they just need to be gradual.

[rag-time4]

As far as the US, I think we would do very well to slash our military budget and close down all of the bases we have all over the world. I think we have plenty of other areas where massive spending cuts are in order.

Another teabagger, eh?  Riddle me this, batman: who will you blame when millions of people consequently find themselves unemployed, collecting tax funded benefits and no longer paying a dime into the tax system?  I know - we can 'fix' that with even more massive spending cuts!

That isn't to say that I'm against spending cuts - they just need to be gradual.

Plenty of blame to go around, but the biggest problem is that we dont make things here in America the way we used to. Too many people are getting college degrees and government loans, and not enough are going into manufacturing and increasing production of high quality goods.

Certain things are much more appropriate to cut gradually or even support, such as social security, because so many have become dependent. But slashing the military budget and US empire abroad is something I would like to see immedeately.

[Nando]

The manufacturing myth doesn't hold when economics come into play. A big reason why Walmart keeps on growing. Anyway, it is not just one issue, it is the current economic model going through it's bust cycle, unfortunately it is a more global affair now and the crash is bigger but takes longer. I've also heard some arguments from the Peak Oil, peak etc, etc, folk and some of their claims seem sound enough to give me the chills. 20yrs down the line we might be living similarly to how 3rd world countries operate nowadays.  That is to say a bigger gap in income inequality and an almost non existent middle class.

[SignOfZeta]

I don't claim to understand the economies of other countries whatsoever, but if you actually look at the math regarding the debt of the US government, the actual numbers, its instantly obvious to anyone that its TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE to pay the debt down with spending cuts alone. Even if you trimmed the government down to nothing but the IRS and kept taxes where they are applying all tax revevue to the debt it would take, what, 6-12 years? And of course even that's impossible because without a government there would be nothing left of the country after about three months.

These are the options. Either the debt is largely written off, or taxes go way way up. This is the reality. My money is on the first option. We'll probably just default, realistically.

[Nando]

Ponzy scheme!

Here's a pretty neat summary of where our current value system came from. 

Been following him for a few years now, a lot of what he writes and the perspective from where he writes it from seem sensible and I find well founded.

http://www.rushkoff.com/life-inc

[Necromancer]

Plenty of blame to go around, but the biggest problem is that we dont make things here in America the way we used to. Too many people are getting college degrees and government loans, and not enough are going into manufacturing and increasing production of high quality goods.

That's somewhat true, yet we consume mostly domestic goods in terms of total dollar value.  Your home and the goods used to build it was local, the majority of cars sold here were built here (though often using foreign parts), food production is almost entirely domestic, and most heavy equipment (boilers, generators, tractors, bulldozers, etc.) is made here.

[Sadler]

Considering the state of the USA, spending cuts are clearly the stupidest idea ever.

lolwut please tell me that's sarcasm.

[SuperDeadite]

Considering the state of the USA, spending cuts are clearly the stupidest idea ever.

lolwut please tell me that's sarcasm.

  Let's see under Clinton we had taxes at proper levels, economy skyrocketed.  Then Bush came in and pretty much made taxes almost nothing for corporations, hence we have the terrible economy we do now.  So instead of you know, properly taxing the highest earners (especially corporations who aren't even people), the GOP is all about spending cuts, meaning medicare, social security, planned parenthood, education, and infrastructure.

You know the military will never be cut, too much money for the Senate there, so more spending cuts would be taking more away from us average normal people.  Meaning we should be pushing for proper tax rates.  I'm assuming you mean "cut the military", but if you tell the current government, "spending cuts please", they will do nothing but hurt the 99%.  You're a fool if you think any useful spending cuts will ever occur in DC.  Therefore, f*ck spending cuts and TAX THE RICH!

[Sadler]

  Let's see under Clinton we had taxes at proper levels, economy skyrocketed.  Then Bush came in and pretty much made taxes almost nothing for corporations, hence we have the terrible economy we do now. 

That seems to be a vast oversimplification of the two presidencies. To be clear, I'm not a Bush fan, and I do like Clinton. Having said that, the economic conditions we have had from Clinton through now seem to be much more closely related to the dot-com and housing bubbles.

So instead of you know, properly taxing the highest earners (especially corporations who aren't even people), the GOP is all about spending cuts, meaning medicare, social security, planned parenthood, education, and infrastructure.

I'm not necessarily against taxing people, I think tax cuts for the wealthy are stupid too. My alarm at your post was due to it saying spending cuts are stupid and higher taxes are the only way. I don't believe that. We absolutely need spending cuts. If you were in debt, would your only solution be to work another job? Or would you perhaps try to stop spending money on things that aren't really necessary? Maybe a combination of the two?

Now, when I say "things that aren't really necessary" what am I referring to? I wouldn't cut education and infrastructure. I'm not sure why planned parenthood needs government funding, but that's probably not the bulk of US spending. Social security? Yep, that's a big one. What's wrong with asking people to save up for their own retirement? What about the billions in foreign aid we give to countries that activiely support those who try to kill Americans? *cough*Pakistan*cough* What about various subsidies? DHS? War on Drugs? Yeah, methinks we could cut a whole lot of spending every year.

You know the military will never be cut, too much money for the Senate there, so more spending cuts would be taking more away from us average normal people.  Meaning we should be pushing for proper tax rates.  I'm assuming you mean "cut the military", but if you tell the current government, "spending cuts please", they will do nothing but hurt the 99%.  You're a fool if you think any useful spending cuts will ever occur in DC.  Therefore, f*ck spending cuts and TAX THE RICH!

Well, I suppose if your point is "spending cuts are stupid because congress will never agree on anything" then I can't really dispute it. In a perfect world, filled with politicians that actually gave a shit about their country this wouldn't be a problem. We could easily balance taxes and spending and work our way out of this mess.

Instead we live in a world where either a) people don't give a shit or b) people only care about the letter next to someone's name and not about what that person does. Political parties are f*cking stupid. /rant

[RegalSin]

the really old ones tend to go to the doctor EVERY day.  EVERY SINGLE DAY.  So the debt goes up and up.

Well that is actually a good idea. The older generation are more real then the newer generation. You have to understand that Neo-Nippon ( post-Lost Era Japan ) is as fake as a nation can get. They never asked to trade with anybody, or get into anybodies business. However the western world never saw them as a Sweeden, but another Philipines, to infest.

Also the older generation has to stay alive for the younger ones. If I am correct, they have dept plans, that are still active, that ranges into grand children. So many land masses are available for development, because the owners never decided to part with, it. When things get tuff, lets give a piece of land to Toys R, Us or some film studio or even a forienger. We still have a couple 10,000 acres.

[kazekirifx]

Japanese sometimes refer to their own country as a "civil servant paradise". People in the public sector make, on average, more than twice as much as people in the private sector. Although like the debt, this isn't a unique problem, it is a relatively deep one for Japan and is probably another thing in need of reform.

The medical system in Japan basically works, if you ask me. It's not perfect, but people pay insurance based on their salary and no other conditions, and with that insurance, treatment tends to cost about 10% of what it does in the US. It's a model that the US should think about adapting.

And as for the US, I think cutting the defense budget clean in half (where it will still be larger than any other nation's) might be a reasonable compromise and do a lot of good.

For a guy like me, living in Japan is mostly very easy. It's safe, you can get whatever you want, and being a white male here admittedly has a number of perks. Once you learn the language, learn to read social cues, and figure out how to stay on people's good sides, you can get along well enough. The catch is that, in my case at least, I refuse to become Japanese. People always say that you can't do that anyway, but these days, you can go 99% of the way if it works for you. For me, it doesn't. I'll always be an outsider, and deliberately a very distant one. While in one sense the contrast is very stimulating, it's nevertheless a tough way to live. I love my friends, and I still feel like I'm having an adventure, but if times get tight, I'm out of here.

The single biggest thing I struggle with is whether I could be happy getting married and having a family here. It's the most feasible place to do it right now, but it would mean that my own kids would take on a lot of the values that I find unacceptable. 

Yeah. What he said. I agree almost 100% with all of that.
I have my fears about Japan's economic future, but living here it at least feels like the conditions as stated above will continue for a while. Hopefully for at least another decade or two.
I agree that Japan is also the most feasible place to raise a family for me right now too. In Japan, the social contract between men and women is still "on" for the most part. In the West, the deal is completely off, and that scares the hell out of me.