tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5320499219200491287.post8954995512319319410..comments2023-10-09T15:36:21.464-04:00Comments on Fairer Globalization: Mieko Nakabayashi: Japan Must Stop Wasting MoneyPolicy Innovationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579852959458521021noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5320499219200491287.post-49749675935499046682009-08-31T16:55:25.552-04:002009-08-31T16:55:25.552-04:00She won!She won!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5320499219200491287.post-74145052954170767692009-08-21T23:58:33.673-04:002009-08-21T23:58:33.673-04:00Anonymous, you are correct, and the DPJ's new ...Anonymous, you are correct, and the DPJ's new spending initiatives are what the LDP and the Japanese public are criticizing. Instead of fiscal conservative, maybe I should have said fiscal "hawk." In any case, Mieko's focus will be budget. But these are all loaded terms when it comes to politics. A "fiscal conservative politician" is like a "vegetarian tiger;" it kind of goes against their very nature. Bush was supposed to be a fiscal hawk and destroyed Clinton's budget surplus. Again the DPJ seems to be taking a page from Obama in that it is proposing new initiatives, using assumed resources from a budget "review."Devin Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08510505316223549589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5320499219200491287.post-51261978545091171822009-08-19T11:53:07.988-04:002009-08-19T11:53:07.988-04:00Unfortunately, the DPJ's platform is anything ...Unfortunately, the DPJ's platform is anything but fiscally conservative. The party proposes a number of new spending initiatives and cuts in revenues without saying exactly how they will pay for them. Of course this is no worse than the incumbent LDP, which has run up the highest debt in the developed world. It's just that neither party has come to grips with the fundamental problem, which is: how can it boost its growth rate enough to enabe a shrinking work force to support an aging population? While Koizumi wasn't perfect, at least he realized that growth was the central issue. I haven't heard any convincing plans for how the DPJ intends to boost growth. Rather, its focus is on increased regulaton and income redistribution towards the socially weak, neither of which will do anything to tackle the country's basic problem (nor solve their fiscal dilemma). That's not to say that the LDP would do any better, of course. That's why I hope the DPJ wins so that at least the country gets a debate on policy going.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com