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Fixing Our Economy and Country

Published 01/16/07 Tom Rafter - Print Article
E-mail - editor@economyincisis.org

America’s economic system is no longer functioning. The continued loss of our industrial base coupled with the subprime crisis, decline in the housing market, tightening credit and rising deficits have all devastated the economy.

Just how do we get out of this mess? Copying Japan, one of the world’s most successful economies, may be the answer.

Decades ago, U.S. industrial supremacy seemed unstoppable due to the fact that competitor nation’s economies were still reeling from the bombs dropped during World War II.

From the charred ruins of factories and cities, nations rebuilt and the global economy changed. In turn, America with high quality control standards, good worker benefits and strict adherence to free trade doctrines, was left seeing its debts skyrocket and good paying jobs outsourced to third world slave-wage countries.

But there is an answer to revitalizing manufacturing, correcting our gluttonous balance of trade deficit and reducing our dependence on imports- copy Japan’s economic model.

Japan rebuilt after WWII and focused on industrial and technological development. With a clear vision, and a proactive government supporting capital and knowledge intensive industries, Japan has risen to the point where they have become an economic super power. Economist Eamonn Fingleton elaborates…..


For a decade now, the western consensus has been that Japan is an economic basket case. But this is a dramatic misreading of a perennially secretive society. Indeed, it may come to be seen as one of the most significant misreadings in economic history.

The geopolitical implications of this misunderstanding go far beyond Japan or east Asia. The myth of Japan's "collapse" has encouraged the west to imagine that the east Asian economic model (largely an extension of the Japanese model) is inherently flawed. Beyond a certain point, the argument runs, a nation must embrace the Anglo-American free-market model or flounder.

…

On the contrary, the wider Japanese economy has quietly thrived-so much so that, in many of the ways that matter to Japanese policy-makers, Japan has actually now surpassed the US to become the world's leading economy. In particular, measured in terms of its ability to project economic power abroad, it is Japan, not the US, that is the world's leading superpower.”

Read the rest of the article here.


Copying Japans industrial and technological intensive model will revitalize our industrial base and turn our outsource plagued, import-driven, debt-ridden economy around.

An America that has no industry is an America doomed to escalating debts and diminishing standards of living for its citizens. It’s time we look to the model of our neighbors from the east for solutions to our current economic plight.

Click here to contact your Representative in Congress.

Unless the above article is already copyrighted, this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License, EIC grants permission to use this article in whole or in part provided attribution is given, preferably in the form of a link back to EconomyInCrisis.org.

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Article Comments From Readers

guest says "Plug. Plug. Plug." on 01/20/08
Apart from this very informative, factual and great website, I'd like to plug a couple of other websites that, sometimes, get info from this one (copy links):

James Howard Kunstler
(weekly Monday entries)

http://jameshowardkunstler.typepad.com/

Elaine Meinel
(daily entries)

http://elainemeinelsupkis.typepad.com/culture_of_life_news/

Survival Acres
(entries at random)

http://survivalacres.com/wordpress/?cat=1

guest says "The U.S. economy is worth what?!" on 01/20/08
I couldn't stop laughing upon reading this; "The whole U.S. Economy is about l4.5 Trillion dollars."

Not sure as to where you get that figure (3 comments down). Acccording to that, the billions in write-downs are just a blip, I take it?

Your number of 14.5 trillion is ludicrous. If anything, the number of 1.45 trillion is more recongnizable as that is the amount of U.S. debt that China itself holds. There are other countries that holds billions more. Most of it Asian. The U.S., by any standards, is broke!

I'd really like to know where your number of 14.5 trillion comes from and the factual evidence to back that up or are you just one of those that feels comfortable shrouded in ignorance and that the U.S. is NOT in trouble?

We are currently watching the fall of Rome. Deny all you wish. It won't make it go away.

guest says "Illegal immigrants - my eye!" on 01/20/08
It's funny how the heart of all this mess is missed by most, which is Wall Street and the Federal Government, yrt the blame is pitted against; "illegal aliens stealing America's jobs". The 'they took r jobs' syndrome is not going to wash. Those 'jobs' that you speak of are generally NEVER wanted by Americans as they are low pay, long hours, no benefits and it's menial and physical labor, mostly. So stuff a sock in that one already. Both you and Lou Dobbs of CNN. It's already becoming a country of waitresses and bartenders as it is in the jobs sector - service oriented.

The real issue is the fact that there is more foreign control/ownership of companies and the regulations to stop it, if any, are not enforced; Wall Street and the banks are not operating anything anymore except what could be deemed a 'casino'. Most of what they've done is unregulated and illegal.

Another avenue to persue is ripping up NAFTA. Due to that, so-called 'merican companies' head offices have located everything from the manufacture of electronics to salad spinners to foreign investors and ownership.

So before you get mad and are settled on listening to the lamestream media about 'illegal immigrants', do some digging and research. You'd be amazed that the only one's screwing you out of 'house and home' are your own citizens, corporations and federal government.

Overseas Investors Buy U.S. Holdings at a Record Rate

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/business/20invest.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

This North Dakota town and the State don't have 75, 000. But Iceland does.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/Iceland_donates_to_North_Dakota_tow_01192008.html

guest says "Subprime is only the tip of the iceberg" on 01/20/08
If the subprime mortage mess realuted in only $200 billion AND there were no other problems with the US economy, we could survive and recover.

However, the sheer proliferation and scale of America's economic woes are sadly simply too great to appropriately repair at this point.

What problems?
*A greatly devalued dollar hurts the economy and especially the wages of workers who can buy less and less on the same dollar.

*An unaddressed problem of mass invasion from illegal aliens stealing America's jobs.
*Some of America's best high tech jobs are being sold overseas to the lowest bidder as more Americans lose their jobs and have to resort to dead end jobs.

*The theft of trillions of dollars in weapons and satellite technology by the Chinese will give them a strong military edge over our sovereignty in the future.
*Staggering borrowing to prop up our economy each day from our friends in Europe and our temporary friends in China.
*Out of control healthcare and college tuitions bankrupting families without any reasonable chance of getting solved in the next administration.
*America as a nation has been transformed from a beacon of freedom and opportunity to a belligerent and backwards torture nation which chooses war and violence as policy instruments over diplomacy as it leads the worls in environmental destruction.

So when you hear talk about America's rosy future, always ask how their assessment was calculated and whether it includes any of the liabilities mentioned above.
Since no one has ever adequately proposed solutions to these problems that could be implemented, there is no reason to imagine that they will magically disappear and be resolved.

The sad truth is that the future of America is being sown today, and we should fear for the future of those who will be our descendents. Their scorn for today's mismanagement decisions will be well deserved.

Whether we like it or not, they will be harvesting the fruits of our policies today. They stand to inherit poverty, debt, sorrow, and regret for the greatly diminished opportunities because of the short term gains politicians chose today to extend their tenure in office at any cost.

guest says "FixingOurEconomyandCountry" on 01/19/08
The sub-prime housing crisis amounts to $200 billion if all the sub-prime mortgages go into default. The whole U.S. Economy is about l4.5 Trillion dollars. 200 billion/l4trillion comes to around l.4%. Of course, all the sub-prime mortgages are not going into default. Where do you get a sky is falling economic forecast out of that?

guest says "Reagan put America on the path to destruction" on 01/18/08
Let's remember the history of Ronald Reagan who began the Conservative revolution.Reagan's unstated goal was to destroy American Democracy through weaking workers, empowering the wealthy and the corporations and privitizing public sectors of our economy.

Many readers know already that Ronald Reagan presided over the most corrupt administration up until that time and employed the likes of Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld and George H.W. Bush in his adminstration.
*Reagan's legacy began with the policy of destroying and undermining American unions and crippling a fair wage through:
firing the air traffic controllers and granting amnesty to the illegal aliens stealing American jobs.

Ronald Reagan also helped empower and embolden the terorists by failing to address the attack against our Marines in Beirut after they were bombed in 1983.Instead he pulled the Marines out and gave the terrorists a big win against America. This would later lead to the WTC bombing and other attacks against Americans because he showed coardice in the face of adversity.

Ronald Reagan also
helped arm and supply Saddam Hussein and the Iraq war machine providing them with weapons and poison gas. Thanks Ronny!

Ronald Reagan also helped destroy the USSR which threw millions of Russians into desparate poverty and allowed loose nukes and technology to be sold on the black market to Pakistan, Libya, N. Korea and perhaps other nations.

Reagan took the solar panels off the White House, quashed CAFE standards, and instead of solving the nation's energy crisis. opted for cheap dirty oil and gloabla warming. America left the Reagan error much more addicted to oil.

Reagan's facile "Supply side" economic policy gave sweetheart deals on tax breaks for the wealthy and the corporations, and plunged America into billions of dollars of debt that weakened our dollar and ability to recover from disaster.

The frutition of Reagan's policies are coming to bear on American and their economy today with the administration of W. Bush who has taken up the reins of Reagan and wrecked the country even more.

Is Reagan wholly responsible for this mess we are in? No, but the legions of America hating criminal Republicans who've contributed to our downfall must be held to account for their sin.

*Dick Cheney
*Don Runsfeld
*Ollie North-the lier
*Leona Helmsley-fortunately deceased
*Michael Miken
*The Bush crime family
*Newt (serial adulterer) Gingrinch
*Mark Foley
*Rush (druggie)Limbaugh
*Pastor Ted Haggard
*Sweaty Sinner Swaggert
*ConnedLier Rice
*Jack Abramoff
*Richard Grasso
*William McGuire
*Ken Lay
*ExxonMobil
*WalMart and many more.

Will America survive the rank incompetence, corruption and self-righteous arrogance of the Conservative movement in America?
Yes, if Good can prevail against entrenched evil.

guest says "Reagan ?" on 01/17/08
Reagan started the dismantling of our middle class . He and the subsequent " trickle down " crowd are responsible for this mess .

guest says "2008 is not the same environment as the 1980's" on 01/16/08
The USA is in a rapid downfall that the status quo is simply ignoring. The albatross will not disappear by simple actions or lack thereof. We need to overhaul the entire political and economic American system. The problem lies in the elite's indifference and the ruling class's vulgar disregard for the well being of whatever is left of the middle class. You can't have a functioning economy and a prosperous nation without the opportunity to advance socially and economically. America has not only ignored it's own people it has destroyed its present and the future hope of progress for generations. There is little to no prospects for advancement available to native born Americans. If you disagree, you clearly are over 50 years old and a part of the problem.

guest says "U.S. must address global labor arbitrage." on 01/16/08

The above commentator missed the point of the article. The point isn't that the government should pick and choose certain companies to support. Rather, the point is that the U.S. should protect itself against the force of global labor arbitrage by enacting tariffs, other trade barriers, ending the replacement of Americans by foreigners on work visas, and ending mass immigration (both legal and illegal)--just like Japan.

Since these types of protectionist policies are anathema to Americans, I predict that the United States will transform into an overpopulated, impoverished third world country. (We already have the world's third largest population, by far, and a third world rate of population explosion.)

guest says "Fixing Our Economy and Country" on 01/16/08
Sorry but I can't agree. What you are hinting at is call Industrial Policy. It reminds me of the campaign of Walter Mondale is l984. Then Japan was supposed to be an economic superpower. Its Ministry of International Trade and Industry was supposed to know exactly how to pick winners. It didn't work then and it won't work now. Back in the l980's economists such as Lester Thurow and Robert Reich were predicting disaster unless we also followed industrial policies like Japan. Go back and read their predictions of disaster for America unless their advice were heeded. Then in the l990's Japan's economy sort of collapsed. Fortunately because of Ronald Reagan such advisors as John KennethGalbraith and the guy at Lazard Freres were ignored. What makes you think that you could pick winners better than MITI?