Monday, January 09, 2012

Japan last decades - a surprise!

Analysts have written about Japan's lost decades, after the collapse of the property and stock market bubbles in the early 1990s. The economy was supposed to be in the doldrums.

But some analysts are starting to realize that the so-called lost decades might have been a wrong description. Japan has been doing quite well, economically and socially, during these "lost decades". This is explained in the article here. http://www.todayonline.com/Commentary/EDC120109-0000010/The-myth-of-Japans-failure

This is a good lesson not only for America and Europe, but for Singapore as well. It is possible to have the bursting of the bubbles, and for the underlying economy to do well. The benefit of the burst asset bubbles is that the country will focus on the productive sectors of the economy, and that the top earners are not skimming the economic system to the detriment of the ordinary people in the street. The cost of living can be kept affordable.

It is indeed an important lesson for Singapore - as we are truly suffering from the high cost of living and the high business cost.

The Government has taken an important first step to reduce the pay of the ministers. They should take a similar step to reduce the astronomical pay of the chief executives and top professionals (i.e. lawyers, doctors and accountants). We need a higher tax rate for super millionaires.


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