Maybe money should be spent on railroads or waterways instead? Or on improving the electrical grid, or building more wind farms or solar thermal power stations? However, as an immediate stop-gap measure, which we're told could be deployed within the year this is probably the best that the government could do.
However, as an immediate stop-gap measure, which we're told could be deployed within the year this is probably the best that the government could do.
This explains the oceans of concrete and cement which have been spilled all over Japan over the last few decades.
But is it so certain that building roads is the only one of the projects you listed that could be engaged within the year? I suppose railroads and waterways would be more complex and would require a longer planning period before large numbers of workers could be employed. Is that also the case for deploying wind farms, solar thermal power stations, or some other socially beneficial projects? A language is a dialect with an army and navy.
Frank Schnittger:
OK so Migeru advocates a return to Keynesianism; Crazy Horse a move out of military to productive industrial expenditure; and Jerome a move away from "financial services" towards investment in more productive and infrastructural sectors of the economy - with a particular emphasis on renewable energy. ... In other words I don't think what you guys advocate is all that radical - and any "western economy" can and will adopt those strategies if military adventures fail, financial services crash, energy prices rise and Unions re sufficiently organised and militant about wage rates and social services. But what I think is lacking is an alternative intellectual paradigm which makes those changes the obvious "common sense" policies visible to all - particularly to the voters. ... I remain to be convinced that the "anglo disease" analysis is anything more than a fairly obvious rearranging of the deck chairs that any more competent management would do in any case. It doesn't provide an ideology capable of motivating a mass movement to change the fundamental realities of power - in Europe, the US or the global world order. It's simply a more rational form of capitalism.
...
In other words I don't think what you guys advocate is all that radical - and any "western economy" can and will adopt those strategies if military adventures fail, financial services crash, energy prices rise and Unions re sufficiently organised and militant about wage rates and social services. But what I think is lacking is an alternative intellectual paradigm which makes those changes the obvious "common sense" policies visible to all - particularly to the voters.
I remain to be convinced that the "anglo disease" analysis is anything more than a fairly obvious rearranging of the deck chairs that any more competent management would do in any case. It doesn't provide an ideology capable of motivating a mass movement to change the fundamental realities of power - in Europe, the US or the global world order. It's simply a more rational form of capitalism.
