Will they hear you out there...

...out there beyond these walls of steel and glass?

Caption:
"How far will it reach, this image of a policy that cares about the countryside?"

On the megaphone:
"The furusato nōzei" ("the old hometown local tax")

Courtesy: Mainichi Shimbun
May 22, 2007

(Click on image to enlarge)

As a furious Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintarō looks on, Prime Minister Abe Shinzō, standing atop the Diet Building, calls out between the twin towers of Tokyo's City Hall to the countryside beyond.

In case you missed the furusato nōzei promise, the LDP is proposing to modify the local tax laws. Individuals now living in the cities who have their roots in the countryside would be given the opportunity to direct a portion of their local taxes to their birthplaces.

Does this make any sense in terms of providing services to the places where people actually live? Of course not! This sends local tax revenues to the places where people aren't!

Fabulous!

Top that one for pandering, Democratic Party of Japan . If you can.

Oh, by the way, did I mention this was only a promise? That the tax reform bills are not to be submitted until September, at the earliest? But you can trust Abe Shinzō, can't you? George W. Bush does--and he is an excellent judge of character.

Vote early; bring along your friends!