tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post3522769592825984830..comments2023-10-09T00:45:55.603+09:00Comments on Shisaku: The Revolutionary Council OverreachesMTChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-15699314880006207532012-02-16T01:19:39.191+09:002012-02-16T01:19:39.191+09:00What happened to the debate about postal savings? ...What happened to the debate about postal savings? Most of us keep some stash away there. They even offer an option for a small contribution to "environmental or social causes" from your interest.Martin J Fridhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14537556834410284837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-81834326164026404232012-02-15T11:14:03.758+09:002012-02-15T11:14:03.758+09:00Well it does sound like that.
By the way, I read ...Well it does sound like that.<br /><br />By the way, I read your blog for perspective into Japanese politics, but I don't know any others. Would you recommend any other blogs or news sources in English? Thank you.Ryan Cecilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05295009751922232591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-28258972993389223922012-02-15T11:04:21.666+09:002012-02-15T11:04:21.666+09:00It also included introduction of a tax on wealth. ...It also included introduction of a tax on wealth. From some preliminary reactions I suspect that in combination with the idea of removing pension payments for the wealthiest will be quite a turn-off for some of the electorate.<br /><br />The pension system does not really cover all your needs as a pensioner; there is a long, deep tradition of saving up money for your own retirement as well and a lot of people have a lot of savings as a result. <br /><br />With "the wealthiest" being a very fuzzy concept (a "wealthy" amount of money is not all that much if you plan to live off it for thirty years or more), quite a few people will start to worry that they will see both their pension system money gone as well as face a tax on the extra money they've been stashing away for that retirement.Jan Morenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06834641501438709866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-32133889767122803842012-02-15T09:55:56.159+09:002012-02-15T09:55:56.159+09:00Ryan Cecil -
If one is proposing a revolutionary...Ryan Cecil - <br /><br />If one is proposing a revolutionary program, one has to explain how the various parts of the program work together. Otherwise it just sounds like a grab bag of the brain storms of the disgruntled.MTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-4973158404532133702012-02-15T09:36:48.086+09:002012-02-15T09:36:48.086+09:00Gotta say, there are some great proposals in there...Gotta say, there are some great proposals in there, right? Direct elections would help cure (of course not 100%) the total political apathy in many Japanese, especially young people. As a conservative American (who admits he doesn't know everything about Japan), the abolition of the national grants to local areas sounds like a good way to reduce natl. taxes and give more freedom and flexibility to people to govern their local area. Rich people don't need pensions, duh.<br /><br />As for the abolition of prefectures and the House of Councillors, that's a bit much... too bad such impossible things are mixed in with (what seem to me to be) good ideas.<br /><br />Am I missing the point? Am I wrong to think these include good ideas? Is it just a matter of being irrelevant since it won't pass?Ryan Cecilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05295009751922232591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-8004198374475226082012-02-15T09:35:50.744+09:002012-02-15T09:35:50.744+09:00You could expect the established power brokers wou...You could expect the established power brokers would question the feasibility of implementing policies that would undermine their power or the power of their patrons. The strategy from Hashimoto's point of view would be start high and then negotiate your opponents to the middle. However policies such as the HoC abolition and direct election of the PM don't seem to address anything in particular and actually just raise constitutional issues unnecessarily at a time when there are plenty of other important issues surrounding the political system to be addressed. In which case it becomes much easier for his opponents to criticize his plans without it seeming like they are acting in their own self-interest.sigma1http://www.sigma1.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com