After Thoughts on Tokyo Being Awarded the 2020 Olympics - Will Tokyo 2020 Lose Money?... What Do You Think?

In yesterday's post entitled, Tokyo Gets the 2020 Olympics... Unfortunately... I wrote about how I was unhappy about the Olympics coming to Tokyo as I have good reason to believe that the Japanese government will spend taxpayer monies on construction projects for the Olympics and, after it is all over, the average Japanese tax payer will be saddled with billions of dollars of debts. 

Guys like Al Hitler or North Korea's Dim Son like the Olympics, they get a chance to show their public how great they are! Read about the wisdom on India concerning the Olympics here.

I think historical precedent of the Olympics themselves and the track record of the Japanese government with debt at 245% of GDP are pretty strong evidence to support my fears....

I wrote in that post:

"Oh, but the Olympics will be good for the economy!" Oh really? Tell another country that is deeply into corruption and kickbacks, Greece, about that one. This from the Daily Beast:

"Indeed, the $12 billion cost of hosting the Games contributed to the Greek economic collapse and left an abandoned Olympic Park, which has been overrun by weeds and graffiti artists."   

Yeah, but that's Greece. Japan is different, right? 

Nope. Japan should have learned her lesson a short 16 years ago. Please refer to Yahoo: Olympic Cities Booms and Busts?

Nagano, Japan (Winter 1998) Boom or Bust? Bust 

The full cost of the Nagano Winter Olympics will never be known as the documents accounting for money spent on the Olympic bid were burnt on the orders of the Olympic Committee vice-secretary general, Sumikazu Yamaguchi. (Emphasis mine) Yet it is clear that it went vastly over budget, with new infrastructure to make the Games work in this small Japanese city costing up to A$9.4 billion. As a result, Nagano fell into recession, with the debt on Olympic projects roughly A$28,000 per family and growing. It is estimated that these debts will take until 2015 to pay off. 

The Olympic venues alone cost A$20.6 million per year in upkeep, and their rental income brings only one-tenth of that amount. Although Nagano is working hard to stop the Olympic venues turning into rotting white elephants, the cost of their upkeep is not easy for the city's finances. Today it still costs A$2.3 million a year alone to maintain the M-Wave, where local school children take skating lessons on a high-speed 400-metre rink in winter. The installation of a high-speed bullet train during the Olympics also posed problems for the local hotel industry as more skiers came on day trips rather than spending the night and locals are more inclined to go on shopping days to larger cities. 

It is estimated that the last Olympics in Japan in Nagano in 1998 lost $10 billion USD. Read the rest of Tokyo Gets the 2020 Olympics... Unfortunately... here. 

After I wrote that article, I received calls and emails from people who argued with me and others who were totally supportive. So I decided to do even more research on the subject asking myself the question; "Is it really possible to make a profit on the Olympics?"

Well, before I give you my useless two cents, here's some interesting information I found. Did you know that only two Summer Olympic games were profitable since 1932? Yep. Two. They were Los Angeles in 1984 and Atlanta in 1996.

How did they do it? Well, I want you to keep in mind that both of these Olympics happened in the USA. These events happening in the USA is critical information and the reason for that will become more apparent later... 

But, for now, let's look at the first one; Los Angeles 1984:

From Wikipedia:

"Where ambitious construction for the 1976 games in Montreal and 1980 games in Moscow had saddled organizers with expenses greatly in excess of revenues, Los Angeles strictly controlled expenses by using existing facilities except a swim stadium and a velodrome that were paid for by corporate sponsors…. The 1984 Summer Olympics are often considered the most financially successful modern Olympics."

Also from All About History:

"...the 1984 Olympic Games saw, for the first time ever, corporate sponsors for the Games. In this first year, the Games had 43 companies who were licensed to sell "official" Olympic products. Allowing corporate sponsors caused the 1984 Olympic Games to be the first Games to turn a profit ($225 million) since 1932."

OK. Let's check that. The 1984 Olympic Games were profitable because of two things:

1) Use of existing facilities

2) Corporate sponsors

Now, let's look at the only other profitable Summer Olympics since 1932 (I don't really want to go into Winter Olympics because, actually, comparing, for example, Nagano 1998 with a Summer Olympics Game is unfair); the Winter Olympics are an extremely risky business as they are not nearly as popular with audiences as the Summer Games are. But let me use one example (again an Olympics in the USA):

From Yahoo:

"The Salt Lake City Winter Olympics was one of the most expensive of all time, coming close to the cost of hosting the summer Games, at A$1.8 billion (including A$470 million for security). However Organizers claimed a A$94 million profit as a result of lucrative television deals."

OK. Now we can see the third factor that builds a profitable Olympics: 

3) Television deals and the advertising that goes along with them.

So it is possible to make money from the Olympics. 

But, looking at this from a broadcaster in Japan perspective, I can now tell why, after researching these and dozens of other articles, I am even more convinced that the Tokyo 2020 games will lose money and become a massive tax burden on the Japanese economy. 

First let's compare apples to apples: Let's examine why the 1984 Olympic Games were profitable. They were profitable because of two things. First, as stated above, 1) Use of existing facilities

Well, Japan has already announced that they aren't going to do that. Please refer to: Tokyo’s winning 2020 Olympics bid will only worsen Japan’s debt headache:

"...The cost of Tokyo’s bid fell between $5 billion and $6 billion. That includes the construction of 11 new sporting venues and 10 temporary ones, at a cost of $3 billion. The Olympic village will cost another $1 billion, according to the IOC.

The Tokyo government projects that the Games will generate $30 billion in economic benefits for Japan—and that, it said, is a conservative estimate since it calculates only direct spending on the Olympics. One of the notions is that it will boost domestic consumption, helping wrest the country from a couple decades of debilitating deflation. 

So Tokyo’s victory basically is license for the Japanese government to spend like crazy on infrastructure. You can see why Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, put himself on the line to win the bid. An Olympics building bonanza is basically the second pillar of Abenomics—fiscal stimulus (the first is monetary policy; the third is structural reform)—on steroids...."

So, when speaking of out of control government spending, well, who can do that like the Japanese? Especially the current government. This does not bode well.

Now, let's look at the second factor of the Los Angeles Olympics that helped profitability:

2) Corporate sponsors

This is a mixed bag here. On the one hand, I can't really see Japan having too much trouble with Corporate sponsorships... Excepting two tiny little problems: Japan's economy is already a wreck and the on-going problems with Fukushima (bad advertising)...

Now that brings me to the final point that convinces me beyond the shadow of doubt that the Tokyo Olympics will lose money: 

3) Television deals and the advertising that goes along with them.

I now speak from experience and it is so obvious that I wonder why no one can see this... The biggest problem with Japan getting major TV contracts from the USA and the west? The same as it was during the Nagano Olympics and the 2002 World Cup (which lost Japan a few 10s of millions too).

CNN writes in "Is There a World Cup Economic Bounce?":

"The games in Japan -- which co-hosted with neighboring South Korea in 2002 -- continue to be an economic drag on the local communities. Why? Maintenance of the stadiums built for the games costs more than the revenues they bring in. 

Eight of the 10 stadiums built or renovated in Japan for the 2002 World Cup lose between $2 million and $6 million a year, the balance of which is picked up by Japanese taxpayers. "No strategy, no success," said Ichiro Hirose, a member of the 2002 World Cup Bidding Committee in Japan. "They did not have a strategy" for use of the stadiums after the games, he said."

CNN also adds that pesky little "existing facilities" point:

"The 1994 games in the U.S. generated a $60 million surplus from ticket sales, sponsorships and licensing agreements, said Alan Rothenberg, chairman and CEO of the 1994 World Cup. Since the tournament used existing stadiums, there wasn't a significant infrastructure legacy from it..."

But I digress. 

Here's a very simple reason why Television contracts will be sorely lacking for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and that will impact corporate sponsorships, and there's not a thing Tokyo can do about it; the Internet and Time Zones.

That's right. Think about it, if you are some person who loves sports but live in massive TV markets like New York or Los Angeles, are you interested in waking up at 3 or 4 am to watch a live sports event from Japan?

I doubt that the average American will do so. And since the average person won't, then I suspect that major US (and European) stations might balk at paying high prices for rights to broadcast live when the audiences are all sleeping? And there's little reason to buy rebroadcast rights as the Internet will already tell everyone the result and, as everyone knows, if the sports aren't live, then what's the point?

Also, for all its warts, the USA is still, by far, the biggest economy in the world. Let's not forget that in our calculations. 

I think I've heard of this problem with TV happening before (I work in broadcasting!) It happened with the Olympics in Beijing; it happened in Nagano; it happened with the 2002 World Cup in Korea - Japan and, because there's no way to change the time zones, it's going to happen in Tokyo 2020.

And when TV doesn't broadcast these games live to an awake audience (the average viewer) then big sponsors aren't interested. 

When things like this happen, I think it makes people leery. Please refer to: NBC reports financial loss after Beijing Olympics, claims profit is on the way:

NBC, one of the largest American television networks, held the exclusive right to host the 2008 Summer Olympics Games coverage for the US. Despite generating over $1 billion in revenue from the Olympic coverage, NBC has reported a loss of undisclosed size in its third quarter. The network is still hopeful to come out with a profit at the end of the year, and claims its third quarter loss stems from the way Olympic revenues and expenses are booked by accountants. 

My guess is that the availability of free online Olympic content played a significant role in contributing to NBC's financial loss. 

So the question arises, will major TV networks keep investing a lot of money into Olympic coverage and compete with YouTube (and other popular participatory sites), when their Olympic profit margins are getting so thin or even negative? 

I bet "No!"

So, let's tally:

The three factors that made profitable Summer Olympics since 1984 were:

1) Use of existing facilities

2) Corporate sponsors

3) Television deals and the advertising that goes along with them.

*Japan has already announced massive new spending on new facilities 

*Corporate Sponsors? We're probably OK there... Just "OK."

*We are in bad shape in this area because of time zones and the Internet.

I don't see this turning out too well. I predict a hugely successful 2020 Tokyo Olympics... 

I also expect a massive hangover and a huge tax bill leftover to pay for it too. 

What do you think?

More? Read this: The Curse of the Olympics 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/07/the-curse-of-the-olympics.html

Tokyo Gets the 2020 Olympics... Unfortunately...

(This post will be either loved or hated by many people. This is just my opinion... One not  to be spoken loudly in public in the current atmosphere... Don't get mad at me about it. My opinion isn't going to change a thing. If it makes you mad, then perhaps it's because my points can't be denied?)

It was just announced this morning that Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Olympics... Egads! The worst result possible (for the people of Japan!) Congratulations to the "losers."

But don't get me wrong, I think the Olympics are OK... As long as the taxpayers don't get stuck with the bill.... But, for the life of me, with our current economic problems, I can't see how this is going to help. No. I only see it making things MUCH worse... Excepting for the "Bread and Circuses" part.

No, I'm not happy about it. One would have thought that because of stuff like Fukushima that Tokyo getting awarded the Olympics would have never happened in a million years... But it did. I guess Abenomics and throwing money around works! Of course, or as Homer Simpson would say, "Doh!"

The announcement was made this morning. Yahoo reports: Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympic games, beating out Istanbul and Madrid:

"...Both Istanbul and Tokyo offered notable steps forward for the Olympic experience. Istanbul would be the first time that a primarily Muslim country would host the Olympics, while Tokyo would be the first Asian city to host it twice. Tokyo last hosted the Games in 1964.  

Madrid had attempted three straight times to win the Games, but failed yet again despite a pitch for a "sensible, reliable and trustworthy" Olympics. Madrid officials noted that 80 percent of facilities which would have been used for the Games were already built and in use."

That last line is the telling one. "80 percent of all facilities... were already built and in use." Yeah. That kills Madrid. Why? Well, if shit doesn't need to be built then who is going to throw around all those juicy construction contracts (built on taxpayers money) to their buddies in big construction companies? Who will pocket the kick-backs? What well-connected individuals or privately run corporations will buy those facilities (built with public tax dollars) for no-bid contracts after the Olympics are over?

Yeah, in spite of all her problems, Japan still has a better economy than Istanbul and Abenomics guarantees a lot of (freshly printed) money will be thrown around... The Japanese taxpayer? They cheer and scream and bend over for more.

These people are so brainwashed that they think the Olympics coming to Tokyo is actually a good thing and that somehow, by magic, their lives have improved and they will make more money!?

People these days watch too much TV and are sorely lacking in the information and critical thinking department; they parrot what they are told on TV.

By the way, it's all just anecdotal evidence, but I asked dozens of Japanese people (you know, lowly workers and tax payers) if they wanted the Olympics. Not a single one of them said, "Yes."

"Oh, but the Olympics will be good for the economy!" Oh really? Tell another country that is deeply into corruption and kickbacks, Greece, about that one. This from the Daily Beast:

"Indeed, the $12 billion cost of hosting the Games contributed to the Greek economic collapse and left an abandoned Olympic Park, which has been overrun by weeds and graffiti artists."   

Yeah, but that's Greece. Japan is different, right? 

Nope. Japan should have learned her lesson a short 16 years ago. Please refer to Yahoo: Olympic Cities Booms and Busts?

Nagano, Japan (Winter 1998) Boom or Bust? Bust 

The full cost of the Nagano Winter Olympics will never be known as the documents accounting for money spent on the Olympic bid were burnt on the orders of the Olympic Committee vice-secretary general, Sumikazu Yamaguchi. (Emphasis mine) Yet it is clear that it went vastly over budget, with new infrastructure to make the Games work in this small Japanese city costing up to A$9.4 billion. As a result, Nagano fell into recession, with the debt on Olympic projects roughly A$28,000 per family and growing. It is estimated that these debts will take until 2015 to pay off. 

The Olympic venues alone cost A$20.6 million per year in upkeep, and their rental income brings only one-tenth of that amount. Although Nagano is working hard to stop the Olympic venues turning into rotting white elephants, the cost of their upkeep is not easy for the city's finances. Today it still costs A$2.3 million a year alone to maintain the M-Wave, where local school children take skating lessons on a high-speed 400-metre rink in winter. The installation of a high-speed bullet train during the Olympics also posed problems for the local hotel industry as more skiers came on day trips rather than spending the night and locals are more inclined to go on shopping days to larger cities. 

The Japanese government currently has the highest by-far debt to GDP ratio in the entire world... Current estimates have it at 245% of GDP and Japan's Vice Minister of Exchange Rates tell the Telegraph UK:

"A debt ratio of 245pc of GDP is not really safe, and it is not happening because we are investing," said Takehiko Nakao, Japan's 'Mr Yen' or vice finance minister in charge of the exchange rate. 

Mr Nakao said the scope for further fiscal stimulus is running out and the country must restore public finances to a sustainable path by the middle of the decade. "We can't continue to expect people to lend money to us," he told The Daily Telegraph. 

The comments touch on an acutely sensitive topic. A number of global hedge funds and banks have begun "shorting" Japan's debt, the world's biggest at $23 trillion."

Global Hedge Funds are now "shorting" Japan?... Now the Japanese government wants to print and borrow even more money to pay for an Olympics? (An Olympics that, by the way, will have to be paid back from the taxpayers and through destruction of the buying power of the currency through printing and inflation... Gasoline is already at it's highest price in years!)

Testoterone Pit sums it up in: Abenomics Wins: Budget And Inflation Both Jump (Over The Cliff) 

It would be ridiculous if it weren’t so sad: Facing exploding budget deficits and an uncircumnavigable mountain of debt over twice the size of the economy – Japan’s two largest economic problems – the government in its blind devotion to the religion of Abenomics screams, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.” 

The new budget requests from government ministries for the next fiscal year, which starts April 2014, total over ¥100 trillion. This includes the special account for reconstruction. The ¥99.2 trillion (over $1 trillion) for all other expenses, the mostest ever, is up a breath-taking 7.1% from the current budget of ¥92.6 trillion. And then there is even more that hasn’t been specified yet. 

While Abenomics has promised to stimulate the economy, it is certainly stimulating Japan’s most destructive problem, the deficit. So the ministries added ¥3.5 trillion to be handed out to Japan Inc., on top of the money it’s already getting, to promote growth (of the deficit). The Ministry of Finance threw its own goodies into the basket: ¥25.3 trillion ($257 billion!) in costs to service Japan’s national debt of over ¥1 quadrillion. A jump of 13.7% from the pile set aside for the current fiscal year."

Read more on the government plan to destroy the currency and thereby jumping inflation here: 
http://www.testosteronepit.com/home/2013/8/30/abenomics-wins-budget-and-inflation-both-jump-over-the-cliff.html

Yeah, and one last thing, about that "reconstruction issue" that Abe and his cronies pay so much lip service to... Has anyone seen the areas around Fukushima Dai-ichi and the areas that were destroyed by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster recently? Nope? 

I did. Just last week...

Guess what? It still looks basically like what it did two years ago right after the disaster... Thousands of cars and trucks are still sitting out in open fields... Entire towns and small cities are smashed and still shuttered.... 

There doesn't seem to be a single person there who is happy with the pace of reconstruction (whether they are pro-nuclear power or anti-nuclear power)...

And now Abe and Japan are going to print up a bunch of money, increase the national debt, throw it all on the taxpayers to build new sports gyms and hotels in..... Tokyo?

Now, mind you, I am not pro-government spending for any construction projects at all, anywhere... But I am not in the government who, by the way, takes every opportunity it gets - when makes excuses for the sales tax increase - to pull emotional strings of the public concerning the March 11 disaster by mentioning "money needs to be set out for reconstruction" (of the earthquake/tsunami disaster zones). Nope. 

They say it. I didn't. I don't.

I'm wondering where the priorities lie for the supposed "leadership" of this nation? But, of course, why do I wonder? Their priorities lay where they always have been: Buttering the hands of their political friends and allies. Where else?

Never forget that the Olympics are a privately run business, when they profit, they keep the profits... When they lose money, the local governments socialize the losses and put them on the backs of the taxpayers.

This isn't going to last very much longer...

No modern Olympics games has ever made any money:

Watch the video:

Ultimately, the message is: The Japanese debt is 245% of GDP. That means that YOU (Mr. and Mrs. Japan),  working people, will be at $140,000.00 (USD) in debt by 2016 continuing today's rate. (That's about ¥13,972,010.33 per person!) We cannot afford to increase debt in this country. The Olympics are fine, but I think you had better to fight to make sure that the government doesn't spend YOUR money on fat projects and then YOU have to pay the bill later! This is why I wrote this post. Everyone can be all happy about the Olympics, but they had better to understand what this means. Adding debt (like Nagano - which added ¥3,000,000 in debt to every man, woman and child and baby in Nagano and is still increasing today). Is something you had better tell your political leaders you don't want.

Olympics! Sex! Scandals! Bribery! Geishas and Sushi! Burning Books and Nazis! This Post Has it All!

Bread and Circuses: Olympic Games are a Scam to Take Yours and Your Children's Money Away!

Read and watch this one about how the 2002 World Cup cost - and is still costing - Japanese taxpayers millions: Is there a World Cup economic bounce?
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/06/11/business.bounce.world.cup/index.html 

Funny Things Japanese Taxi Drivers Say

I have some Japanese friends who are taxi drivers. They are all cool guys and have a very dry sense of humor.

One guy's name is Takahashi and he has the driest sense of humor you'll ever hear.

One time I was drinking wiht him and he said,

"Okane ga nai kara nomanai" (I don't have any money so I can't drink). "Okane" is money. "Ga nai" means, "I have none." "Nomanai" means "I can't drink." But "Nomanai" sounds very close to "No money." "No - Ma - nai" (No money)... Get it? 

Still don't get it? It's OK. I was there and I didn't get it at first either.

I didn't catch the joke and if you don't speak Japanese, you probably won't. I didn't get it because I am often dumb drunk and didn't realize he was making a play on words.

To the dim, slow or drunk (of which I was all three) It sounds like he is saying, "I have no money so I have no money."... But he is actually saying, "I have no money so I can't drink." It's a play on the sound of the words and mixes English with Japanese....

Anyway, I was riding in a taxi the other day with Takahashi san driving. We were crawling in a traffic jam due to road construction on "Meguro Dori." (Meguro Road). 

Meguro Dori is one of the oldest and most well know roads in Tokyo. I guess it's been there for over 200 years... 

Anyhow, we were driving down Meguro Dori and, SURPRISE! there was a ton of road construction going on! There's always tons of road construction going on on that road!

As we sat there, Takahashi slowly turned around to me, cracked a wry smile and slowly and quite cynically said, 

"World War Two ended 65 years ago but construction on Meguro Dori is still going!" 

I cracked up! It was really funny since, just a few minutes before we were talking about how absurd it is that people, on the one hand, think the government are all dishonest and useless, then, on the other hand, a half second later, claim that we should give more tax monies and power to the government so that they can fix the weather (Global Warming and all that nonsense!)

Ha! The government can't even fix a pothole in the road on time and under budget! How in the hell do people think they can fix the weather? Hilarious!

--------------

Here's a video of some guy riding his motorcycle and getting on Meguro Dori near my house.

6 Minute Animation Simply Explaining Japan's Debt

Here's an excellent short animation concerning Japan's ticking debt time bomb.

Thanks to Peter Dyloco for the tip!

Bicycle Riders in Washington State to Be Taxed in Effort to Stop Global Warming

In spite of all the evidence that has come out proving Global Warming and Global Climate Change are not problems and that the entire scare is a scam to grab more tax money from the peasantry (IPCC admits the sun cause Global Warming see: Leaked Report Shows UN Admitting Solar Activity Plays Significant Role in Global Warming - Complete Leaked Report Here and Nasa Admitting "No Global Warming" (See: NASA’s Global Warming Fanatic James Hansen Admits There Has Been No Increase In Global Temperatures Over Last Decade…) There are still some people who think (they certainly don't read!) that Global Warming or Climate Change is a problem and that the government has to do something about it.

When will these people ever wake up from their slumber? The government can't even balance their budget or fix a pothole in the road on time and under budget, who-in-the-hell thinks they could fix the weather? 

Anyway, Ahem.... in response to a post I saw by Aaron Egon Moser, I wrote, "The science is settled and the government must Do something to stop Global Warming! I'm all for a massive tax on higher heart rates and a VAT tax increase on heavy breathing!"

This, below, is for real... 

...On one hand people who actually believe what they've been told on TV insist that the government is corrupt and in bed with big business and companies like Big Oil and Monsanto, then, a second later, they turn around and declare that we have to protect the environment and the best way to do that is to allow the government to have more control and tax us more! 

As Homer Simpson would say, "Doh!"

Driver's Licenses Have Zero to Do With Safe Driving: They Are a Back-door Tax!

There's a discussion about drunk driving going on amongst my friends now. I think drunk driving laws are ridiculous and should be struck from the books. Why? Because pre-crime is not a crime. John maybe driving after two beers or ten beers and be perfectly fine. But if the cops stop him they can arrest him for some arbitrarily set number on a Breathalyzer test. That's crazy. Still many people think "drunk driving" should be a crime... If they haven't hurt anyone, how can that be a crime?

I think people have some very strange ideas these days.

人力車 Jin Riki Sha (rickshaw)

A while back a friend wrote to me about some subject and claimed that he had the weight of the United Nations on his side of the argument. When I didn't reply, he insisted that the UN were proof positive of the truth in his beliefs. He challenged me. I responded that I had no respect at all for the United Nations and wrote, "The UN has zero credibility in my book and I think it is a tool of US imperialism... Witness how the UN supported the US in the American invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan..."

I hate voting too, but at least in a local election, you do get to vote. Did you vote for your UN representative? Nope. The UN is just like the EU: a bunch of unelected bureaucrats that have zero to do with my life and absolutely no authority to pass laws and dictate to us what we should or should not do.

But I digress. Here I'm talking about the strange ideas people have... I should be talking about licenses and taxation...

A guy wrote to me the other day who is pro-gun control. He wrote, "If you need a license to drive, then why don't you agree that you need a license for a gun?" 

See what I mean? VERY strange ideas! I wrote back,

"You might be surprised but I don't agree at all. I don't think you need a license for a gun JUST as I don't think you need a license to drive a car.... I don't even see for a moment why anyone needs a license to drive at all. Licenses are hidden taxes, don't you know that? 

Just like I don't see why there are laws for wearing seat belts or wearing helmets when riding motorcycles. We know that wearing seat belts can save a life in a car accident but if some guy doesn't want to wear a seat belt, then what business is it of yours or mine? It most certainly is not the government's business either. And it definitely is not a reason to tax you or me more money to put more cops on the road to stop drivers who drive without their seat belts on. If Tom, Dick or Harry want to drive without a seat belt, then let them. I don't care and it is none of my business...

Drivers licenses have zero to do with protecting the public. Haven't people  figured that out yet? Drivers licenses and license fees (for passports, filing papers, dogs, cats, fishing, open fire, killing bugs, you-name-it, etc.) are all merely a form of taxation. 

Just to illustrate how f'ing ridiculous drivers licenses are AND to point out how they have NOTHING to do with safe driving and EVERYTHING to do with another form of taxation, let me tell you the story of 人力車 (man powered vehicle) or what westerners call, "Japanese rikishaw" (rickshaw) - you know the old style carts that were used in Japan long ago that were pulled by one skinny Japanese guy running in front? 

Well, my friend, it used to be, when rickshaw were quiet prevalent on streets and alleyways in Japanese towns and cities, one needed a license for each rickshaw...This went on for a hundred years! There was even an organization (probably filled with retired cops) who handled the licensing of these vehicles all in the name of protecting the public (as if some guy could out run the cops in some high speed chase with his unlicensed rickshaw!) Now that these rickshaw are NOT popular and NOT in much use, there is no requirement for licensing, though the rickshaws still exist! If the licensing procedure for rickshaw were for safety of the public, then this procedure would still be in practice. But it is not. This proves that the licensing was merely to fill government coiffures.

"Oh, but that was Japan!" You say? Check your US and UK history and find the EXACT SAME story about horse drawn carts in the cities up until about 1910 or so."

Rikishaw in Malaysia... Yep. They all had license plates! 

That was discussing rickshaw to get people to see that no matter the geographical zone, government will always look for new ways to tax... Did you know that you need a license in Japan to be a sushi chef? You can bet that if the sushi restaurants in the USA were so popular and on every street corner, to become profitable for the government to increase taxes on them (businesses are already taxed up to the gills as is) then they'd lump on another  tax for slicing fish if they could do it...

And that's the way it is, folks. If, someday soon, flying vehicles become popular and there's one in every garage, do you think that the government will be licensing them for our safety? No way! They will license them because they will see it as just another profitable revenue stream. Just like fining people for driving without a license, no seat belts, no helmets, burnt out lights, out of date stickers on their car, blah, blah, blah....

Would you get behind the wheel of a dangerous vehicle that could kill you if you didn't know how to drive one? I doubt it... (and "dangerous vehicle" goes for automobiles and flying cars)... No one would drive without practice and the fact that we still have 2.9 million people injured in accidents annually (the number of accidents is MUCH higher than that) shows that the current system leaves much to be desired.  

If someone wishes to risk their life by driving without a seat belt or driving drunk, then that's their problem...There is no reason why you or I should be taxed in a effort to implement some sort of pre-crime prevention scheme. In America on average, nearly 12,000 people die every year in DUI-related accidents. 900,000 are arrested each year for DUI/DWI and a full 1/3 of those are repeat offenders.

Get that? The cops are out arresting almost 1 million people a year for drunk driving... I wonder how much that is costing us in tax dollars? And, yet, still with all these arrests, 12,000 people die, and 300,000 of those arrested are repeat offenders! Obviously this doesn't work too well; it wastes tax dollars and doesn't stop the problem. 

I'd guess that we have an alcoholism problem that needs to be addressed. That is, a health problem here, folks. Not a problem of locking up people. 

And on top of that, drunk driving is not even the biggest cause of traffic accidents. Drunk driving is only responsible for 30% of all fatal crashes. Here are the six most common causes of car accidents. 

Anyway, this is not an argument for decriminalizing drinking and driving. That subject is much better covered here. This is just a post to show that licenses (for driving, dogs, animals, etc.) are a form of taxation. Once people can accept that truth, then we can go on to discuss the next issues.

Japanese Government Will Spend ¥17,166,666 (about $193,333.33 USD) Per Job to Create Jobs! I Want That Job!

The government in this country is leading us to financial catastrophe. You can't make this stuff up.

I can't believe that the people - as well as financial commentators in Japan -aren't up in arms about the latest financial plan from prime minister Shinzo Abe. I can see how the average person couldn't figure this out, but it is simple math. How could most commentators on economics in Japan be so clueless that they can't see the glaring problem with this latest plan? 

First let's look at the plan.

Reflections on Hating the Rich and Evidence of More of it to Come

I recently posted a few articles about that examine, from a more practical viewpoint (meaning mine) how government deficit spending and high taxes are destroying the economy (add that to a rapidly aging society which is a problem in the United States but especially in Japan)... It seems obvious to me that anyone with a basic understanding of economics could follow the train of thought.

Me and my wallet

Nevertheless, it seems that far too many people do not. The first post of the topic was entitled Japan is Collapsing. I was writing about how the economy has fallen over these last few years and put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Japanese government spending us into debt at 237% of GDP. I also pointed out that Japan now has over 15.7% of the population under the poverty line. I even backed up my article with commentary by Mish Shedlock.

Even with those facts, some claim that the fault lies with rich people or private industry. The last letter on that post I received, said this:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Japan is Collapsing":

So say you are not able to send your kid to the most expensive school in Tokyo and you claim every other option is crap. Turns out, you are not entitled to that school. If they made a better school, 10x more expensive, you wouldn't be entitled to that either.

(No. I said my kid goes to that school and the company pays.... Just like everyone else - it's a corporate tax break! - Mike)

If now, in a moment of economic downturn, those schools don't lower prices it must mean they have enough rich people to pay for it. Too bad you can no longer afford it. Too bad that woman won't sell a couple of BMW and perhaps start working to be able to afford the education she wants for her kids. But guess what, if you can't make enough money you can't get in.

If you want to live in a world where all services are private so taxes are low, where only money can get you into the really good stuff, you need to be prepared to not being able to afford the best. It's what you signed up for.

  
This commentator doesn't come out and say it directly but he also blames the rich. Let's examine his last paragraph once again:

"If you want to live in a world where all services are private so taxes are low, where only money can get you into the really good stuff, you need to be prepared to not being able to afford the best. It's what you signed up for."

I wonder what world this person is speaking about? I'd like to live in a world where taxes are low so I could pay for services. That certainly isn't Japan, I'll tell you that! In Japan corporate taxes are 46%. After that, when I pay my employees, there's another 20% taken off the top of that. I'd consider that outrageously high.

I'll trade back that more than 68% of the money taken from me in taxes and pay for my child's school ten times over.

It's obvious this person thinks government provided services are "good" (kind of reminds me of the British guy who told me NHS (National Health Services) in the UK were great because they were "free!" I asked him how they could be "free" if they are paid for through taxes?)

As I said, his hidden meaning is that government spending is good. This person needs to read the classic "Economics in One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt to see just how far off base he really is. Yes, my friend, I want to live in a world where taxes are low... Give a guy a break and tell me where that place exists!

Laughingly, he writes, "It's what you signed up for." No. It's not what anyone signed up for. I'll drop the government spending to zero and see my disposable income increase ten-fold and spend it on the real economy; not paying off government debt or having the government hire their crony friends for building bridges to nowhere.

Sorry. Your defense of socialism and government out-of control spending is illogical and ignorant of the situation here in Japan. See? This guy defends the government and socialism... Another under-handed attack on the so-called "rich."

I examined the hatred of the rich in more detail in yesterday's blog post as it has been a subject that I've thought about for a long time and it really has come to the fore over these last 2 years or so (it seems to me). Class warfare is alive and well in the USA.

From yesterday's post, I received two letters that I'd like to repost here:

Michael C commented oo: "The United States and the West Are in Big Trouble....":

I think most of the rich hate in the U.S. stems from the fact they don't pay the same tax rate the rest of us do. It's BS that Romney only pays a 12% tax rate. You can argue it's due to his 'charitable contributions' but he can donate to a non-profit Super Pac to get tax deductions, that spends the donated money supporting Romney, it's a pretty screwed up system.

Also, the fastest growing Rich in the U.S. isn't job creators it's the financial industry. A hedge fund doesn't make it's money from creating jobs, it makes it's money from shuffling around investments.

Entrepreneurs are the ones that create jobs, but the likelihood of getting incredibly rich as an entrepreneur is minuscule to the financial markets.

Almost everything here doesn't really bother me but Michael C seems to make a mistake that is common. Michael, my friend, may I ask you why you think that,

"...hate in the U.S. stems from the fact they (the rich) don't pay the same tax rate the rest of us do. It's BS that Romney only pays a 12% tax rate."

Michael, the problem with the US economy and the collapse of the middle class has zero to do with what tax rate the rich pay versus the middle class. If anything the taxes across the board are way too high. The problem with the US economy is many but it's not what you've been lead to believe with this mass media - soundbite nonsense. 

The real problems are many but just let me name a few: 

1) The Federal Reserve devaluing your money 97% in the last 100 years.

2) US military empire and bases in over 160 countries.

3) Financing foreign wars by borrowing trillions and trillions of dollars from the Japanese and Chinese.

4) Extremely loose monetary policy and low interest rates.

5) US Total Unfunded Liabilities at 99 Trillion Dollars

6) Total US debt as of the writing of this blog: $16,160,432,335,905.30

7) Taking tax monies and bailing out insolvent banks and foreign corporations on the back of the American public.

There's a whole litany of problems for the US economy... Whether or not people like Romney pay 14% or 40% ~ 50% (like everyone else) on $250 million dollars ain't gonna make a drops worth of difference in the Pacific Ocean. 

This one argument has been common and, I think it points to, and makes a strong case for me, that the Hate of the Rich is growing. The "Hate the Rich"  trend is useful for the government as it deflects attention away from government mishandling of the economy. It's also good for the mass media (populism builds ratings and sells advertising).

Think about it.

Finally, I do want to share with you a comment that I basically have no qualms with at all. Anonymous commented on "The United States and the West Are in Big Trouble....":

I think these last blog entrys are really on perception and need to be put into perspective. The United States citizen hates the decline of the middle class, loss of spending power, high unemployment, and the ultra-high concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. 

Do politicans exploit this angst and muddy the waters for their own gain, you betcha. Mike Rogers decrys cronyism, and I believe is part of the solution. The United States is not the same country it was when M. Rogers left it. 

I proudly voted for Ron Paul. The press decried Ron Paul's idea that the Federal Emergency Management Agency should not bail out rich people who could easily buy private insurance for their expensive beach front properties. 

The upper echelons of the Democrats are fabulously wealthy. The finanical collapse of 2008 was really eye opening for this generation. The banker bailouts proved it was Socialism for the rich, and free market for the rest. One only has to look at the last four president's cabinet members. Its made up of bankers galore. The same type of bankers that are hurting Japan with allowing so much debt. 

Harvard educated Americans become lawyers (mainly corporate) or bankers. People in the mid to late 2000's really thought if they could get a 2nd house they could be famously wealthy.The free market proved otherwise and the government got the tax payer to bail them out. 

Both Obama and Bush 44 voted for the bail out.

Yep! Exactly! Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting.