« February 8, 2009 - February 14, 2009 | Home | February 22, 2009 - February 28, 2009 »

Week of February 15, 2009 - February 21, 2009

Japan: Drunk ministers, collapsing economy, despised leadership, oh my...


Three months ago, I noted that Japan entered recession before us. Baffled by the willingness of the Japanese people to re-elect the same party decade after decade despite its stewardship of the longest recession in the industrialized world, I diagnosed Japan with bipolar manic-recession, "alternating between periods of extreme stagnation and hyper-productivity." At the end of the post, I noted that the nation has recently been run by "a series of controversy-prone bureaucrats who have deftly succeeded in doing absolutely nothing, which is just how the [Liberal Democratic] party likes it. The latest PM, Taso Aso, took office in September and appears to be no different."

Quelle understatement. Quelle understatement. The Japanese economy contracted 3.3% (12.7% annualized) in 4Q08, Japan's worst decline since 1974--and that includes the burst of its own real estate bubble and decade long swoon from which it had only recently recovered. By contrast, the U.S. economy shrank 1% (3.8% annualized). And economists forecast "a drop of around 4% in 2009--a contraction twice as severe as in America and Europe."

Fortunately, Japan's finance minister, Shoichi Nakagawa, has taken aggressive actions to deal with crisis. He has a 12 step plan:

Read more »

BREAKING: George Bush Not the Worst President Ever


Defying expectations and confounding the critics one last time, George W. Bush is not the worst president ever according to C-Span's Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership. Bush beat out Presidents Fillmore, Harding, William Henry Harrison, Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and Buchanan to place a respectable 36th out of 42.

Read more »

« February 8, 2009 - February 14, 2009 | Home | February 22, 2009 - February 28, 2009 »

☠enghis

user-pic

Following: 58
Followers: 84

Posts
Comments & Recommends


  • Website: dagblog.com
  • Location New York
  • Party Yes
  • Politics No

Favorites

  • Favorite Quotes "I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news." S.P.

All Reader Posts
How to use myTPM

Advertise Liberally
Share
Close Social Web Email

"To" Email Address

Your Name

Your Email Address