Tax and Spend. Tax and Spend. Tax and Spend. Lather, rinse, repeat.

While driving along the road in front of Waikiki beach, I saw a building that said, "Department of Homeland Security" right next to the harbor. I laughed. Prime location on the beachfront and the federal government has a brand new building for the Department of Homeland Security, in Waikiki no less. Isn't that ironic?

Jack Lord would have been proud.

"Book 'em Dan-o!"

Don't forget that this is the same federal government that was in charge of security when the Twin Towers were attacked on Sept. 11, 2011. Most people who blow their jobs get fired. Not these guys. They get nice offices in Waikiki. 

Funny, you know, if you were the fire chief of some hick town and screwed up  your duties on that day and a bunch of buildings burned down, you'd be fired or would certainly lose your job. Not the government though. They increase our taxes and expand their incompetent services. That's the way the government operates, you know. Their answer to every problem is to tax and expand. 

That's how it works, you see. 

People who have been paying attention will already know that golden rule of politics. And that rule is that no matter what occurs the government response will always be an expansion of that government and that will mean higher taxes for you and me no matter how you slice it.  

So bend over and take it.

On that note, there’s a couple of news stories about Japan that caught my “WTF!?” radar yesterday. I thought I’d write about them today. See if you can catch the irony of the situation.

The clowns in control of the Japanese government claim that they need to increase the current Sales Tax rate of 5% up to 10% in order to cover shortfalls in tax revenues and a burgeoning social insurance liability. They also are using the excuse of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident at Fukushima as a ruse to fool the public that this tax increase is needed and is for the public good.

If it is for the public good, well then, they are not at fault for poor management, you know. Public good and all... But hey, weren't they just claiming that they needed to raise taxes for a different reason before the March 11 earthquake? Why, yes, they were! Then it was out of control spending.

But not now! No! Now is because we are all Japanese people and we must stick together to raise taxes to help the people up north. 

By claiming that monies will be used for reconstruction of the northern Japan region of Tohoku, the government can act like they have no choice but to  increase taxes for the betterment of the public. They’ll claim that they are being “forced” into raising taxes and it can’t be helped due to circumstances outside of their control.

Never mind the fact that Japan’s public debt, by this very same government and preceding administrations pushed the debt to past 200% of GDP long before the March 11 disaster struck. 

Regular readers of this blog will know what I think about this sort of political bandwagon nonsense. 

Here are two articles that I found that I’d like to share with you that shows just what kind of shenanigans go on in the halls of power at Nagatacho.

The first from the Daily Yomiuri newspaper about how the government of Naoto Kan, in spite of being resoundingly defeated in the last election due to an insistence on increasing Sales Tax, is going to push it through no matter what. 

Public opinion and a frail economy be damned. Great timing, eh? No election coming up and all. I wonder what the angle is for the criminals of the LDP? The Daily Yomiuri newspaper:

The government and the Democratic Party of Japan agreed on tax reform plans this week, and plans to submit related bills during the Diet's ordinary session next year. 

Woah! Watch out! "Tax reform" is a code-word for "Tax increase." 

It will need to clearly stipulate in those bills when the consumption tax should be raised and by how much.

Translation: One party agrees to tax hikes and "budget cuts" as long as their pork barrel projects remain intact.

However, there are piles of tasks to be completed before that can happen, such as deciding standards by which to assess the national economy's ability to withstand the tax hike, and determining how tax revenue should be shared between the central and local governments.

Yes. The pirates must always decide how to divvy up the loot.

Thus, the government will have to overcome some high hurdles to realize the agreed plan to raise the consumption tax rate to 10 percent "by the middle of the 2010s."

Hopefully those hurdles will be so high that they kill themslves on the way back down. Faithful readers of this blog might remember my post entitled: Japan's Government Headed for Ouster? Good. The Sooner, the Better. Where I pointed out that the best government that we could possibly hope for is one in constant deadlock because, if they are in deadlock, they can't pass any news taxes. See? I was right. That slimeball Kan snookered his way back into power and now they're talking about raising taxes.

Am I genius or what? No. Not genius. All governments are the same sneaky lowlife. I am merely an astute observer at best.

The bad news continues:

The government's plan is to raise the consumption tax rate in two stages. At first, the rate will likely be bumped to 7 percent or 8 percent in autumn 2013 or later, and then to 10 percent by the end of fiscal 2016.

Great! This means we still have a chance to boot these clowns before they do anymore damage.

It is feared that a single, all-at-once increase to 10 percent might hurt the nation's real economy.

Gee. Do you really think so? It's been proven that an increase in taxes coordinates with a corresponding decrease in tax revenues. Haven't these idiot politicians never heard of the Laffer Curve? No? OK. From Wikipedia:

One potential result of the Laffer curve is that increasing tax rates beyond a certain point will become counterproductive for raising further tax revenue because of diminishing returns. 

Gee wasn't the opposition LDP just claiming that they were against Naoto Kan's plans for reconstruction and didn't they just stand in the last election firmly against any increase in the Sales Tax rate? The Economist reports:

"...opposition parties have threatened to block implementation of the spring budget for the next fiscal year. Without big concessions..."

"Without big concessions!?" Gee, do you think that means that you grease our wheels and we grease yours?... Nah!

You know what is going on here, folks, is that the LDP wonks actually want to increase taxes too but they see a golden opportunity to increase those taxes while at the same time making Naoto Kan and the dimwitted Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) take the blame for it.

See? The LDP gets their cake and eats it too and then win the next election because they can claim that they were against any tax hikes. Those sneaky genius bastards! Gotta hand it to them though… They didn't get to run this country for iffy years by not knowing how to play a very hardball game of poker.

Kan and those clowns are out of their league. The LDP is going to secretly get their tax increase (they were the ones who first put a Sales Tax into place) and they are going to blame the DPJ and return to power.

The next article would be a real head-scratcher except if you remember the golden rule: that no matter what occurs the government response will always be an expansion of that government and that will mean higher taxes no matter how you slice it.

The Japan Times reports that in 2010 Japanese government revenues actually jumped 7.1%!

Tax revenues for fiscal 2010 rose 7.1 percent from the previous year to ¥41.49 trillion, exceeding the earlier forecast of ¥39.64 trillion, thanks to improving corporate earnings, the Finance Ministry said Friday.

Did you do a double-take on that one? I sure did. WTF? The government coiffures  actually increased by more than 7% last year and these clowns still want to raise our taxes?!

Just to prove to you how much of a scam this all is and how completely and totally fiscally irresponsible these people are, here's another article from Feb. 24th, 2011, two weeks before the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, that gives another totally different reason for raising our taxes: Government debt to GDP. From Bloomberg:

Moody's said that it cut its outlook on the credit rating on Japan because of “heightened concern that economic and fiscal policies may not prove strong enough to achieve the government's deficit reduction target”.

Also they said the government's policies would probably not be able to “contain the inexorable rise in debt, which already is well above levels in other advanced economies”.

Analysts said that the move by Moody's was widely expected after S&P's decision to cut its rating. However, they added that while it may have a limited impact on the bond and currency markets, it could have broader political implications.

“Politicians or the finance ministry could use this as a reason to push for fiscal reform, which could include a sales tax hike,” said Satoru Ogasawara, an economist at Credit Suisse. 

Uh oh, there's that "reform" word popping up again.

It looks like these people have their hearts dead-set on raising our taxes one way or another. It would never do to be responsible to do something like, say, cut spending. Oh no! Can't do that.

Twenty years of this sort of out of control spending and tax increases have landed this nation right where it is today: With a faltering economy and massive debt and our credit rating slashed.

At this rate, all we can realistically expect is twenty more years of the same.... That is if we don't go bankrupt before then.

Japan's Government Headed for Ouster? Good. The Sooner, the Better.

Well, in my New Year's predictions, I said he'd be out by June 1st, so my prediction seems to be off. But the voices to kick Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan out of office are growing louder.  Let's hope they become deafening.


Yahoo reports:


Japan's centre-left Prime Minister Naoto Kan, under fire for his handling of the response to the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, faces the threat of a no-confidence motion this week. Although Kan's opponents have only a slim chance of rallying enough support for a successful motion in the Diet legislature, the move would be a fresh headache for the PM, who has been in office for less than a year. Leaders of the main conservative opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its smaller ally the New Komeito party threatened the move on Friday against Kan, Japan's fifth prime minister in as many years.


Last night, at InterFM, I met with several nice foreigners who are doing wonderful charity work here in Japan for the Tohoku disaster and they said that they were unhappy that there was talk about getting rid of the prime minister. They were of the opinion that we should, under the current circumstances, allow him to stay.

Pete Seeger - Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

Classic anti-war / anti-government song

This kind of thinking always confuses me. Why?


Well, here are some folks who, like everyone else, on the one hand complain that the government handling of a crisis was inept and incompetent, yet on the other hand, they want to give that same government more time to handle the crisis? 


I don't get it.


I chuckled and asked these good folks "Hasn't the current government already done enough?" (damage?)


The indoctrination that people receive all their lives from government run public schooling once again rears its ugly head. People get brainwashed so that the idea that government is here for our benefit is so deeply ingrained in their beliefs that they cannot see the illogical notion behind it. 


Let's just take a few very brief examples, an overview really, of Japan's case. I ask you:


1) Is there anyone who feels that the current Japanese administration competently and properly responded to the Fukushima crisis in a quick manner and timely manner? 


It seems that most people do not. For evidence of that, another Yahoo report shows that: Almost three quarters of Japanese voters are unhappy with the centre-left government's handling of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, a newspaper poll indicated on Monday. 


Why would anyone think that, after such poor mishandling of the situation that, if given another chance, the government would suddenly straighten out and do a better job?


2) The current debt of Japan is 225.8% of GDP. Now, while much of this debt is not completely the fault of the current government, it has skyrocketed (almost 10%) under this administration.  


Why would anyone think that, after such poor mishandling of the situation that, if given another chance, the government would suddenly straighten out and do a better job?


3) Japan's economy is in shambles and unemployment has risen to 4.7% and household spending has fallen 3%.  Also, because of the economy and the worsening unemployment situation, according to Bloomberg, Japan faces another credit downgrade risk. 


In spite of these very bad signs for the economy, the current administration sticks to the typical Japanese government response to all crises over these last 20+ years: spend and raise taxes.


Google reports:


Japan's centre-left premier is taking steps toward a consumption tax hike, a report said Monday, days after the central bank chief warned of the government's "very serious" fiscal state. Prime Minister Naoto Kan plans to set up a body that would propose by mid-June a doubling of the tax to 10 percent by 2015, in a bid to cut Japan's sovereign debt, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said. The Yomiuri said Kan would head the so-called Core Member Council which would include 16 senior officials of his Democratic Party of Japan. 


The economy is bad enough as it is, unemployment is up, household spending is down, Japan's credit ratings is about to be lowered and this idiot wants to increase sales taxes.  


Why would anyone think that, after such poor mishandling of the situation that, if given another chance, the government would suddenly straighten out and do a better job?


But let's forget the current administration for a moment. This post is actually about a more philosophical question than the problems with Japan's current government. Actually, I am talking about pro-government indoctrination everyone receives all their lives from all public schooling all over the world. 


Think about it, is there anyone of us who can give a consistent, good example, of a well governed nation throughout the history of mankind? 


Back to locally, how about the great result Japan's World War II government achieved for Japan? 3 million dead and her cities carpet bombed to ruin? How about the over 160 million deaths "organized" governments proudly accounted for in the 20th century alone?  


No. Government is not the friend of security, peace and freedom. Government is the sworn enemy of the little guy (that's you and me). Whenever you hear someone say, "We're from the government and we're here to help" the best thing you could do is turn and run away as fast as you can.


Some of my friends last night said that they admired the American example of government. They liked the idea of a new president, elected by the people, every four years. 


"Nonsense!" I retorted.


For one, if voting could change anything, it would be illegal. Two, regardless of who is president of the USA, nothing really changes. Current president Obama is the third Bush administration. He promised to end the Iraq war, end the war on drugs, create transparency in government, blah, blah, blah. 


We are still in Iraq. The war has expanded in Afghanistan. Now we are bombing Yemen, Libya, and other middle eastern nations. The war on drugs has expanded and there is no transparency in government. What's really happened under an Obama administration? Things have gotten much worse.


The USA is the 21st century's Nazi Fatherland. How can people admire our criminal government behavior? It's obvious that Americans do not control the beast that is the US federal government. That monster is out of control.  


And changing US president doesn't matter either. Think about this: Rome had many emperors. They had Nero, Cesar, Caligula, Augustus, etc. Many emperors. Ultimately, though, it was still the Roman empire. And that empire was built on war and taxation.


It is the nature of government - all government - to expand its powers and its taxation base as an answer to all problems.


The current Japanese government is no different as shown by recent actions and the repeated attempts to raise taxes.


No, my friends, this government has to go. They don't need anymore time. They need to be booted out as soon as possible.


Since Japan's experience with inept and incompetent government recently (over these past several years) has been a bad one, I think, then, we cannot expect a "better" government to come in to replace the current clowns we now have (see my comments above about the nature of government). Our best hope is for no government or deadlock within government.


At least, with a deadlock, the government cannot pass any new laws nor can they raise our taxes. 


Considering recent history (well the history of government since the beginning of time) that seems to be the best that we can hope for.

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This article inspired by the guys from Sunset Drive (web page, blog & info here) who are holding a charity event for New Zealand Earthquake and Tohoku disaster victims on this Sunday June 5 at What the Dickens in Ebisu.

Sunset Drive

 Doors open at 5 pm. Entrance fee is ¥1,000 featuring Auctions, raffles, prizes and more fun. Performing that night will be Sunset Drive, icon girl pistols, Ruby Room Orchestra, Natccu and DJ's TIMUTAKU, goldifoxx, Abe Takayuki. Sunset Drive is really starting to happen in Japan. Check them out here.  

Japanese Government Tax Madness

The foolishness of the government of Japan officials never ceases to amaze me. We have had a budgetary problem and debt problem in this country for over twenty years. Our debt is over 200% of GDP. The government's answer to this problem is never to cut government expenditures, but to always raise taxes. When will these people ever learn?


N-E-V-E-R!

Paaaaarty!

Incredibly, officials of the current Japanese government of Naoto Kan have once again  proclaimed that instead of cutting the budget and government expenditures, Japan needs to increase revenues by increasing Sales Tax by more than 200%. Are these people insane? They have even said this in public!


Are they intentionally trying to get booted out from office? I mean, to think about raising taxes is one thing, but to say that in public!? Where are the nice men in white suits when you need them?


Hakuo Yanagisawa, who was just appointed to a government panel on social welfare, says that a "10% Sales Tax is not enough" and that those taxes must be increased by more than 200% from its current 5%.


Madness. What a looney!


Yanagisawa must be totally and completely out of touch with the lives of the people he is supposed to be serving. The question that needs to be asked is if he is crazier than the guy who just appointed him, Naoto Kan?

Writer's rendition of Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan

The economy is stagnate, interest rates are near zero, people's savings have dried up all the while Japan has a huge problem with a large percentage of society reaching retirement age. On top of that, Japan's debt rating was just lowered.


With all this bad news, these government wonks think that the solutions to our problems lie in increasing taxes!? These people are completely nuts.


The Japan Times reports:


The consumption tax needs to be more than doubled to shore up the government's finances, given soaring debt and welfare costs, according to a member of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's tax and social security panel. "I don't think an increase to 10 percent is enough," former financial services minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Tuesday in an interview at his Tokyo office. "Our discussions must be based on new realities."


I wrote before that the government of this country will never recognize a crisis until it is too late. They will never understand that raising taxes and raising taxes has been tried in the past, yet our debt bomb continues to grow. Once again, I'd like to reiterate that I predict that the government of Naoto Kan will be booted from office this June.


Japan Times continues:

Raising the tax may have political consequences. The Democratic Party of Japan did poorly in the Upper House election last July after Kan floated the idea of raising the levy. When the tax was last raised in 1997, the economy went into recession.

Duh! Do you think it's going to happen again?

The Japan Times article starts to defy belief when they say that, according to a survey, that 60 percent of voters believe that taxes must be raised. If you believe that, I have a portable ramen stall that's sitting in front of the train station to sell you. 

More than 60 percent of voters believe raising the tax is necessary while 35 percent disagree, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey published Jan. 16. The paper polled 1,069 people on Jan. 14 and 15 and didn't provide a margin of error.

There's no way I can believe that Joe Japanese guy on the street would ever say that he is not taxed enough already. If those survey results were true, if 60% of the public believe that taxes must be raised, then why did Kan's party fare so poorly in the last election?

Just let them try to raise the taxes and see just how badly they get trounced in the next elections.

By the mere virtue of saying in public that taxes must be raised by more than 200% and then adding that these discussions about taxes, "....must be based on new realities" just shows how far out of touch with the regular people, er, I mean, us peasants, these government fools are. I wonder how much longer Joe Japanese is going to put up with this?


When the problem is government debt, why can't they ever come up with ways of cutting spending - like eliminating military exercises (that must surely be against Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution? Why must it always be increasing taxes? 


These people have to go.... I need to have a drink.

2011: The Year Japan Defaults or Gets High Inflation?

From Bloomberg:

Japan’s top government spokesman said the country’s fiscal situation is “approaching the edge of a cliff,” underscoring Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s call for a national debate on raising the 5 percent sales tax.

Kan is “expressing his deep sense of crisis and resolution about the sustainability of social security as the aging population increases under a low birth rate,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku told reporters today in Tokyo. “The supporting fiscal conditions don’t allow for any delays, it’s finally approaching the edge of a cliff.”

The prime minister last night said in an interview with TV Asahi that he would “stake my political life” on addressing Japan’s rising social welfare costs and increasing public debt. The day before he said “now is the time” to face these problems.

No. I think now is the time to make a vote of "no confidence" and hold an election vote out these clowns. You never hear about government cutting expenditures, only more taxes. These people have to go. They are too beholden to vested interests.

My friend Mish Shedlock has an excellent commentary about this mess here.

Cigarette Sales in Japan Up 88% Before Tax Rise - To Drop Off Cliff After

Yesterday, I went to the store to buy two packs of cigarettes for my friends. They were ¥440 yen per pack! I quit smoking when they were ¥300 (or so). I was shocked at how expensive one pack has become!

Now, the news comes out that, n the month before a hefty tax on cigarettes came into effect, sales of cigarettes jumped 88%!

From Japan Times:


Cigarette sales in September jumped 88.0 percent from a year before to 37.4 billion cigarettes as the largest-ever tobacco tax hike on Oct. 1 spurred last-minute buying, according to the Finance Ministry. The ministry said this may be the sharpest increase ever and it is paying attention to the possible blow tobacco farmers and retailers may suffer in and after October.


Of course that is going to happen before a large increase, but my two friends both told me that they used to smoke  2 1/2 packs a day. Now, they smoke less than a pack a day.


I guess that just goes to prove that, when taxes are raised, in the long run, sales will decline. Look for tobacco sales to drop off a cliff until at least next year; people are cutting down now because of the price increases and the really smart ones will get fed up with the tax nonsense and quit.


But, as we know, the fools running our government never learn for the past. 

Marketing Japan: Japan's Financial Disaster Coming Soon

This blog is about Marketing for Japan and also about interesting tidbits about Japan for your enjoyment. Now, I don't usually blog about so much financial information and news as such, but something has just come across my desk that I just cannot stay silent about.

From this morning's Japan Times:

National debt hits 190% of GDP at ¥900 trillion

The outstanding balance of the central government's debt reached a record high ¥904.08 trillion at the end of June amid massive bond issuances and declining tax revenue, Finance Ministry data showed Tuesday. It is the first time the debt balance, including government bonds and financing bills, has topped ¥900 trillion. Per capita debt came to around ¥7.10 million based on Japan's estimated population of about 127.42 million as of July 1. 

This is just total and complete insanity by the government. Of course, anyone who can read between the lines can see how this does effect every aspect of life in Japan including future works and economic aspects as well as how this will effect marketing in this country and life in general.

That ¥7.10 million per capita debt comes out to around $83, 172 (USD) per man, woman, and child owed in red ink the country of Japan. That means that if every single man, woman and child paid $83,172 dollars right now, we'd pay off our national debt - but be back into immediate debt by tomorrow due to interest on that debt! This is crazy. 

Now, on top of that, the Keynesian idiots in the government want to raise consumption taxes (sales tax) from 5% to 10%!? Morons.


There is no way out of this mess that the government has gotten us into except to either declare bankruptcy or repudiate debt. But you won't hear anyone talk about the 800-pound gorilla in the room. Things are bad enough now with 15.7% of the Japanese public below the poverty line. What is there that can be done? Raising taxes!? We are already taxed to death! The people have been squeezed and can be squeezed no more!

Of course, we never hear any ideas from the government about shutting down unwanted "services" like massive government run organizations that are basically a social jobs network for retired government workers (like meter maids). 


How about we start by slashing government employees pay and staff by 50% and ending all overseas "self-defense" missions and war-games training today?

The end of this financial mess is coming soon enough. No country in the history of mankind has ever survived this sort of Fiat money expansion that the Japanese government is currently involved in... 

The Romans couldn't do it. The Germans couldn't do it. Japan hasn't been able to do it over these last 20 years (the USA certainly is trying but will fail too)...

The only option for you, dear reader, is to get out of debt ASAP and protect your investments with commodities like gold, silver or oil.  


If you are interested, here is one of the best places to buy gold in Tokyo. 

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Keywords: debt, sales tax, keynesian, consumption tax,