well, I really don't know why they bother. I think nobody could believe money printing on a such scale can happen without any negative consequnces. But I'm sure in the next few years you will see significant tax reduction in Japan We don't know how big free launch can be. For now they have free launch and it doesn't seem it will end any time soon. I believe they have at least 10+ years of doing the same thing before anything will change
I'm neither optimistic nor pessimistic. It looks bad but they keep muddling through. When will inflation will kick in? When it does will it be controllable?
I think there is another sets of solutions for both choices: 1. They already rejected more immigration. Instead they could encourage or make it mandatary for women to work and boost the economy that way. 2. Instead of pulling the plug on grandma, extend the retirement age and kill two birds with one stone: Save on social and welfare spending and boost the economy. Pushing out the retirement age is inevitable for the rest for the developed world.
Agreed, but they've actually been doing both those things and it's not sufficient... As an illustration of point 2, if you've ever taken a cab in Tokyo, you would see. That's what all the retired guys end up doing.
The debate is actually over, but one side won't concede defeat. http://www.nber.org/papers/w15438 "We examine the evidence on episodes of large stances in fiscal policy, both in cases of fiscal stimuli and in that of fiscal adjustments in OECD countries from 1970 to 2007. Fiscal stimuli based upon tax cuts are more likely to increase growth than those based upon spending increases. As for fiscal adjustments, those based upon spending cuts and no tax increases are more likely to reduce deficits and debt over GDP ratios than those based upon tax increases. In addition, adjustments on the spending side rather than on the tax side are less likely to create recessions. We confirm these results with simple regression analysis." This is a peer reviewed study examining 92 attempts at stimulus since 1970 in OECD countries and the evidence is clear. Tax cuts work. Spending increases don't.
FHL, Good paper, Silvia Ardagna is now at GS... The LDP pushed for a sales tax increase a couple of years ago, hoping to achieve a primary surplus (balanced budget excluding debt servicing/interest payments) by 2020. The real end goal is to avoid a sovereign credit downgrade however... One can't blame them for wanting to rectify the consequences of 2 decades of Keynesian folly and big government, but it's too late now, they're caught in a catch 22. Either raise the taxes and face a recession as they did shortly after they raised the sales tax from 5% to 8% in 2014 or delay the tax increases as they are doing now (delaying a hike to 10% to 2019) and face the credit downgrade. They are cornered. And the piper will be paid.
Interesting recent move in gold/JPY. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/a...ith-yen-crashes-near-record-lows-against-gold Today gold/USD = 1611 USD/JPY 111.26 gold/JPY = 179,240
Hard to generate growth when the population is shrinking, birth rate tanking; about time they open up and accept more young, able body immigrants to help support an aging population.