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Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ramsey Su who wrote (5551)	8/14/1998 2:47:00 PM
From: Robert Douglas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

Thread. Re: An historical perspective. A lot of criticism of Asia has past over this thread during the last few months. Certainly much of it is warranted. What I am wondering is if we are being conveniently forgetful of the economic histories of what we today call the "developed" countries? I have a fairly good economic background but I confess to knowing few details of the United States or other capitalistic countries during their "teen-age" years. What I mean by this is those rapidly growing, reckless periods with booms followed by busts and depressions. It seems to me that they were called panics in those days. I would be interested to know of any books that thread participants recommend that cover this topic. I have already ordered a copy of "The Robber Barons", which I read in school but have mostly forgotten. Perhaps we forget too easily that many of our great capitalists were in bed with the government too. Sound familiar? I look forward to your responses. -Robert

To: Ramsey Su who wrote (5551)	8/14/1998 2:48:00 PM
From: Ron Bower	Respond to of 9980

Ramsey, I agree that Japan must find it's own solution, but that solution cannot be to the detriment of the US or world economies. If they plan to export their way out of the mess, then their markets must be opened. They cannot do nothing to solve their domestic problems and expect the US and Europe to bail them out by assuming huge trade deficits. The problem I see is most Asian economies being dependent on Japan's, mainly thru Japan's banks. If they collapse, the whole regional economic structure fails, with HK/China being the possible exception. This scenario leads to a potential world depression. If it weren't for this, I would suggest the US work with the countries that are trying to resolve their problems and let Japan flounder in the mess created by their own mistakes. JMHO, Ron

To: Ramsey Su who wrote (5551)	8/14/1998 3:01:00 PM
From: P.T.Burnem	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

This is the type of "we know what is better for you" attitude that has no place in the modern world. Look at the disastrous results in the former USSR because Gorby got suckered into destroying a political infrastructure and have nothing to replace it with. Can you imagine if China caved in during the Tiananmen era to this "vacuum" democracy? Saying that China has done a better job then Russia transitioning from communism to capitalism is akin to saying that Japan has managed its banking system better than the US because they have had fewer banking failures. PTB

To: Ramsey Su who wrote (5551)	8/14/1998 3:24:00 PM
From: Joseph Beltran	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9980

Ramsey, What I was suggesting was the placing of reciprocal restrictions/limitations on japanese imports, i.e. if japan insists on having each foreign vehicle which enters japan be individually inspected by a person (and only hire 10 people to do all the inspections)we should implement similar "import" provisions. Another aspect of our relationship with Japan which should be re-assessed is the area of defense. We have provided for Japan's defense since the end of the war at virtually no cost to Japan. Japan is not in the state in which it was in immediate following the war. It is high time for Japan to take over its own national defense, at its own exclusive cost. The same applies for south korea. I have absolutely no desire to see my tax dollars subsidize the defense of japan or korea for that matter. The broader point which I was trying to make is that I view Japan as a country which is willing to take, take, and take, but which is completely unwilling to assume any responsible or leadership role as a world economic power. Let's face it: japan believes that other countries should allow it unlimited access to their markets but places obstacle over obstacle to foreign entry into their own country. I don't believe this is what Adam Smith had in mind when it comes to "free trade". This unwillingness to assume any responsible role extends to other matters as well: has Japan (unlike Germany) ever acknowledged or expressed any regret for world war 2, including its blatant violations of the Geneva POW accords? regards