The new year has started amid a global recession, making many people hesitant to even say, "A happy New Year." The biggest problem is the economy. Frankly speaking, the government should take the initiative to improve the situation.
The new year has started amid a global recession, making many people hesitant to even say, "A happy New Year." The biggest problem is the economy. Frankly speaking, the government should take the initiative to improve the situation.
Private think tanks forecast that the economy will contract by an average of 1 percent in 2009 for the second consecutive year. If this is true, Japan will undergo the most serious recession in the post-war period. Since the scale of Japan's economy is 500 trillion yen, it will have contracted by 10 trillion yen over a two-year period.
!ADVERTISEMENT!
It is problematic that outstanding deficit-covering bonds continue to accumulate. However, unless the government takes action, the recession will worsen and adversely affect the government's plan to balance the deficit-ridden state budget. The government should not hesitate to use extra taxpayers' money to prop up the economy if it is really needed.
The question is what actually is needed to rescue the economy. If the government repeats its old-style policy of lavishing taxpayers' money on public works projects, it would be criticized as being intellectually flawed.
It goes without saying that investments should be made intensively in areas that are expected to grow -- such as medical and nursing care services that respond to the aging population, as well as on education. In fact, the number of jobs is increasing in these fields in the United States.
Greater importance should be attached to investments in the environmental protection field, considering Japan's situation over the next several decades.
Times are undergoing drastic changes. The global recession emanating from the United States has highlighted the collapse of the growth model based on the assumption that massive amounts of natural resources and energy need to be consumed. The world is now pursuing new growth.
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is reportedly set to adopt what he calls a Green New Deal program as one of the pillars of his "Obamanomics," or his economic policy. It will be the environmental version of the New Deal program that former President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented to save the economy from the Great Depression.
The Green New Deal program will call for the investment of 150 billion dollars within 10 years to develop and spread recyclable energy sources in a bid to eradicate the U.S.'s heavy reliance on oil produced in the Middle East. Obama is said to expect the program to create 5 million jobs.
Article Continues:Â http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20090101p2a00m0na006000c.html
