On Sat, 26 Apr 2003 21:41:43 GMT, David Lloyd-Jones
wrote:

wrote:

On Sat, 26 Apr 2003 13:42:52 GMT, David Lloyd-Jones
wrote:

In Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, however, the post 1945 land reforms
are one of the pillars of both agricultural productivity and of their
now fully emerged democracy.

And they implemented land taxes at the same time, of course. Japan
has since abolished its land tax, and now suffers the inevitable
economic stagnation that results, while Taiwan and South Korea have
kept their land taxes, and consequently continue to post good economic
growth.

As usual you grossly overstate your case.

No. Overstating the case would be claiming that low or absent land
taxation wiped out the dinosaurs.

The land tax give-away is far
from the only damaging thing the LDP has done in the post-Tanaka -- or
perhaps post-Ikeda! -- years to undermine the Japanese economy.

That is definitely true. One reason I left Japan was that I couldn't
stand how blatant and accepted the exploitation of working people was:
welders squinting into the arc with no eye protection; window washers
hanging onto the outside of buildings with their other hand, with no
safety harness; no ear protection on road workers standing right next
to a screaming concrete cutter that had me wincing from 20 meters
away; thousands pretty, intelligent, and well-educated young girls
hired to do nothing but bow, serve tea, and submit to the unwelcome
sexual demands of executives; and the microscopic pens they were all
expected to raise their families in.

Imho you've nailed on of the evils, but only one of several equally
important.

The LDP has pursued many foolish, wicked, and destructive policies,
and the only thing that keeps Japan functioning is the long-suffering
Japanese worker. Place needs a revolution. But land, as usual, is
the key.

-- Roy L