Benson, you are in the catbird seat re construction and I can attest to the incredible power of the farmer in Japan. In fact when I was there (don’t know if this is true to the same extent now) the price of rice was 10 times what it is here because of farmer supports, stockpiles, etc. as an ineffective method of maintaining stable food supplies. IN fact, they effectively raised the price of rice to such a level that the Japanese started substituting potatoes and bread for rice.
benson- complain to your buddy dibs. I’m simply pointing out the irony of complaining about how ineffective our gov’t is, touting how Japan and China can get things done and lo & behold, one of those countries is a communist nation.
And I agree with cobble- Moses did some great stuff, and a lot of damage. Here again is the irony of complaining about government intrusiveness, while touting Robert Moses- an icon of government intrusiveness basically.
Come to think of it, I know what we need: ROBERT MOSES
benson and bxgrl,
ha,
yes, we need someone with the power of Robert Moses to cut through red tape,
the environmental sensibilities of Olmstead and Vaux
and
the city planning forsight of Baron Haussman who designed the Parisian cityscape.
benson, That is such a patently false statement. We most certainly DO NOT need someone ripping up cohesive neighborhoods and destroying the natural fabric of our city. Robert Moses did some good things, but he also did a huge amount of damage, which we have NOT figured out how to dig ourselves out from!
Trust me, I can’t speak for dibs but I doubt that he would be a happy camper as a businessman trying to cope with how intrusive the Japanese government is in business. Maybe he was just impressed to see how fast they could respond in the emergency.
Those who admire the Japanese prowess for “getting things done” need to know the following:
-there are two groups in Japan that have political power way, way beyond their proper share: farmers and construction companies. The former is due to the Japanese people’s sentiment for their agrarian roots, but it results in poor land-use planning. The latter is due to influence-buying. Every few months there is a scandal of some major Japanese politician being bought off by a construction company.
-As a result of this corruption, Japan spends heavily on public works. You want to talk about “Bridges to Nowhere”? It’s a Bridge to Nowhere paradise. The cost: public debt that is 200% of the annual GDP, the highest in the developed world (ours is approaching 90%, by comparison).
I agree that we need to regain our ability to “think and act” big, but Japan is no model.
Come to think of it, I know what we need: ROBERT MOSES.
quote:
Rob’s fan club just piped up in the Census thread. I don’t know how he does it, he just makes friends wherever he goes! : P
yeah i have no clue who that person is but obviously he/she has a bunch panty twists
*rob*
Benson, you are in the catbird seat re construction and I can attest to the incredible power of the farmer in Japan. In fact when I was there (don’t know if this is true to the same extent now) the price of rice was 10 times what it is here because of farmer supports, stockpiles, etc. as an ineffective method of maintaining stable food supplies. IN fact, they effectively raised the price of rice to such a level that the Japanese started substituting potatoes and bread for rice.
Agree 100% that Japan is no model for us.
Legion;
If one reads about Robert Haussman and his reconstruction of Paris, you would realize that he made Robert Moses look like a piker.
One cannot accomplish great things without some pain.
That’s it for me today.
“an icon of government intrusiveness basically.”
My point exactly, thank you.
benson- complain to your buddy dibs. I’m simply pointing out the irony of complaining about how ineffective our gov’t is, touting how Japan and China can get things done and lo & behold, one of those countries is a communist nation.
And I agree with cobble- Moses did some great stuff, and a lot of damage. Here again is the irony of complaining about government intrusiveness, while touting Robert Moses- an icon of government intrusiveness basically.
Come to think of it, I know what we need: ROBERT MOSES
benson and bxgrl,
ha,
yes, we need someone with the power of Robert Moses to cut through red tape,
the environmental sensibilities of Olmstead and Vaux
and
the city planning forsight of Baron Haussman who designed the Parisian cityscape.
benson, That is such a patently false statement. We most certainly DO NOT need someone ripping up cohesive neighborhoods and destroying the natural fabric of our city. Robert Moses did some good things, but he also did a huge amount of damage, which we have NOT figured out how to dig ourselves out from!
Trust me, I can’t speak for dibs but I doubt that he would be a happy camper as a businessman trying to cope with how intrusive the Japanese government is in business. Maybe he was just impressed to see how fast they could respond in the emergency.
Reality check re: Japan
Those who admire the Japanese prowess for “getting things done” need to know the following:
-there are two groups in Japan that have political power way, way beyond their proper share: farmers and construction companies. The former is due to the Japanese people’s sentiment for their agrarian roots, but it results in poor land-use planning. The latter is due to influence-buying. Every few months there is a scandal of some major Japanese politician being bought off by a construction company.
-As a result of this corruption, Japan spends heavily on public works. You want to talk about “Bridges to Nowhere”? It’s a Bridge to Nowhere paradise. The cost: public debt that is 200% of the annual GDP, the highest in the developed world (ours is approaching 90%, by comparison).
I agree that we need to regain our ability to “think and act” big, but Japan is no model.
Come to think of it, I know what we need: ROBERT MOSES.