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Opinion Japanese workers fare well despite
crisis
By JOHN C. CORT
There is an excellent German word, schadenfreude, which means
taking secret pleasure in the misfortune of others. Most of us are guilty of
this vice at one time or another, but the people who are enjoying it most right
now are the pundits who daily point to what they call the collapse
or the mess of the Japanese economy.
These folks cant forgive Japan for beating our brains out in
the manufacture of steel, autos, cameras, textiles, radios, TVs, VCRs and
machine tools (partial list), thereby stealing millions of our best jobs. They
point, with ill-disguised glee, to a fall in the value of the yen against the
dollar -- forgetting that when the value of the dollar fell against the yen and
other currencies, they rejoiced because it meant U.S. manufacturers could sell
more of their products abroad. But what was good for us cant be good for
Japan. They are upset mainly because a stronger dollar means it will be more
difficult to sell abroad.
There have been real problems in Japan over bad loans made by the
banks, some resulting bank failures, bad investments in real estate and
instability in the stock market. Some of the Japanese rich have suffered, but
does anyone remember our own savings and loan scandal? In fact, bad
investments, bank failures, bankruptcies and stock market losses occur here
every day.
What is most ridiculous, however, about the current overdose of
schadenfreude is the assumption that there is widespread suffering among the
Japanese because of a severe recession. You even see the word depression being
used. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Unemployment in Japan, which has averaged the incredible figure of
2.3 percent over the 25 years between 1973 and 1998, has increased, it is true,
but at 4.3 percent it is still lower than U.S. unemployment, which the pundits
proudly remind us is the lowest in 25 years -- failing to note that it can rise
to 20 or 30 percent among black youth in the ghettos. Most of the large
Japanese companies still provide lifetime employment to their workers, a
practice that has become almost extinct here as downsizing has swept through
our industrial landscape, leaving devastation in its wake but fat profits for
stockholders and management.
CEO compensation here in large companies is now about 200 times
that of the average factory worker, according to Business Week, whereas in
Japan it is rarely more than 25-to-1. Last time I looked, factory
wages in Japan were 17.7 percent higher than in the United States, and their
inflation rate was lower than ours. Their health and welfare provisions are
superior, their educational system infinitely superior.
But the most telling comparison of all is the quality of life
enjoyed, or suffered, by the children in these two countries. In Japan 2
percent of the children live in poverty. In the United States the national
figure is 21 percent. Among black children it is 51 percent. There is
schadenfreude over double digit unemployment in Germany, but the percentage of
poor children there is only 4 percent. In Canada it is 9 percent, well below
our disgraceful figure.
I have found one pundit who agrees that Japans
problems have been grossly exaggerated. Ezra Vogel, director of
Harvards Asia Center and author of Japan as Number One, recently noted
that Japan is still the biggest holder of foreign reserves in the world,
with $224 billion, and most citizens are happy with their quality
of life, which includes a low crime rate, low unemployment and excellent
schools.
In short, some collapse! Almost everything that affects workers,
consumers and the poor is superior to conditions in the United States, not just
yesterday but today, right now. The conclusion is clear: The pundits are
evaluating our comparative economies, not on the basis of what concerns the
mass of the population, but what concerns investors and the stock market --
which means mainly the rich and those who aspire to be rich.
John C. Cort is the author of Christian Socialism and a
longtime contributor to Catholic publications.
National Catholic Reporter, August 28,
1998
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