Japan's Big-Works Stimulus Is Lesson for U.S.. I'll be honest, some of the glowing projections about the multiplier effect I see on some blogs are giving me flashbacks (I was blogging by Spring of 2002).
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Japan's Big-Works Stimulus Is Lesson for U.S.. I'll be honest, some of the glowing projections about the multiplier effect I see on some blogs are giving me flashbacks (I was blogging by Spring of 2002).
Dogs and Demons gives a much more thorough and alarming description about Japan's "construction state". The whole nation and natural environment has been paved over in concrete.
A more pressing issue, that the Times article does not discuss in the Japanese case study, is the corruption that can come from this kind of make work expansion. Self-interested parties deeply entrench failed systems, often expanding them in scope and power, even when they end up harming the public good.
one hopeful point is that the USA has something of a two-party system.