or reject them wholecloth, rather than see part of a complex whole.
Here's a broad, radical analysis of the Toyota dynamic dominating
the media. Agree or no, it connects with so much else going on in our
world it offers a dimension to consider as this plays out. I've added a
critique and then a response, at the bottom. But first, a great show: -Ed
From: David Magdael <dmagdael@tcdm-associates.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 12:18 PM
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***
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=17804
Targeting Toyota: US Economic War Directed Against Japan
by Mike Whitney
Global Research: Feb 26, 2010
Does anyone really believe that Toyota is being pilloried in the media
for a few highway fatalities?
Nonsense. If Congress is so worried about innocent people getting
killed, then why haven't they indicted US commander Stanley McChrystal for
blowing up another 27 Afghan civilians last Sunday?
But this isn't about bloodshed and it's certainly not "safety
regulations". It's about politics--bare-knuckle Machiavellian politics. An
attack on Toyota is an attack on Japan's leading export. It is an act of
war. Here's a excerpt from the New York Times which explains what is really
going on:
"The Japanese economy has emerged from its worst recession since World
War II, but is still reeling. Japan must do more to lift its economy out of
deflation and boost long-term growth", S.&P. said.
"The outlook change reflects our view that the Japanese government's
diminishing economic policy flexibility may lead to a downgrade unless
measures can be taken to stem fiscal and deflationary pressures," S.&P.
said. "The policies of the new Democratic Party of Japan government point to
a slower pace of fiscal consolidation than we had previously expected."
President Barack Obama is expected to address similar worries in the
Untied States on Wednesday, with a call for a freeze in spending on many
domestic programs, a move he hopes will quell perceptions that government
spending is out of control. Fiscal problems in Greece and Ireland have also
helped put the spotlight on the issue of national debt." ("Japan's High Debt
Prompts Credit Rating Warning", HIROKO TABUCHI AND BETTINA WASSENER, NY
Times)
Japan's new liberal government is fighting deflation using the
traditional methodology, by lowering interest rates and increasing fiscal
stimulus. But that's not what Washington wants. Neoliberal policymakers and
their buddies in the right-wing think tanks want "fiscal consolidation"
which means harsh austerity measures that will deepen the recession,
increase unemployment, and trigger a wave of defaults and bankruptcies. This
is how western corporatists and bank tycoons keep their thumb on the
developing world and thrust their economies into perennial crisis. It's the
"shock doctrine" and it's been the IMF's modus operandi for over 20 years.
Japan is being stuffed into a fiscal straight-jacket by supporters of the
Washington consensus whose goal is to weaken government and accelerate the
privatization of public assets and services.
The ratings agencies are being used in the same way as the media; to
wage an economic/guerrilla war on Japan and force the administration to
rethink their economic policies. (Note: There is no chance that Japan will
default on its debt because it pays its debts in its own currency and has
large foreign exchange reserves of over $1 trillion) The attacks on Toyota
are a way of showing Tokyo what happens to countries that fail to obey
Washington's orders.
Here's a clip from the New York Times which sums up the problem in a
nutshell:
The government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has "bolstered
spending on social programs aimed at helping households......The powerful
lower house of parliament approved a supplementary budget for the fiscal
year that ends in March worth ¥7.2 trillion, or $80.3 billion, to help shore
up the economy...And next year, government spending will grow further with a
record trillion-dollar budget including ambitious welfare outlays. (New York
Times)
Western elites will not tolerate economic policies which raise the
standard of living for the average working slob. "Social programs" or
"welfare outlays" are anathema to their trickle down, Voodoo capitalist
orthodoxy. What they want is upward redistribution and class warfare.
Regrettably, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has put himself at odds with US
powerbrokers and is feeling the full measure of their wrath. His public
approval ratings have plummeted to 37 percent and are headed downward still.
The message is simple: Cross Washington and you're a goner.
Mike Whitney is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global
Research Articles by Mike Whitney
***
From: "Razer" <razer@razedby.heliohost.org>
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Hash: SHA1
On 2/26/2010 9:58 AM, tchilds@resist.ca wrote:
> Nonsense.
>
> Does anyone really believe that Toyota is being pilloried in the
> media for a few highway fatalities?
Agreed. But OTOH, Toyota's failure to note the problem and deal with
it before it became a US national headline also speaks volumes about
the "Americanization" of Japanese industry, which prospered
magnificently when their industrial culture included W. Edward
Deming's statistical quality assurance principles intact with his
philosophy, lifetime employment etc.
I've worked around foreign and Japanese cars in my life and 20/25
years ago, this would not have happened. It would have been noted with
the first failures spike, most likely (from my personal experience)
within the month, the part number, the serial numbers of ALL cars with
the part installed, and part's vendor (JIT, multisourced), would have
been noted, and ALL cars with the defective part would have
immediately been recalled and repaired.
If Mr. Toyoda was sufficiently humbled, this industrial oversight, it
WILL NOT happen again
I DO want to compare this manufacturing muckup to Mattel's jobbing out
of a whole contract to produce lead-contaminated toys from China,
which they marketed and distributed without EVER INSPECTING A SINGLE
PART... unheard of in the annals of American manufacturing. Mattel
laid the blame on the Chinese in the US media, and then apologized to
them (because it was NOT ultimately the Chinese manufacturers fault.
It WAS within Mattel's specs), but not to the US consumers of the product.
Leigh
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