Good observation Marco. This sort of unashamed volte face of stance is something we've become used to seeing from.politicians mainly. Of course, it happened with many brilliant scientists during the COVID pandemic as well! I guess the need to put out sound bytes in these information overload times is greater than the need to think and be honest!
I think you are exactly right. The part I find most paradoxical is that in an era where we can check everything instantly (well, aside for the censorship element of course) and nothing can be fully erased from the digital record, there is still zero accountability for these kinds of reversals
True. Classic pol-sci-fi like Orwell's 1984 worried about how governments would become efficient and successful at re-writing history. But did not anticipate the fact that most people would be all too willing to go along with it and constantly rewrite more comfortable narratives
I completely agree, Marco. Japan, of course, has had declining household savings AND deflation AND super-low bond yields for more than two decades now. One thing it has shared with Italy is the development of a dual labour market, with a large block of protected workers on one side and a growing (until recently) block of precarious ones on the other, which has depressed wages and thus both household consumption and savings. I'd argue that this, along with the effect of the 1990 financial crash and banking implosion on corporate savings/debt behaviour, has had a bigger long-term effect than demography as such -- but also ought to be more susceptible to public policy interventions
Excellent point Bill, and you are absolutely right, the health of the labour market is a much more significant issue and indeed one that can and should be addressed by policy -- both in Japan and in Italy.
Good observation Marco. This sort of unashamed volte face of stance is something we've become used to seeing from.politicians mainly. Of course, it happened with many brilliant scientists during the COVID pandemic as well! I guess the need to put out sound bytes in these information overload times is greater than the need to think and be honest!
I think you are exactly right. The part I find most paradoxical is that in an era where we can check everything instantly (well, aside for the censorship element of course) and nothing can be fully erased from the digital record, there is still zero accountability for these kinds of reversals
And yet, nobody asks any questions because I think collective memory has been irrevocably damaged by too much constant media bombardment!
True. Classic pol-sci-fi like Orwell's 1984 worried about how governments would become efficient and successful at re-writing history. But did not anticipate the fact that most people would be all too willing to go along with it and constantly rewrite more comfortable narratives
I completely agree, Marco. Japan, of course, has had declining household savings AND deflation AND super-low bond yields for more than two decades now. One thing it has shared with Italy is the development of a dual labour market, with a large block of protected workers on one side and a growing (until recently) block of precarious ones on the other, which has depressed wages and thus both household consumption and savings. I'd argue that this, along with the effect of the 1990 financial crash and banking implosion on corporate savings/debt behaviour, has had a bigger long-term effect than demography as such -- but also ought to be more susceptible to public policy interventions
Excellent point Bill, and you are absolutely right, the health of the labour market is a much more significant issue and indeed one that can and should be addressed by policy -- both in Japan and in Italy.