From: emmett@kpc.com (Emmett Kilgariff)
Subject: Re: Japan could be skirting $30 billon in U.S. taxes annually
Organization: Kubota Pacific Computer Corporation, Santa Clara, CA
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1992 19:01:32 GMT

In article <54223@hydra.gatech.EDU> ph279sw@prism.gatech.EDU (FR SIGING WEI) writes:
>
>What do you think that "prime time",  is it really a 
>news report (close to ABC news) or a story teller
>(close to current affair)?
>
>For me, the story is good only for the time "bashing
>japan" is the fashion now: face it, except Japan
>as it is said from the say program, the other foriegn
>Co. reports $1.3X profit per $100 sale, while Japan
>reports $0.46 per $100. [Comparing US Co.'s $5-10]

	For me, it's not only a Japan-Bashing story. It tells of methods
multinational companies (including US companies) can use to get around
paying taxes. And seeing as we have a $400 billion deficit, we need
all the tax money we can get ($30 billion is no small chunk of change)!

>
>Why pick on Japan (IRS may have less people speak
>Japaness, how about English, to those countries like
>Britain or so).
>
	We shouldn't pick on Japan. We should treat them the same way
as if we found large US companies using a foreign country (Like Hitachi
used Singapore in the story) to evade taxes.

>By the way, does "prime time" people ever check what 
>say US company outside US do, as a comparison, whether
>it is the sin of the Japaness Co here in US, or just
>a common practice for everybody.
>
	Sometimes stories of what US companies do abroad are brought up
in the media. For instance, recently, CBS ran a story on how certain textile 
manufacturers were using factories in Guam, and importing a labor force from
third-world asian neighbors, to make Clothes. Since Guam is technically in the
US. they'd slap "MADE IN USA" labels on them, and people would think they were
buying an American-made product. Businesses are businesses, no matter who owns 
them. We should not treat Japanese businesses any better or worse than our own.
Japanese businessmen are businessmen, not saints or devils.

People in the U.S. may take the primetime story more seriously, because it 
affects them more than other stories. Regrettably, there is some Japan-bashing,
also. But, also there's alot of internal America-bashing, too. At one time
or another, over the past 10 years, I've heard the following excuses why
the US is having trouble competing with Japan. 
	1) Japanese Companies don't play fairly (as if US companies do)
	2) American Union workers are the problem. This used to be a big excuse.
		now that there are fewer unions, and we're still having
		trouble competing, people have picked another excuse, like
	3) American exectuives are paid too much.
	4) The American Education System is Sub-standard.
	5) American Workers are Lazy.
	6) US  Regulations are getting in the way.
	7) The US Financial system  encourages short term profits over Long 
			term growth.
	8) US companies have ignored manufacturing technology

Most people tend to pick one of these eight (or one that's not on my list)
and think it's the sole cause of our problem. Chances are, most of these
is partly correct, and the US will have to work on all of them if it
intends to  compete in the world economy. Personally, I think 4,7 and 8 
are the most important. I disagree somewhat with number 5.

	-Emmett