As is invariably the case nowadays the discussion turned to the American economy. One question that was raised and debated at length was whether it is possible that the American economy could go the same way as the Japanese economy. The response was depressingly familiar and mirrored the common economic errors that govern so much economic commentary and advice.
Japanese economy is perfectly true.
This is the common key factor that tends to be overlooked. On the one hand, Americans are told that booming consumer spending is driving their economy while on the hand they are also warned about the dangers of consumer debt. That the two phenomena are linked completely eludes these commentators. In reality, entrepreneurship drives the economy while savings, i.e., investment, fuels it. America has plenty of the former but little or nothing of the latter.