Blunt Questions

This quote, from Japan Today, is interesting in that it reflects the Japanese tendency to ask blunt questions, as well what it might imply:

 "Do you find it difficult to use the huge amounts of money you have earned?"   Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, at the outset of his meeting with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Wednesday. Gates answered "Not really," citing world health as an area in which he invests.

Japanese people have no fear in asking your age, maritial status and your opinion of Japan, Japanese food, and Japnese women within 10 minutes of meeting you. So it comes as no surprise that Kolizumi might cut to the chase and ask Gates soemthing that he has long wondered about. I found several of the comments interesting as well. For example, this one from Jay_in_Texas:

I hope this question was taken out of context or translated poorly. Otherwise, it is insulting.

A "punish the successful" attitude is slowly replacing the "admire the successful" attitude in America. I wonder if it pervading other cultures, too.

I do not know Koizumi's personality that well -- so I do not know if this is just a sarcastic dig at Bill, or an ignorant, jealous rhetorical question. Gates seemed to handle it diplomatically, though.

Linux geeks, here is your chance to pile-on our fabulous American icon.

I wonder how we “punish the successful”? I think we still worship the successful, look at Donald Trump, Paris Hilton, The Osbornes, etc… I think we tend to equate monetary success as the only barometer for success. I have to admit I am distrustful of people with money, I’ve never had it and have never really known people how had, that is until I came to Japan. The point is I can admire successful people, and I do admire Bill gates, he has made the world a better place in my opinion, other may argue, furthermore he has been generous to my alma matter the University of Washington and other charities. Take someone else, lets say the guy who introduced outsourcing to the business world, he is probably rich and considered successful, but I see the legacy of this policy wreaking havoc not only on America where thousands of middle class jobs evaporated overnight, but the far reaching effects on exploited workers who are paid substantially less freeing up money for what…the shareholders. I can’t admire this individual, but I am sure almost everyone else in America would.

A friend told me that he has a Japanese business expert friend who gives lectures and he challenges his audiences by saying things like: “In Japan companies take profits and re-invest them in the company rightfully as they should", and my friend says catcalls erupt form the audience: “You don’t really believe that do you?” The western paradigm of profit at all costs is difficult to shatter. In America the averages CEO makes perhaps s much as 100 times the salary as the lowest on the totem pole. And this doesn’t make sense to me, since the workers are the ones who really create the growth not he person who gives the seed money to start the corporation-just another example of how the rich get richer exploiting whoever whenever they can. The history of strike breaking-employing children and women at lower wages (the outsourcing of the past), poor working conditions, company stores and accommodation that came out of paychecks-the messy past of capitalism that doesn’t jibe with it’s image of where it’s at today. It is much more equitable here in Japan, and therefore it has a larger middle class, a seemingly more stable society without the need for as many safety nets, and society seems more equal financially than in places like America, but who knows how long this will last before they adopt western style business standards.

It upsets me that sometimes what’s good for business isn’t good for the environment, the workers, the consumers, but corporations don’t think like rational human beings and therein lays the problem. Then you get disasters like Enron,

In America, if you are a teacher people know that it is supposed to be an important job, but they think you are a chump for doing it. Basically a tough job that doesn't pay much. In Japan at least you get respect for being a teacher it’s part of the culture to respect elders and knowledgeable people.

Basically, it seems to be me that the American/western capitalistic paradigm isn’t the only possible model-can there really be a third way? But, it doesn’t really matter because those who have the power will never cede it and it will stay the same or get worse-especially if you consider every administration in power since Carter in America.

Comments

[Arie]

The 45 million Americans without health insurance at the bottom of the income ladder will sympathize with this. This cheap labor force subsidizes the upper and middle classes and we offer less and less in return. Bill Gates Sr. talks about how companies like Microsoft owe so much to the public trust for early funding of computer science, the internet, universities and the infrastructure that makes companies successful. All intuitive and true - unless you're in the current administration. Do I need to mention the growing wealth gap?

On outsourcing I have mixed feelings (and dirty hands). With all costs considered an engineer in India costs about half what one here in the US does. The salary disparity is more of course. Why not give those chaps a shot? Are they less deserving? In many cases we simply can't find large pools of well educated computer engineers in the US, so regardless of cost we need to look abroad.

[Mark]

>

Don't call me a Republican for saying this, but in many cases CEO's actually earn their salaries. At least in the software world, the founders of companies I've been involved with (Paul Brainerd of Aldus, Chuck Geschke and John Warnock of Adobe, Ted Johnson and Jeremey Jaech of Visio, Bill Gates) provided much more than seed money. In some cases, they didn't have money at all & relied on vc. In all cases, they had vision, leadership, tenacity, and the ideas to create something from nothing, and if it weren't for them there would be no lower man on the totel pole (e.g. me). This doesn't exonerate the scum at Tyco and Enron, but you've got to give visionaries their due.

[Edward]

Bill Gates is unusual as the founder and current CEO of one of the worlds largest companies. Most CEOs are principally employees themselves, and (like other directors) get paid such a lot because as the people in charge they have the most influence over the company's resources - and so the most potential to make a big profit (or loss). The other employees are simply part of the resources - and are paid accordingly.
Investors on the other hand simply provide money to a business - which involves the risk of losing this money - and it is for this risk that they are paid. If the risk is great - so often are the returns. It's an educated gamble basically - not much better than people winning on the lottery.

[Edward]

Another point I should make is that America is probably one of the countries least guilty of punishing the successful. A very short story will illustrate. In his autobiography (of some years ago now), Michael Caine recounts that on returning to England after many years living in Hollywood, he required the services of a plumber for some work on his luxury bathroom. On seeing this luxury, the plumber walked out - refusing to work for someone with such excessive wealth. He told MC he should be ashamed of himself. MC was shocked at this reaction, having recently come from a country where a poor guy made good (he's from a very poor family) would be looked up to - someone to aspire to be, rather than someone to bring down to their level. Now I'm no fan of disparities in wealth - and America has more than its fair share, but I think using the success of others as motivation rather than as a reason for bitterness is certainly positive. Of course, America doesn't have a long history of class or cast like most of Europe or Asia.
On the orginal topic, Koreans are very like Japanese in this way, and my colleagues at school had no hesitation in asking me how much I earn. I hesitated at first, but was told not to worry because most people already knew. They have a very different concept of privacy here.

[MC]

One of the posters onthe original thread mentioned this British distaste for wealth/success-which I was going to comment on.

I guess I was trying to say that excessive wealth often sickens me, but sometimes I feel it is deserved and worthy of admiration. Sometiems not-what id dGeorge Bush ever do besdie have hsi father buy him a baseball team? I believe he ran two or three other business into the ground, before finding success with the Rangers and a as a governor.