4 ms·

I see the Japanese population as having a more defined vision of the future than Americans, and it's fairly negative vision. This leads to making concrete but p

by xiaoma 9y ago

I see the Japanese population as having a more defined vision of the future than Americans, and it's fairly negative vision. This leads to making concrete but pessimistic plans like saving as much money as possible and investing it only into things like real estate. My impression of the US mindset about the future is that it's hazy but also positive. This leads to low or negative savings and few convictions about where to invest. Most just take a broad portfolio approach and buy index funds. Many people have both debt and holdings in index funds. They're not sure how, but feel optimistic that things will work out well somehow.

zhemao 9y ago
Or maybe Americans save less and borrow more because necessary things like education, housing (in certain cities), and healthcare are so damn expensive.
- xiaoma 9y ago
  Japan has done an excellent job on health care, but Japanese housing costs are significantly higher on average than those in the US. Along with a huge and growing underclass of freeters and other workers who cannot land the shrinking number of corporate positions, housing costs are why Japan is famous for "parasite singles". Nonetheless, even those living below the poverty level are less likely to carry personal debt than Americans. Another problem with attributing American saving habits to health care or schooling costs is that Americans had a high propensity for debt even 30 years ago when those costs were much lower. Cultural differences are a driving factor.
Arizhel 9y ago
I disagree, however I've modded you up because your opinion is valid even if I think it's wrong and you've said nothing offensive. My viewpoint is far more pessimistic: I think there's a major cultural difference between the US and Japan, and that Japanese tend to be better managers of their personal finances than Americans. Americans have much higher debt, but it's because too many of them have spending addictions, and think they deserve to live like royalty, and with the availability of easy credit get sucked into that trap. I've seen it myself far too many times. Also, perhaps education has something to do with it: Americans generally aren't taught to budget or manage their personal finances in school much from what I've seen. Maybe they are in Japan. People in America complain a lot about things like the cost of rent, etc., which is definitely true IMO, but they do also tend to splurge on a lot of stuff they don't need, such as Starbucks drinks. If Americans were really short of funds, then how do all these Starbucks on every street corner stay in business selling $5-10 fancy drinks?

by xiaoma 9y ago

zhemao 9y ago

Or maybe Americans save less and borrow more because necessary things like education, housing (in certain cities), and healthcare are so damn expensive.

xiaoma 9y ago
Japan has done an excellent job on health care, but Japanese housing costs are significantly higher on average than those in the US. Along with a huge and growing underclass of freeters and other workers who cannot land the shrinking number of corporate positions, housing costs are why Japan is famous for "parasite singles". Nonetheless, even those living below the poverty level are less likely to carry personal debt than Americans. Another problem with attributing American saving habits to health care or schooling costs is that Americans had a high propensity for debt even 30 years ago when those costs were much lower. Cultural differences are a driving factor.

Arizhel 9y ago

I disagree, however I've modded you up because your opinion is valid even if I think it's wrong and you've said nothing offensive. My viewpoint is far more pessimistic: I think there's a major cultural difference between the US and Japan, and that Japanese tend to be better managers of their personal finances than Americans. Americans have much higher debt, but it's because too many of them have spending addictions, and think they deserve to live like royalty, and with the availability of easy credit get sucked into that trap. I've seen it myself far too many times. Also, perhaps education has something to do with it: Americans generally aren't taught to budget or manage their personal finances in school much from what I've seen. Maybe they are in Japan. People in America complain a lot about things like the cost of rent, etc., which is definitely true IMO, but they do also tend to splurge on a lot of stuff they don't need, such as Starbucks drinks. If Americans were really short of funds, then how do all these Starbucks on every street corner stay in business selling $5-10 fancy drinks?