Lower house OKs record ¥101.46 tril budget for FY2019

Hey Abe, my yet to be born great-great-grandkids say no thank you!

Raising taxes so that they can give you back vouchers!

Defense spending will also hit a record high of 5.26 trillion yen, partly due to purchases of the Aegis Ashore missile defense system and half a dozen F-35A stealth fighters.

Total waste of money!

and shopping vouchers for households with low incomes or small children.

I read through the whole article with all the flamboyant spending and the corruption scandal then, right at the very bottom as if it is just an insignificant footnote, lays the above statement. It’s pretty easy to see what’s this government’s priorities lay and it is not with the people.

More than a third of the budget...will go toward social security programs such as pensions and health care.

I don't get this. Because neither of those things are free in Japan, like in other countries. I pay out of pocket for both, and the amounts are substantial.

Fiscal madness, the pool of tax payers shrinking, as is the economy. 60% of which is Domestic driven not export driven. Yet year after year the government spends more and more? Not even a whisper of cutting back waistful spending. If they really need these new mind numbingly expensive toys then make cuts to pay for them. And then their best idea is to hamstring the economy further with a tax hike, while wages are at best at a 1990 level. Absolute madness.

I don't get this. Because neither of those things are free in Japan, like in other countries. I pay out of pocket for both, and the amounts are substantial.

You pay basically 1/3 of the insurance costs, no matter how substantial that is, and you miss the fact that there are plenty of folks collecting pensions and welfare from the government as well.

So the other 2/3rds is paid by taxes and it is increasing yearly as the elderly pay even less than 30%

You pay basically 1/3 of the insurance costs, .... So the other 2/3rds is paid by taxes

If ⅔ of health costs come out of taxes, what's happening to the rather hefty health insurance premiums that disappear from my bank account every month?

you miss the fact that there are plenty of folks collecting pensions and welfare from the government as well.

The increasing number of pensions as more and more baby boomers retire is driving up spending on pensions. But all those people paid in to the system during their working lives - by the bucketful during the bubble years - so what they get now should be covered by the pot that accumulated then, without needing to fleece today's smaller flock of young workers.

The reason Abe has to somehow find more money to cover pensions is that the Jiminto squandered the plentiful pension premiums it received from all those baby boomer workers, using them to build empty concrete boxes and roads to nowhere to keep their construction company pals happy and the political contributions flowing.

@Yubaru

"...and you miss the fact that there are plenty of folks collecting pensions and welfare from the government as well."

They didnt get it for free, either. They spent their entire lives, 40 years or so, contributing to their own pension plans and paying for their health insurance. It's highly suspicious there is such a huge hole for an expense that people have already paid huge amounts of money into.

Indeed there is absolutely no need for record defense spending. The Aegis missile system is being paid for on the backs of both the young and old. Only crazy right wingers dream of Japan fighting another war. This is the most peaceful time in this part of the world since the 1800s.

It's not really suspicious. The simple fact is that the pension system was set up on the assumption that people would work and pay in for 40+ years, and then receive a pension for 5-10 years. Over time that has shifted to pay in for 40 years and receive pension for 20-25 years. This may have been manageable had contributions been increased constantly to match life expectancy, but this has always lagged behind. Nobody has wanted to grasp the nettle.

It is certainly true that there has been some comical squandering of tax money, but the fundamental point still stands - the current retiring generation (individually through no fault of their own) did not contribute enough to support 20-year retirements. Worse, the current working generation is not (also individually through no fault of their own) contributing enough to support their likely 30-40 year retirements. As they are also going to have to make up the shortfall for the baby-boomers, their outlook is pretty bleak. Still, at least they will all have jobs. Possibly two...

But all those people paid in to the system during their working lives - by the bucketful during the bubble years - so what they get now should be covered by the pot that accumulated then, without needing to fleece today's smaller flock of young workers.

Yet you fail to remember that the elderly only paid 10% of the costs for more than a generation and deductions have not kept up pace with costs.

Those collecting pensions and benefits today are receiving far more than what they paid into the system as well. 100 yen then is a hell of a lot different today as you know.

Not to mention it isnt really the pension fund that is the problem, but the NHI and welfare costs that have skyrocketed. For purely political reasons, the LDP has focused on supporting the elderly for generations, because they keep the LDP in office.

The consumption tax increase will be used for the younger people, but many fear it may be too little too late because of all the strings attached, and the expected "income" may fall short of reality.

Is it just me, or have we seen record budgets being approved for 7 consecutive years with Abe in power? Japan have 280% of their GDP in debt, still they approve record budgets after record budgets, seemingly unaware that the economy will inevitably break at some point.

Abe is postponing the crisis, and letting someone else (CDP) handle his mess, and they (CDP) will also have to deal with the unsatisfied population who blames the crisis on them (CDP) for what is actually Abe's mess!

Abe is a cynical bastard who's only interested in saving his own skin.

the elderly only paid 10% of the costs for more than a generation and deductions have not kept up pace with costs.

I think you're confusing the pension scheme and the national health insurance.

I've paid bucketloads into the health insurance with very little return (and I'm not complaining, being healthy is way better than getting your money's worth out of insurance) and I see nothing wrong with older people, who have also paid in their whole lives, getting cheaper health care when they most need it and can least afford it. It might be me one day.

Those collecting pensions and benefits today are receiving far more than what they paid into the system

That doesn't alter the fact that the LDP used the pension pot for frivolous projects, and that if they hadn't the gap needing to be filled from extra taxation/reform of the system would be much, much smaller.