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On March 17, Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz of Columbia University gave a speech at a meeting of the DPJ Headquarters for Constructing a Society Based on Mutual Coexistence, held in Tokyo.
Prior to the start of the speech, DPJ Acting President Akira Nagatsuma introduced the initiatives being undertaken by the Headquarters. He then commented that “When I read the phrases ‘fight with inequality’ and ‘increasing the investment in human beings’ in Professor Stiglitz’ handout, I thought ‘that is it exactly’. Those sentiments correspond with the DPJ’s way of thinking about such matters. Today, we are very much looking forward to hearing from you Professor, about how we can break down the barriers imposed by inequalities, foster people’s ability to support one another, and bring sustainable growth to Japan.”
Professor Stiglitz touched on the relationship between himself and the late Professor Hirofumi Uzawa, who had formerly served as Chair of a DPJ think tank, saying that Uzawa had emphasized the importance of (1) social justice, establishing how economics should function on behalf of poor people, (2) fairness within a generation, and (3) a firm belief in peace, and that Stiglitz himself had inherited these beliefs. He stressed that “Maximizing GDP is not what society is all about.”
Stiglitz went on to comment on the situation in the United States today, pointing out that inequalities were increasing and stating: “Never has America been a more divided society.” As an example, he cited the unemployment rate, which is said to be around 5% but is actually much higher, and the fact that wage increases have also ground to a halt. Stiglitz went on to stress that Japan and the U.S. were facing the same problems, and what was needed was fiscal policies that would increase the right kind of consumption, as well as realizing full employment, inclusion and the elimination of discrimination. He said that the kind of actual policies that could be envisaged in order to achieve this would be for example, tax system reforms such as those relating to carbon tax and inheritance tax, child rearing support and household assistance, reducing working hours and encouraging work-sharing, and correcting wage inequalities between men and women.
Furthermore, with regard to the TPP, Stiglitz stated that the current contents of the agreement are designed in order to benefit a number of large corporations based within the U.S. and that it does not take a position on issues such as global warming and social justice. He described it as “an agreement that has been shown to be inadequate to the needs of a modern society.”
Following the lecture, DPJ President Katsuya Okada asked, “As Japan now has huge debts amounting to twice GDP, how should we reconcile fiscal stimulus and fiscal consolidation?” Stiglitz expressed the opinion that the tax system played an important role in stimulating the economy without increasing public debt, but was not in favor of the proposed consumption tax increases, saying that these would only worsen the situation.
DPJ International Department Director-General Yukihisa Fujita served as moderator for the event.
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