Wtach your own steps!
Crank-Call Friday
(Vendredi, avec une manivelle appel)
SECTION I: Give Me $1; Give You $1.6
If somebody calls you, saying, "Give me first one dollar, and then I will give you 1.6 dollars," you will laugh and hang up the phone.
But, in 1736, samurai king of Japan Tokugawa Yoshimune proclaimed so with 150 tons of gold prepared in his Edo (Tokyo) castle or any necessary amount for exchange with circulated gold coins.
In the early 18th century, Edo with one million residents was the largest city in the world. However, those who lived in villages and farming areas accounted for 90% of the then 30 million population of Japan. Farmers were obliged to deliver rice to samurai lords as tax, since rice farming had been the main industry in Japan for 2000 years. After receiving rice bales, samurai lords including a shogun sold them at big market in Edo or Osaka for money.
Yoshimune happened to be the eighth shogun or samurai king from the Tokugawa clan, since he was a relative of his predecessor, though so remote. So he assumed the shogunate in 1716 to come to Edo from Kisyu (Wakayama Prefecture). Subsequently, he stayed in power as the head of the Tokugawa clan and the top leader of all the samurais in Japan till 1745, six years before his death.
In 1714 before Yoshimune came to Edo, the Tokugawa shogunate issued 8,280,000 gold coins of which unit is "Ryou," though a coin is generically called "Koban." Each coin or one ryou koban weighs 17.85 grams including gold in a ratio of 86.8%. The shogunate used 128.29 tons of gold to provide about 8.3 million coins or ryou.
However, when Yoshimune succeeded the shogunate, he had to cope with a kind of deflation. Prices of goods and especially rice were declining, while the Tokugawa government collected rice as tax from framers. It meant a revenue fall for the shogunate.
Shogun Yoshimune decided to increase an amount of circulated coins. So, in 1736, he ordered to lower purity of gold to 65.7%. He also lessened the weight of the gold coin to 13.125 grams. Then Ysohimune proclaimed that anybody that gave back 1 ryo koban to the shogunate would receive 1.6 ryo kobans, since the shogunate monopolized mintage.
In this scheme of 1736, new gold coins were issued in a quantity of 17,435,711, each with a weight of 13.125 grams at a gold purity of 65.7%. The shogunate used 150.35 tons of gold, including retrieved old gold coins, to provide about 17.4 million coins or ryou.
(http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F%E5%88%A4 )
Yoshimune's monetary policy succeeded. Prices of goods and especially rice got stabilized, while the Tokugawa government collected rice as tax from framers.
Before modernization of Japan in the late 19th century and during the samurai era, there was no central bank in Japan. But, the samurai government issued coins. This Yoshimune's measures is however regarded as provision of government notes of today.
No matter how difficult it was to finance the shogun government budget with sales of rice in the market, the Tokugawa shogunate continued for further 130 years.
Following suit, the Japanese Government of today can issue government notes worth 50 trillion yen or $625 billion.
SECTION II: Not China Bashing but Covert China Warring
China sells low-tech commodities in a large scale in the American market.
With credit given by America, China sells low-tech commodities in a large scale in the global market.
Then, China purchases U.S. Treasury bonds as many as Japan does to help FRB and Wall Street businesses, which contributes greatly to American rich families keeping value of their financial assets.
So, technically, it is right to review the U.S.-China trade/investment relationships as well as exchange rates between the dollar and the yuan, since Chinese presence in the American market with huge funds and Wal-Mart-level commodities do not contribute to reduction of unemployment in America. Yes, it is right, since more and more Chinese people are getting rich, while more and more Americans are losing a chance to be rich.
Moralistically, it is nice to see many, many, poor Chinese getting rich. But, politically, it is dangerous that many, many, poor Americans are losing a chance to be rich under the trade/monetary regime involving China in a very skewed way.
So, there are many arguments on "China bashing."
But, most of them miss the mark. It is neither about stupid economics on the American side nor about simple mutual prosperity with China toward future viewed from the American side.
Yet, one of them shows good insight into the Chinese side of the situation where "China bashing" was triggered. It tells that the situation is more complicated, when taking into account the Chinese political condition:
----------------
Why China won't budge on the yuan
By Peter Foster World Last updated: September 29th, 2010
...
So why is China apparently so reluctant or incapable of giving up the economic equivalent of the weed even when it knows that such reforms would make its own economy much healthier, reduce global trade tensions and do much to reinvigorate the markets on which China depends?
Because it’ll hurt, that's why. Economists at the World Bank and elsewhere estimate that real structural reforms would slow Chinese GDP growth to 5-6pc over the coming decade as well as raise inflation – which in turn would require higher interest rates.
For a country drunk on cheap credit and a ruling party that seems absolutely wedded to the mantra of 8pc growth – the magic number that no-one ever really seems to be able to justify – these are very scary numbers.
Right now there are worryingly few signs that the leadership has the guts to tolerate slower growth...
Of course there is very little that the US government or its manufacturers can do about how China rebalances its own economy, other than trying to keep persuading the Chinese to be bold – and enlist the help of other nations to do the same.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peterfoster/100056071/why-china-wont-budge-on-the-yuan/
----------------
So, it is not so bad for American politicians to try "China bashing."
To be the true second largest economy in the world like Japan, China has to still pass through various ordeals.
As for American leaders, it is essential to understand that they start to be engaged in "covert China-warring", since a real civil war is at stake on the Chinese side.
Note 1: Even today, yearly six million graduates from colleges and universities in China are experiencing hard time in finding jobs; less than 70% of them look like having a chance to take any reasonable jobs. Even the 8% growth of GDP sacrifices 1.8 million Chinese graduates.
If it falls to 4%, 3.6 million youths will be desperate. In three years, 10 million youths can start to demonstrate on the street. It will be a sign of a covert civil war or revolution in China.
Note 2: From the beginning, the Chinese statistics and economic data, including GDP, cannot be trusted. It is a piece of commonsense for Chinese strategists in an official or public position to announce convenient data but not real data to their bosses or enemies.
*** *** *** ***
Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune decided to fire 50 women servants for cost reduction in the inner place of his great Edo Castle where his legally wedded wife and a side wife lived.
As most of those high-class housemaids in the Castle were from houses of samurai, it would be difficult even for the chief of samurais Yoshimune to decide who should leave and who should stay. In fact, those women were mostly from samurai families who respected honor.
So, Yoshimune selected the 50 most beautiful women under the age of 25 from hundreds of women servants to fire them.
Accordingly, no objections were raised.
Yet, at a certain time during the Tokugawa samurai era (1603 - 1867), it is said that there were maximum 1,000 to 3,000 women servants working in the Edo Castle (which is today used as the Imperial Palace of Tokyo). So, Yoshimune's reformation in the inner place might be rather symbolic.
Anyway, Yoshimune thought that those women could easily have an offer of marriage. (But, some critics of today say that Yoshimune liked ugly women.) Incidentally, his eldest son, namely the next shogun, whose mother was Yoshimune's side wife, had language disorder, though with ordinary intellectual power enough to reign Japan as the sole shogun, namely de-facto king of Japan.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjJ940tQPDU
The non-Japanese Asians can sing better, though not playing the piano. If a person greets a living one with his/her palms together, he or she is not Japanese. If to dead one, he or she could be Japanese. Or, if a person has used just one hand in the same posture to other person for wishing a special request, he could be Japanese.
Do you also so explain to foreigners?)
Mat 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.