12,000 yen cash handout – vast majority would rather see it spent elsewhere
Advertisement
With the date for the 12,000 yen handout to all residents of Japan getting closer (perhaps…), here’s a short look at opinions on the cash handout in a survey conducted by goo Research in conjunction with the Mainichi Shimbun.
Demographics
Betwen the 23rd and 25th of January 2009 1,056 members of the goo Research monitor panel aged 20 or older completed a private internet-based questionnaire. No further demographic information was given.
This whole cash handout business has been nothing but a farce since it was first announced. Originally it was going to be a tax cut, but that does not benefit non-taxpayers, so it became free money. However, some of the issues that have come up are the method of distribution – currently it is envisaged that everyone has to go to their local city office, but that means cities need to employ lots of extra staff, and it’s been estimated that another 25% or so overhead is needed to get it distributed. Then the Prime Minister himself first said he wouldn’t take it, then he was saying he hadn’t ruled out that he would, then he would, and I think the latest situation is that he is undecided again.
One of the blogs I regularly read on Japanese politics talked about this in detail; a representative article on this matter from GlobalTalk 21 is here.
Research results
Q1: Are you happy about being able to receive the 12,000 yen cash handout? (Sample size=1,056)
Yes 69% No 31% Q2: If you get the 12,000 yen cash handout, What do you most want to use it for? (Sample size=1,056)
Daily living expenses 54% Savings 24% Eating out, entertainment, etc 12% Buy something I don’t normally buy 9% I won’t take the cash handout 2% Q3: What would it be best to spend 2 trillion yen on? (Sample size=1,056)
Pensions and other social welfare 32% Unemployment countermeasures 25% Resolving doctor shortages 19% New industry establishment 8% Earthquake resistance of schools 6% Cash handout 7% Road, other public infrastructure 2%
Subscribe to feed
Even though I wouldn’t mind to have an extra 12,000 yen in my pocket, I have to agree with the group that said the money should be spent on unemployment countermeasures.