Markets are down. That is life. Business is a cycle and as such, we have been here before. The U.S. economy is in a pickle to put it lightly. The Japanese economy is not far behind.
I read a few weeks ago on CNN that the Japanese government was unveiling a stimulus package with 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) in new spending to help its the flagging economy. How are they going to use that money? What companies are going to benefit from that new spending?
In the last week or so in the U.S. our government is bailing out AIG, Lehmans filed for bankruptcy and Bear Stearns went bust earlier in the year. It is understandable that governments’ need to help big companies such as these because they are so integrated in the fabric of the economy. But smaller companies are the actual fabric.
Is the Japanese government’s fresh $18 billion spending incentive going to trickle down to small Japanese companies? Are they going to spend money the same as in the past or are they going to get creative and utilize new methods that though unproven, might work better?
The article states that funds are going to be range from discounts on expressway tolls to assistance to farms and help for part-time workers to find better jobs. I hope that means training these workers in high level new skills that will help them get better jobs.
In addition, this stimulus package will consist of non-spending measures such as loans to businesses. I hope that the majority goes to small to mid-size businesses to use for:
- Technology to improve business processes
- Marketing themselves better
- Improving on Products/Services
- Employee training and development
- Identifying new opportunities/revenue streams
- Branching out and selling products/services to non-Japanese companies - doing business internationally
Money is always welcome, but in addition, the government should create programs on local levels to provide guidance to these smaller businesses in using the monetary assistance.
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