Japanese Households: Income & Expenditures

According to Japan's latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey (Savings and Liabilities), all 43,899,000 Japanese households in the second quarter of 2003, including retirees, spent an average of $708 or 9% of its monthly receipts for taxes, $400 or 5% for social security,  $120 or 1.5% for education, $215 or 2.6% for housing, $602 or 7.4% for food, $80 or 1% for medical care, $263 or 3.2% for transportation, $315 or 3.9% for social expenses, and put an average of $3,275 or 40% into personal savings.  At this rate, Japanese households will add another $1,775 billion to their Personal Savings in 2003.

It reported that worker households in Japan in 2002 spent $1,373 or 11% for taxes, $591 or 5% for social security, $231 or 2% for education, $318 or 2.5% for housing, $737 or 6% for food, $127 or 1% for health care, $434 or 3.4% for transportation, $448 or 3.5% for social expenses, and put an average of $5,129 or 40% into personal savings.

Comparatively, the Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor, reports that receipts in the top earning US households are less than half as much as the average Japanese household, that they spend $243 or 6.1% for taxes, $383 or 9.7% for social security, $53 or 1.3% for education, $1,093 or 27.6% for housing, $472 or 11.9% for food, $185 or 4.7% for health care, $670 or 17% for transportation, $169 or 4.3% for social expenses, but took $322 or 8% OUT of personal savings.

The big difference is that assets of the average Japanese household increased $3,275 per month while they DECREASED $322.in US households.  Why, if our tax rate appears so low, did our personal savings decrease almost as dramatically as Japanese personal savings increased?  The answers are hidden in numerous tax schemes in our extraordinarily higher social security, housing, medical, and transportation costs which as a percent of income are two times, eleven times, five times, and five times higher than Japan's, respectively.  Where interest on debts for houses and land in the average Japanese household is $18, it's 13 times higher or $235 in American households.  These higher interest payments are a hidden form of taxation, as it's the foreign owned Federal Reserve System who's the beneficiary.  Excessive litigation, dangerous and deadly prescription drugs, and creative taxation schemes have driven our medical costs way beyond the point of no return, accounting for our 5 times higher medical costs.  Neither our 16% higher per capita ownership of automobiles (481 vs. 413 passenger cars per 1,000 population), nor our equivalent maintenance costs, purchase prices, and public transportation costs, can account for our five times higher cost for transportation, which can only be explained by higher taxes, license fees, and forced automobile insurance premiums.

*Where federal taxes per US household appear to be low, actual deficit-ridden federal spending of $2,128 billion per year alone, excluding state income taxes, property taxes, and sales taxes, is $23,991 for each of the top earning $88.7 million US households.  Conversely, the Japanese government's budget has always run at a surplus, with a $302 billion surplus in 2001.

**Includes entertainment, communication, and other social expenditures.

http://www.bls.gov/cex/2001/Standard/income.pdf

Table 2. Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2001                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                Complete reporting of income a/                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                    Item                                                                                                                                                                                
                                                Total      Less     $5,000   $10,000   $15,000   $20,000   $30,000   $40,000   $50,000   $70,000                                                        
                                               complete    than       to        to        to        to        to        to        to       and                                                          
                                              reporting   $5,000    $9,999   $14,999   $19,999   $29,999   $39,999   $49,999   $69,999     over                                                         
                                                                                                                                                 

                                                      
Number of consumer units (in thousands)......   88,735     4,100     6,829     8,099     7,014    12,075    10,508     8,737    12,480    18,892                                                        
Income before taxes b/ ......................  $47,507    $1,666    $7,675   $12,380   $17,282   $24,494   $34,456   $44,418   $58,943  $113,978                                                        
Income after taxes b/ .......................   44,587     1,528     7,678    12,388    17,086    23,924    33,047    42,362    55,572   104,685                                                        
Age of the reference person..................     48.0      39.4      54.1      55.4      53.0      49.5      46.8      45.3      44.8      45.5                                                        
Average number in consumer unit:                                                                                                                                                                        
 Persons.....................................      2.5       1.7       1.6       1.9       2.1       2.3       2.4       2.7       2.9       3.1                                                        
 Children under 18...........................       .7        .4        .3        .5        .5        .6        .6        .8        .8        .9                                                        
 Persons 65 and over.........................       .3        .2        .5        .5        .5        .4        .3        .2        .2        .1                                                        
 Earners.....................................      1.4        .8        .5        .7        .8       1.1       1.4       1.6       1.8       2.1                                                        
 Vehicles....................................      2.0       1.0        .9       1.1       1.5       1.7       1.9       2.2       2.5       2.9                                                        
Percent distribution:                                                                                                                                                                                   
 Male........................................       52        41        32        37        45        50        53        56        60        63                                                        
 Female......................................       48        59        68        63        55        50        47        44        40        37                                                        
 Homeowner...................................       65        33        43        51        54        58        62        69        77        87                                                        
  With mortgage..............................       40        14        13        13        19        25        36        46        58        71