William J. Holstein

About this blog:

I believe that the most important thing Americans have to do is secure their economic well-being in an increasingly challenging, complex world. All the arguments about culture (school prayer, the flag, etc.) are fine for other Americans to have—and they are a healthy sign of democracy. But they are beside the point.

What I have written about all these years is the process of creating wealth, not for any one individual, but for the United States as a whole. Ever since I was a young correspondent witnessing the emergence of China, just after the country opened in 1979, I've held the opinion that we have to get more serious about increasing the wealth of the U.S.

That means focusing not only on how our corporations are run (governance), but also on innovation and productivity/competitiveness. Despite the predicament in which we find ourselves today (and I think we face a tough five-year economic restructuring, not a mild recession), I retain faith in the resiliency of the U.S. economy and the enterprise of American people. If Americans have the right facts, and focus on the task at hand, we can once again get serious about creating wealth, not just playing funny money games.

So come with me on this journey as I explore the complicated issues involved in maintaining the economic health of the U.S

How Taiwan-China Rappochement Creates Ripple Effects
SEPTEMBER 7-- A new book is out that casts light on Taiwan-China relations as well as the entire Northeast Asian region. It is called, The Making of Northeast Asia," by Kent Calder and Min Ye. Calder is known for his work on Japan and his colleague is Chinese, so ...
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H-P’s Board Gets What It Deserves
SEPTEMBER 7-- It's increasingly clear that the Hewlett-Packard board is out of touch with reality. First, it fired CEO Mark Hurd even though he had been hugely effective in running the huge technology company. Now it has filed a law suit against Hurd because he ...
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Important Article on China’s Future Direction
AUGUST 31--The New York Times published a particularly important piece about China, written by Michael Wines. It's at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/world/asia/30china.html?_r=1&scp=18&sq=michael%20wines&st=cse Here's why the story matters: for years, many ...
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Taiwan’s Opening to the Mainland--What It Means to Multinationals
AUGUST 30-- Big American and European companies have long-wrestled with the right way to organize themselves to operate in Greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan. The mainland Chinese demand that a company set up an impressive headquarters building in ...
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Seismic Shift in China-Taiwan Relations
AUGUST 27--Turning now to the last leg of my recent trip, something truly incredible is happening in relations between Taiwan and China, and Americans have not begun to fully comprehend it. After 60 years of complete hostility between the Communist government in ...
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A Japanese Prime Minister Who Thinks Americans Are Simple-Minded?
AUGUST 27-- It arguably was not a story for the American newspapers when Ichiro Ozawa on Wednesday said he thought Americans were simple-minded. His status was murky. So what if an obscure Japanese politician shot off his mouth? But now we read that Ozawa, ...
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Why the Japan Debate Is Key
AUGUST 25--A final word on Japan before I move on. Many readers may be wondering, why is Holstein pounding away on how bad the media's coverage of Japan is. Who cares? Why is Japan relevant? I see it as the clash of two schools of thought in American policy-making ...
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Japan: Even the Associated Press Falls Into The Negativity Trap
AUGUST 25--The Associated Press is known for walking straight down the middle through many controversial and complex subjects. So it's surprising today to see an AP story in The New York Times with the headline: "Growth of Japanese Exports Slows for 5th Straight ...
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The Economist Is So Wrong About Japan
AUGUST 23--As I end my Japan postings, both on my blog and in my travel notes, I find it necessary to demonstrate that the Economist is fundamentally wrong about Japan. It is positively surreal to read what the Economist is writing about Japan while actually ...
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Japan Exports Its Soft Power
AUGUST 19-- One argument I hear from many smart people with experience in Japan is that the country has become rich but “irrelevant.” It’s true that the Japanese are not exerting much political or military influence in the world, but suddenly they are ...
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The Wall Street Journal’s Tortured Reasoning on Japan-China
AUGUST 18--The Wall Street Journal's lead editorial yesterday is must-reading for anyone who is interested in why the United States has not been able to formulate a systematic, competitive response to the emergence of Japan, China and the other nations that we in ...
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The New York Times Blows It Again On Japan-China coverage
AUGUST 16--The New York Times today fell into some of the basic perception traps I've been outlining in my recent postings. It reported, quite correctly, that China's economy is in the process of passing Japan's in total size. But what the article does not say ...
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Strong Reaction From Reader to Northeast Asian Posting
AUGUST 16--Here is a strong opinion from a Korean reader, reacting to my recent posting on Northeast Asian tensions: Even though Korea and China harbor continually historical grievances with Japan, Korean and Chinese high-tech manufactures depend almost completely ...
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Transition at GM--I Am Not Impressed
AUG. 14--There is a self-congratulatory tone in the announcement by General Motors that it had a profitable quarter and that Ed Whitacre is now riding off into the sunset, the presumed hero of the story. His successor is Daniel F. Akerson, a member of the GM ...
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Northeast Asian Tensions
AUGUST 12--Continuing to comment on this region after a recent trip, we hear talk that the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea might get together and create their version of the European Union, complete with a common currency. I don't think it can happen ...
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