$38.9 billion Is The GDP Of Which Countries?

So TEPCO has been getting the equivalent of the GDP of which countries, to stay afloat?

Now, this is one of those tricky figures... but I'm not going to get into that. GDP is what it is. Wikipedia has at least three different ways to measure GDP. So, scroll down, and you get to where it gets interesting.

Tepco, the main monopoly electricity utility company serving Tokyo has gotten some $38.9 billion to stay afloat after the March 11, 2011 nuclear disaster that was triggered by a completely natural event, an earthquake and a massive tsunami. We, tax payers, and you if you have a pension fund in any country, which has invested in Japanese bonds (do you?) or any such scheme... We are now all paying for not only the cleanup efforts, but also to keep the bright neon lights shining in the Tokyo Metropolis.

Looking at the list, the $38.9 billion is about the same as the GDP of countries like Jordan, Latvia, Nepal and Turkmenistan.

Just to keep everyone in Tokyo happy :)

Wikipedia: List of countries by GDP


Comments

Pandabonium said…
This is the promised "electricity too cheap to meter".
Anonymous said…
Hi Kurashi,

I think your last sentence nailed it!

The neo-zaibatsu isn't going anywhere anytime soon, imho.

1. Because it (systemic) is all-powerful and 2. unlike the West it is an expert at sucking up the last of the money to bail-out the status quo while propping up Joe Schmo, too. And it actually works, at least for a good while.

So domestically Japan keeps debt and tax serfdom bearable by extracting the maximum possible in debt payments (incl. pension) and taxes without sparking a gramps revolution, the status quo stays financed, and the ugly continues on like a broken record until the edge of the cliff, < insert date here > (sound of inertia smacking against the wall), and until then everyone other than the grey-hairs are either just trying to get by or distracted by their i-phone.

I don't pay into the pension scheme, no. Never have, never will.

ken

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