Reischauer quoted Galbraith:WashPost,3/8/09 et al

Former Director of the Congressional Budget Office and President of the Urban Institute cited Professor John K. Galbraith: Is afficting the comfortable,as Prof. Galbraith liked to quip, fair, economically sensible and practical?

A book review of "Almost Everyone's Guide to Economics" by John K. Galbraith is published by Atlantic Economic Journal,September 1979 and may be searched online.

In this case, yes! Unlike average Americans,those on the income ladder's top rungs have enjoyed very healthy income gains over the past decade. And, even more than those lower down,they have profited handsomely from lowered effective tax rates. To make the education,health, and environmental investments that our society and economy need for the long run, why shouldn't those who have reaped most from society's past investments bear most of the burden of seeding tomorrow's opportunities? Food for thought as metaphor. To ponder and to reflect would be fun!

Over the longer run, as the nation grapples with its entitlement promises, educational needs and infrastructure deficiencies, Americans at all income levels will have to accept somewhat higher levels of taxation. Such may be our obligation.(sic)

Both Confucius and Mencius stressed education as known to all. Here is the common ground of Confucianism as the forerunner for America in the 21st century.

DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee extols education. I have reason to believe that her Korean background has a bearing with Confucianism as I observed when I visited Korea decades ago. As a matter of fact,"Hanja" is Hanzi i.e. Chinese characters. Educated Koreans learned the Chinese characters as I noticed with the Korean culture from the Chinese culture.

Since USA has influence in Asia and I believe that it is high time to study Asian culture including Japanese,Korean and Chinese culture for the human resources of America for globalization in the 21st century. "A Glimpse of the Chinese Language" and "Philosphy of Mencius" are listed at www.loc.gov(Library of Congress online catalog) as useful references for readers of Sino-American economics.

Francis Shieh a.k.a. Xie Shihao on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 6.46 a.m.