dude…love the patriotism, but that approach is part of the reason you're not exactly the "supah dupah bestest bet you betcha m'aam" you may think the USA is, at least for the next decade or two…a bit of humility might help your leaders get there, though, which is what the last five years has hopefully taught them. 

To be delicate, all of the above is either not quite accurate or no longer quite accurate, at best. In other cases its much closer to outright blindness on your part, no offense. Those days, if they were ever truly here, are long gone for the US.

Meting with my accountant about this very issue next week, will be happy to let you know how this works when there's a tax treaty in place (like in Japan-AUS case).

certainly many countries allow this, even when there's no compelling advantage in such a setup from that country's taxation laws perspective (which is the case in japan, at least until you hit the million dollar portfolio value mark or so) – but may be an advantage from an australian perspective even so, definitely worth investigating.

I wouldn't say the American property market is a graveyard exactly. There are ups and downs even within a descending graph, and others fluctuate in comparison. If you're diversified and hedged, there's always something to be made in any market. Cycles come and go, wealth gets redistributed, it all comes round mid and long term. But yes, a full time job.

I've got more than a few ideas, that'll definitely put money in your pocket monthly, AND allow you to capitalize on foreign currency trends. Can't promise CG though. But I don't really think anyone can, and definitely not when it'll happen, how much growth or over how long a period – no matter what they promise you. Stick to the cashflow and the easy management, is my personal philosophy.

4 years is very impressive for low income earners in the states, isn't it? It's slightly below our average in Japan, but I was under the impression its quite different in the USA. Some people have quoted 3 turnovers in the course of a year, almost all of those evictions…

what you call "the problem" and what Japan sees as "the problem" are two wholly different things, in much similar fashion to how you interpret data. Being "king of asia" or "the worlds biggest economy" hasnt factored in their calculations since post WW2. While I agree that Japan has problems to fix, nothing is crashing, imploding, turning third world, or all of the other doom and gloom that you speculate in my opinion. I'm not a big expert on the rest of Asia, and a pretty small expert on Japan, but what I do know is that, from their perspective, the last twenty years following the early nineties economic bust, can and have shaped up very differently in many parts of the word, the majority of which did try to follow "standard" methodologies to deal with their financial woes.

As much as the IMF, G20 members and even the almighty freckle don't like Japan's reliance on its citizens, it's zero inflation policy, non existent borrowing rates or lack of sale tax, for example, it's worked pretty well for Japan as a country so far – or at least alot better than if they would have adopted any different measures before they deemed the time is right. They do things their own way and at their own speed in Japan, and while it often seems alien and uncompetitive to the rest of the worlds economies, I for one have faith in their approach.

Certainly, if the numbers were anything to go by, Japan should have gone through a major recession far before the year 2000, with suicides, droves of jobless and homeless flocking the streets, parks etc, nothing to offer on a manufacturing, technological and economical global scale- yet somehow, almost miraculously, they managed to avoid all that, and didn't (here's a piece that explains how far better than I and no, it doesn't all have to do with borrowing from pension funds- http://www.mindfulmoney.co.uk/?lid=13281).

There are far more ways to skin a cat and many more ways events could pan out regarding the move to other energy sources (querying the people was one thing, doing it is quite another, the government already backtracked from the zero nukes by 2040 policy, two days after the poll results), disputes with china (which in your mind already seem to have escalated to a full scale war or resource pissing contest, something which Japan just doesn't do anymore) have quite a few ways to pan out as well, as does the reliance on private funds and the handling of negative bond yields (see link in previous reply to your first post)- all of these challenges exist, but none of them spells the death of the economy, separately or unified.

Not all trade deficits turn out to be GFC v.2.9 etc, some of them merely kick off a mild cycle of currency fluctuations or national tightening periods (which Japan is the undisputed master of- you won't see anyone raping and pillaging after a hurricane or foreclosed streets turning into junkie squalors, for instance, more like a group effort to equally support the sufferers)- all of the above are facts and scenarios and data that can be played out in a myriad of ways beyond the total mayhem you paint in your posts. Every country goes through recessions, ups and downs and booms and busts (as anyone who invests beyond their back yard knows, appreciates, and is quick to capitalize on)- Japan is one of the safest places to be invested in, even during those cycles. Their level headed, straightforward and resilient mentality to economic and other disasters (which are sure to happen, almost like clockwork, every decade or two at the very least), makes them extremely likely to persevere. I, for one, have no interest in chasing the "best", "biggest", "newest" etc- I prefer slow and steady, and Japan's approach in the last few decades, as well as the results, in both high and lower times, actually makes perfect sense to me.

Diversity and hedging, as always, are key. If your money is parked in several currencies and holding types, you can let the relevant parts of it lie, exchange, liquidate, reinvest – all according to current climates. What you call "investors who shun DD", I call "investors who made a decision and remain flexible, and don't get paralyzed every time the wind changes". That old post I wrote about when and how DD ends was referring to cases such as the ones you like to always portray – – there's always something to be afraid of, no matter where you choose to invest, and in what. We all strike our balances between information, risk (or fear of), and speculation. In much similar fashion to my aversion to speculation regarding gain or growth, I try to steer clear of speculation forecasting crashes and recessions. Yes, it may happen, but it may happen anywhere and to anything I invest in. If I change my mind or never act based on the endless streams of information for or against something, what's the point of investing? I prefer to choose a strategy, at least for a few years, and pursue it as long as its viable (which is never forever)- then adapt to the new conditions. Sometimes those conditions mean I lose some, most of the time they mean I gain in other places and if I implement new strategies. It's not about avoiding all risk at all cost, at least for me, but all about diversifying to minimize losses, maximize profits, and be able to capitalize quickly on new scenarios- something which just can't happen if I sit on my money until the time and place is perfect, because it never is.

In Japan, at least, as you mentioned, the environment will remain regulated, reliable and supportive no matter how low the numbers sink (and sink they will at some stage, no matter where or what I'm invested in)- Ill take the highs with the lows for that kind of environment, it's a hell of a lot better than anything and anywhere else I've been dealing with so far, at least in the few countries I've sampled and the great many I've been reading about. 

idiots a bit harsh, and so's the doom and gloom. Japan has a few more rounds (and years) in its economic arsenal and room to maneuver, and nothing like the basic barrel of gunpowder that was the Greek administration pre crisis. I think Australia has more of a bumpy ride economy wise coming up when the current mining cycle dries up and hits the stubborn taxation and ownership policies., particularly in some of the larger rural areas like SA and WA.

here are two views that really struck a chord  with what I'm feeling is coming – (both scenarios fully ripe for capitalizing on when the relatively soft poo in a safe regulated environment hits the fan in both countries)

http://www.businessinsider.com/japan8217s-debt-ceiling-2012-8

http://seekingalpha.com/article/863701-australian-real-estate-about-to-go-down-under

that would be awesome, kyler, looking forward to it, the more details the merrier.

A very simplified view or, in other words, just one of the ways to skin a cat. There are many who would contest some of the "tips" therein, in particular the refinance and speculation oriented ones.