Use the "Little Things that Make Us Happy" to Create Great Wealth

Use the "Little Things that Make Us Happy" to Create Great Wealth
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
July 10, 2014

Summary: Vibrant and dynamic young people are indispensable to a nation and society if they are to have a better future. We hope Taiwan's youth do not settle for "the little things that make us happy." We hope they will harbor grand ambitions. Grand ambitions create sustainable economic growth and social prosperity. The government should play its role. It should gather everyone's "little things that make us happy" into the nation's grand economic achievement.

Full Text Below:

Young people today think in terms of "xiao que xing" or "the little things that make us happy." Many elderly people fear they lack ambition. They fear that if individuals think only in terms of "the little things that make us happy," the result will be a national level "big thing that leads to disaster." In fact these elders' concerns are misplaced.

Taiwan's economy depends mainly on processing for export. This resulted in 40 years of prosperity. But emerging economies, including the Mainland Region, have risen. Domestic manufacturing costs are now comparatively high. The standard of living has been rising. Many traditional forms of manufacturing must be eliminated. But Taiwan lacks R&D and brand development capabilities. The transition is difficult. Taiwan's competitiveness has fallen. Its economic growth has stalled. But Taiwan's economy will not sink merely because of this. Workers from Taiwan are more skilled than those from the emerging economies. Young people may think in terms of "the little things that make us happy." But this has a bright side. In fact, it offers Taiwan an opportunity for economic transformation.

Young people pursuing "the little things that make us happy" is nothing new. Taiwan suffered serious damage during World War II. The postwar era was one of utter destitution. Businesses went under. Growth stalled. We should not overlook the role "the little things that make us happy" played back then.

The cornerstone of Taiwan's post-war economic development was land reform. The government reduced rents. Tenant farmers felt they owed the landlords only 37.5% of their harvest. They felt they should be able to keep 62.5% of their crop. This created an incentive to produce. Poor peasants had no land to till. To be able to own a plot of farmland was indeed a "little thing that made us happy." Therefore the government implemented homesteading policies and "land to the tiller" policies. This enabled small farms to develop to their limit. This enabled the eventual development of the agriculture industry and the progressive development of the economy.

Subsequently, the most important driving force for Taiwan's economic development was SMEs. When a small business owner attempts to go forward, that is the spirit of "the little things that make us happy." SME bosses learned by doing. They did this with spinning and weaving in the garment industry, with light industries such as the manufacture of umbrellas, suitcases, bicycles, and christmas lights. They gradually upgraded their technical standards, and ascended the ladder of productivity. They entered the computer components industry and today's cutting-edge information and communications industry. A number of products made on Taiwan have become the best in the world. Everyone has set their sights set on them. The "little things that make us happy" can indeed accomplish big things as well.

Between 1945 and 1958, the government proposed its "first imports substitution policy." It targeted consumer products such as textiles and other light industrial products. Export expansion in the 1960s laid a foundation. Between 1969 and 1980 the government promoted its "second import substitution policy." It targeted primarily the production of raw materials, machinery, and equipment. It developed primarily the petrochemical, machinery, shipbuilding, and steel industries. This led to today's plastics, precision machinery, yacht, and steel products industries. After the 1980s, Taiwan's ICT industry became a world leader. All this was inseparable from our government's industrial policies, liberalization policies, and privatization policies.

As one can see, "the little things that make us happy" can indeed be a force to be reckoned with. Today we face the pressures of economic restructuring. The government can take advantages of small and medium industry flexibility to grow the economy. Here are two specific recommendations.

Recommendation One The government should encourage young entrepreneurs. In particular, it should encourage sole proprietorships, partnerships in individual studios, or small companies that conduct business in emerging high-tech Internet and creative industries. Examples include mobile devices with APP and IOT links. These do not need to be big business. They enable young people to use "the little things that make us happy" to achieve. The government should create an enabling e-business environment. It should pass "electronic payment regulations" for third-party payment, as soon as possible. It should allow off line transactions (physical transactions) payment service (O2O) and non-physical transactions and remittances in response to the rapid development of technology and e-commerce needs.

Recommendation Two. Many Taiwan owned SMEs face the Hong Hai dilemma. To hold down costs and seize market share, they resort to traditional volume sales practices. The government can provide information and opportunities. It can help manufacturers find products or services that other manufacturers have yet to provide. The manufacturers can then create a yet to be formed niche market. They can use a Blue Ocean Strategy to create unique value.

When entrepreneurs who adopt "the little things that make us happy" approach fail to look far enough ahead, industry guidelines and policies can help them make a breakthrough. The government should gather information, and recruit experts to interpret it. It should provide more complete information to young entrepreneurs. The government can also help young entrepreneurs take part in exhibitions and organize exhibitions to attract buyers and sellers, creating economies of scale. The government can help SMEs find opportunities based on "the little things that make us happy."

Young people may find it difficult to pull themselves up by their bootstraps in a mature society. They cannot ask for the moon. But the government should provide young people with a better social environment. Only then can they harness the power of "the little things that make us happy." The biggest difference between today and the 1950s to 1970s is interest rates and housing prices. Back then double-digit interest rates were the norm. Under the pressure of tight money, many people financed their businesses through credit unions. No matter how high the interest, they had orders, they had sales revenues. If they worked hard, the could eventually buy a house and get married. But with today's real estate prices, young people have lost that ability. No matter how hard they try, even if they hold down two or three jobs, they cannot afford to purchase a house or even talk of getting married. Therefore we support the recent Academia Sinica policy recommendations for real estate, and the government's response to actual cost tax assessment.

Vibrant and dynamic young people are indispensable to a nation and society if they are to have a better future. We hope Taiwan's youth do not settle for "the little things that make us happy." We hope they will harbor grand ambitions. Grand ambitions create sustainable economic growth and social prosperity. The government should play its role. It should gather everyone's "little things that make us happy" into the nation's grand economic achievement.

社論－善用小確幸創造大經濟
2014年07月10日 04:10
編輯部

年輕人充滿「小確幸」思維，不少長者擔心胸無大志，個人「小確幸」將成為國家「大不幸」，長者的憂心其實是過慮了。

台灣經濟以加工外銷為主體，創造了40年的繁榮。但自從包括中國大陸在內的新興經濟體崛起，國內製造成本相對偏高，加上國民對生活素質的要求不斷提高，許多傳統製造業必須淘汰，卻因為企業研發及發展品牌能力不足，轉型困難，造成台灣競爭力衰退，經濟成長遲滯。不過，台灣經濟不會就此沉淪，整體而言，台灣人的素質優於新興經濟體，年輕人小確幸背後存在的正面能量，其實是台灣經濟轉型的契機。

年輕人追求「小確幸」並非始於今日。台灣在二次大戰中，曾受到嚴重的破壞。戰後民生凋敝、百業待舉，發展迄今，大家不要忽略了「小確幸」曾經扮演的重要角色。

台灣戰後發展經濟最重要基石是土地改革，政府實施三七五減租，佃農覺得耕耘收穫只須給地主37.5%，自己可以得到62.5%，努力生產的誘因就上來了。對於沒有地的貧農來講，能夠擁有自己一塊耕地，更是小確幸的期盼。據此，政府後來實施公地放領，貫徹耕者有其田，讓小農業制度的效率發揮到極致。因此後來才有能力以農業培養工業，逐步發展經濟。

其後，台灣經濟發展最重要的動力就是中小企業。當個小小企業的老闆，努力往前衝，就是小確幸的企業家精神。當時中小企業老闆邊做邊學，從紡紗織布的成衣業、雨傘、行李箱、腳踏車、耶誕燈的輕工業，逐步如爬樓梯的提升技術水準，到進入電腦零組件及今日的資通訊各項尖端產業。台灣的多項產品都曾搶下世界單項的國際第一，造就各項大王頭銜。小確幸的動力確實能成就一番大事業。

政府先於1945-1958年提出「第一次進口替代」政策，以消費性產品如紡織品、輕工業產品為主要替代目標，奠定1960年代的出口擴張基礎；1969-1980年間推動「第二次進口替代」政策，明定以生產原料和機器設備為主要替代目標，發展石化、機械、造船和鋼鐵業為主要產業。因此奠下今日塑膠化工、精密機械、遊艇及各項鋼材的國際生產地位。1980年代之後，台灣能夠執世界資通訊產業牛耳，與我國隨後的產業政策、自由化、民營化的政策也都息息相關，密不可分。

可見，小確幸其實是一種的正面能量，今日面對經濟轉型壓力，政府同樣可以結合中小企業動力與彈性的優勢來發達經濟。有兩個具體的建議：

第一，政府應鼓勵年輕人創業，尤其以獨資、合夥的個人工作室或是小公司，進行高科技網路與創意結合的新興事業。例如行動裝置 APP 的各項應用，物聯網物物相繫的各項連結，這些並不需要大企業來做，可以讓年輕人小確幸的動力來表現。政府應創造有利的電子商務環境，盡快通過俗稱第三方支付專法的「電子支付機構管理條例」，開放包括准許線下交易（即實體交易）的支付服務（O2O）及無實質交易的匯款，以因應科技及電子商務的日新月異發展需求。

其次，台灣中小企業很多面臨紅海困局，以壓低成本、搶占市占率、大量傾銷等傳統商業手法競爭。政府可以提供訊息、機會協助廠商尋找其他廠商尚未提供的產品或服務，開創尚未形成之利基市場、創造獨一無二價值的藍海策略。

小確幸的眼界不足，有賴產業政策來幫忙指引及突破。政府應進行資訊蒐集，請各式專家進行判讀，提供更完整的訊息給青年創業家，政府也可以幫忙青年創業家參展及舉辦會展拉近買賣家，創造規模經濟。政府服務可以提升中小企業的小確幸眼光與機會。

年輕人或許難以在成熟的社會中白手起家，也無法一步登天，但是國家社會應給年輕人更好的環境，才能發揮小確幸的能量。衡諸今日與1950到1970年代最大的不同就是利率與房價。當年的利率甚至是兩位數，在資金緊俏的壓力下，很多人用標會方式籌措資金創業。但利息再高，看得到訂單、看得到銷貨營收，因此努力工作，終能買房、成家立業。但今日的房地產價格，已經讓年輕人失去動力。無論再如何努力，身兼兩三份工作，也買不起房，談何成家立業。因此，我們支持最近中研院的房地產政策建議，及政府回應的實價課稅。

唯有年輕人充滿朝氣與活力，國家社會才有更好的前途。我們也希望台灣的年輕人不要只是擁有小確幸，而是有大雄心，大雄心創造永續繁榮的經濟社會。政府更要扮演正確的角色，匯集眾人的小確幸成就國家的大經濟。