As Obama promises massive public works spending, it is worthwhile looking at Japan, which has tried to use massive public works spending to lift its economy out of the doldrums for the better part of two decades.  The problem always is that when politics is in command of investment decisions, some useless projects get built at huge cost, while more pressing needs get ignored. After trying to preserve existing corporations for about a decade (known in retrospect as the "lost decade"), Japan finally bit the bullet and let major banks and other companies fail and be absorbed. That has helped it recover, but the economy still relies far too much on government spending, which hasn't really accomplished the goal of boosting economic growth.Case in point:  Ibaraki Airport in Japan, scheduled to open in 2010, with runways capable of handling jumbo jets, and a terminal capable of docking them. The only problem: no airlines are interested in flying there, and the airport is...(Read Full Post)