RSSIn our times, it is difficult to defend communism. Apart from the monk communities, nobody is able to share everything with others. The socialist experiments of the 20th Century are a far and away nightmare and there is no person who wants to repeat. We have remains like Cuba of North Korea but, fortunately, they are coming to an end. We hope.
Property rights, freedom and prosperity
2009/03/02
Political Economy capitalism, property_rights, Property_Rights_Alliance, public_sector, think_tank Leave a comment
The secret of good budgeting
2009/02/27
Political Economy capitalism, Federal_Budget, financial_crisis, Obama, public_debt, Public_deficit, public_sector, think_tank, Urban_Institute, US_economy Leave a comment
The budget is the main weapon of any politician. When he gets a government post, he makes the big difference because it is able to manage huge resources of money. It does not matter whether the economy is healthy. He always can use the deficit. Nobody is able to demonstrate that finally it will conduct to the bankruptcy. There is no Chapter 11 for Federal Governments.
Towards a New Republicanism
2009/02/25
Political Philosophy capitalism, compass, laborism, red_tories, republicanism, socialism, think_tank, third_way Leave a comment
Although the economic crisis seems to prevent from thinking about other public policy questions, sometimes it is healthy to reflecting on other deeper matters. What kind of political regime do we want? We are aware that political systems in Western democracies are so corrupt. Internet is renewing a new sort of popular participation, but I do not very sure whether its force is going to destroy the high walls of power. We face the huge problem of professionalization of politics and, at the same time, the lack of interest ordinary people show in the political scene.
Why the Government will not solve the crisis
2009/02/22
Political Economy, Political Philosophy Adam_Smith_Institute, capitalism, Eamonn_Butler, free_market, liberalism, Public_deficit, think_tank Leave a comment
I do not share all the principles classical liberalism defend. It is probably because I do not believe in a perfect man, nor in a road to perfection. Imperfection is in our genome. However, in the think tanks environment there are very intelligent people who passionately promote the free market policies. Where they work in small institutes, only funded by individual donations, usually they are very clear-thinking persons. It is worth to follow their proposals because the analysis of the economic and political keys is so well focused.
Conservatives of the World, Stand Up!
2009/02/21
Political Economy capitalism, Cato_Institute, heritage_foundation, liberalism, political_economy, Public_deficit, think_tank, US_economy Leave a comment
The Obama Presidency is not enjoying the best support from the Conservative think tanks front. In the middle of the crisis, the are afraid of the arrival of a new and stronger version of the damned Welfare State. If we did not know that in fact, the Welfare State has never left us, we firmly will believe their dramatic appeals against the new wave of communism is coming thanks to Mr Obama.
No, the launch of the Stimulus Plan is generating a big resistence from the Conservative economists. In other post I mentioned the economists’ rebellion leaded by the Cato Institute. Now it is the turn of the Heritage Foundation, whose experts prevent us from the socialist disguised in a Democrat.
With the motto The Left is on the March, this outstanding think tank has started a hard campaign to highlight all the decisions Obama Cabinet makes with the aim of returning to the Welfare State and even further.
“The 1996 welfare reform bill changed the way government treated welfare. But last week the Left reverted back to the liberal welfare state in the “stimulus” bill. Hidden in the bill was a massive increase in welfare spending. While the 1996 reforms gave states more money if they moved people OFF welfare, the new policy gives states more money if more people stay ON welfare”.
The analysts say the Government is going to spend $6,700 for every poor person in the United States. According to them this is not a worthwile investment because it perpetuates the aid and do not motivate people to leaving their bad situation. May be they have to ask themsleves who causes that situation. Not everybody is guilty of being a homeless.
People from the Heritage Foundation argues that the growth of welfare is the worst way to recover economy and family income. They remember the year 1996, when the Clinton Administration implemented another protection package that according to their point of view, did not stimulate at all the entrepreneurship and labour maket.
“It seems some bad ideas never die, and the welfare state is certainly one of them. Before 1996 the government heaped benefits on low-income individuals, crippling them in a cycle of dependency, and providing no incentives for state and local governments to help their citizens get jobs. And with last week’s bill, it seems we are turning back the clock and reinstating these failed policies again”.
But what about the opposite? It does not seem that George W. Bush economic policies have been a big success. And traditionally, Heritage, Cato, AEI and other protoconservative think tanks have the inspirers of the Republicans. The used to claim that. May be now they have forgotten the point.
If China is in economic trouble, bad expectations
2009/02/19
International Relations, Political Economy Brookings_Institution, capitalism, climate_change, financial_crisis, International_Relations, political_economy, think_tank, US_economy Leave a comment
China has been the great icon of globalisation. His powerful economic development was a sign of the prosperity of the decade. Every country made business with China and this country was the huge consumero f economic resources. When the financial crisis started, even the Chinese authorities thought they were going to be free from the economic problems and predicted a growth of a 9 percent of GDP for 2009.
Now we have evidence that China is also facing the crisis. He will grow more than any other developed country, but the effects of the crisis are emerging in his figures. Wing Thye Woo, Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution, explains in China’s Short-term and Long-term Economic Goals and Prospects that
“China’s economic situation in 2009 does not look good. The IMF’s January 2009 projection of growth was 6.7 percent, which was down from its November 2008 projection of 8.5 percent. The February 2009 estimate of the number of jobs lost by migrant workers was 20 million, which was double the estimate of December 2008”.
Several analysts claim that the situation of China will affect to the recovery of the United States, as America needs the financial support of the big country. In fact, if China does not begin structural reforms in his economy, we can see a commercial war between two of the main nations of the Planet. “Some analysts say that the US housing bubble was able to continue only because China prevented the long term interest rate from rising by continually investing its large trade surpluses into Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Bonds”.
The last thing we need is a war, according to the Brookings analista. We have to reinforce the public diplomacy strategy to persuade Chinese officials about the need to increase the reforms towards a more balanced economic system.
“China’s economy has been like a speeding car for almost 30 years. The high-probability failures that could cause the car to crash in the near future could be classified under three categories (1) hardware failure, (2) software failure, and (3) power supply failure”.
These three scenarios show serious problems like a banking and financial crisis, difficulties in Government with the explosion of social protest due to corruption and inequality, or external limitations to the China’s growth: climate change, a shortfall in energy resources and a commercial war with other countries. The author draws a pessimistic future over the best engine of the global progress.
Tomorrow’s (Progressive) Capitalism
2009/02/07
Political Economy Blair, capitalism, IPPR, socialism, third_way Leave a comment
It is clear to us. We are not happy of some consequences capitalism has on us, poor people, but we would not like to return to obscure socialism. Marx and Lenin and their colleagues are interesting icons for a fashion show, but no body wants to believe in the cruel utopy they spread. However, as greedy capitalism has shown its ugly face for another time and we are not comfortable with the acceptation of the ciclical crisis theories, it seems to be a time for new melanges. Another ‘new’ version of a third way? Of course! Coming from beauty British of the postmodern Gauche Divine? You are all right!
It is the case of the Londoner Institute for Public Policy Research, a rich progressive think tank which contributed a lot to the Giddens and Blair’s way. It does not matter that the New Labour has been a huge fiasco, that it was a sort of compassionate capitalism of highly rampant politicians. Really I have not seen any big difference with the traditional European politics, a bit more balanced than the American one. In fact, the New Laborism political platform has been also so unable to predict and face the crisis. And I do not want to remember the disgraceful conduct of British Premier in the War against Terrorism invented by the Texas presidential lobby. Now, when Mr Gordon Brown is fighting with the remains of the Blair glory days, there is no difference with the typical liberal short term politics of other right-governed countries.
But a selfish utopian never sleeps. Leaders of IPPR, a think tank very smart in propagating its messages, have launched a new iniciative, Tomorrow’s Capitalism:
“The Tomorrow’s Capitalism programme will examine prospects for the future of the economic system through the lens of progressivism and social justice, involving some of the world’s leading experts and thinkers. Our debates will bring together economists, business leaders, politicians, policymakers and commentators”.
With this programme they are going to address questiones like the growing of income inequality, the downward pressure on wages, the impact of current economic activity on climate change and the growing economic power of China and others (And our own decline, I presume). I am not very confident of the results, but I agree with the need to look for an alternative model to make politics and having a healthy democracy. Middle classes will be happy to know if researchers and experts of this project find a way to relax the growing social and economic pressure they face in everyday life.
