The US blueprint for foreign intervention is under fire as Washington stalls. The natives in Davos are getting nervous..... by Larry Warrick
(libertarian)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Thomas Friedman's article decrying the political situation in Washington and its effects on world affairs (political and economic) is a goldmine for those interested in dissecting the psychology of Marxist expansionist ideology in the modern world. On his recent trip to the Davos World Economic Forum, he was asked about something he had had never heard before; American political instability.
""Political instability" was a phrase normally reserved for countries like Russia or Iran or Honduras. But now, an American businessman here remarked to me, "people ask me about 'political instability' in the U.S. We've become unpredictable to the world.""
He says foreigners like to poke fun and criticize the US in a little brotherly fashion, safe in the knowledge that Uncle Sam will always be there to provide the necessary leadership and security the world depends on. In his eyes, this is a sport akin to soccer in its global popularity. Now he says foreigners are afraid the the Americans may pick up their ball and go home. Or worse. They're nervous.
Initially coined in 1989 by John Williamson The term 'Washington Consensus' describes a set of ten specific economic policy prescriptions designed to promote American-style governance through institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and the US Treasury Department. According to Wikipedia, the consensus included ten recommendations (my comments in italics):
Fiscal policy discipline (Untold trillion$ in bailouts, crony loans and stimulus' spending providing a bonanza for political allies)
Redirection of public spending from subsidies ("especially indiscriminate subsidies") toward broad-based provision of key pro-growth, pro-poor services like primary education, primary health care and infrastructure investment (Pork barrel spending, out-of-control social programs, socialized medicine, socialized retirement, centralized education, etc)
Tax reform broadening the tax base and adopting moderate marginal tax rates (Tax everything that moves, and everything that doesn't. Find ways to raise taxes without visibly raising' taxes)
Interest rates that are market determined and positive (but moderate) in real terms (Fix the price of money through a central bank to lull entrepreneurs and stock market investors into a false sense of security)
Competitive exchange rates (Keep money cheap for foreigners by inflation and devaluation supported by foreign policy)
Trade liberalization, liberalization of imports, with particular emphasis on elimination of quantitative restrictions (licensing, etc.); any trade protection to be provided by low and relatively uniform tariffs (Start a consumer economy fuelled by debt. Provide special import privileges to those with powerful lobbies who make generous 'campaign contributions')
Liberalization of inward foreign direct investment (Borrow from abroad to finance social programs)
Privatization of state enterprises (You know, like we have here in the US with government mortgage guarantees, nationalization of industry, etc)
Deregulation abolition of regulations that impede market entry or restrict competition, except for those justified on safety, environmental and consumer protection grounds, and prudent oversight of financial institutions (Lower the bar on regulation so that any bureaucrat can claim safety, environmental or consumer protection grounds to regulate anything, including finance)
Legal security for property rights (Like regulations governing private usage or implementation of eminent domain laws to enrich one's friends and supporters)
This is what Thomas Friedman touts as the American way of "open markets, floating currencies and free elections." He sees nothing wrong with the concept of the Washington Consensus and according to his worldly view, the problem is 'Washington', not its 'Consensus', because Washington is 'stuck'. Stuck indeed. Stuck in a regulatory tar pit of their own making.
"It is a shame because here we are as a country scrounging around for a few billion more dollars of stimulus to help our unemployed and small businesses when the biggest stimulus of all is hiding in plain sight. And that is ending our political paralysis and the pall of uncertainty it is casting over everything from the cost of my health care to the cost of my energy to the way our biggest banks can do business." He goes on to wish that if just a few, a handful of brave and noble Republicans would reach across the aisle (vote for these egregious power grabs) and embrace the Marxism that is our ruling class, the pain would end and the green shoots' of progress would once again burst forth for all the world to see.
Were it not for the TEA parties and their lifeblood, the internet, I'm sure he would have had his way long ago. Mr. Friedman sees the politicians as the problem. I see them as a symptom of a growing movement to return our government to its constitutional and legal limitations. "Taxed Enough Already!" was a rallying cry long before Obama's Marxist train rolled into Washington. The politicians' nightmare 2009 summer town hall meetings have put the Washington establishment on notice that their tenure in public service is on the measured mile. We're coming, Washington, and we're bringing our own brand of politician with us.
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