Rumors from Paris on MAI
> Forwarded message.. > >Date: Thu, 5 Mar 1998 14:53:56 -0800 >To: Finn Ed <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: David Weston <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Rumours from Paris. > >To: Ed Finn, Research Director, > Canadian Council on Policy Alternatives, Ottawa. > >Dear Ed: > >Below, you will find an email I've just rec'd from Paris, via Bob >Olsen in Toronto. It's regarding a 'parallel MAI' that is being promoted. > >This fits with rumours I've heard recently about the MAI being >'switched' i.e. the name changed and shunted over to the WTO. > >The other evening here in Nanaimo, Claude Laverdure, Assistant >Deputy Minister (Europe) in the Canadian Dept. of Foreign Affairs & >Int.Trade, spoke on "THE EMERGING EUROPEAN UNION and THE IMPLICATIONS >FOR CANADA". > >I asked him privately afterwards if the MAI was being removed from >the OECD, and was it being moved over to the WTO? He replied that it was >indeed being removed from the OECD, but while its move to the WTO was >possible, he was not aware of the timeline. > >A brief review is helpful. > >The evidence is that the old WTO-sponsored Multilateral Investment >Agreement (MIA) faltered because the 'Third World' saw its neo-colonialism >implications. The International Chamber of Commerce, along with its >Canadian counterparts, who seem to be the main lobbyists in this game, >therefore moved the implementation responsibility to the OECD, changing >the name to MAI, in the hope of pushing it through, then 'inviting' the >'Third World' to clamber on board, under OECD rules. > >Finding now that public awareness and ire is aroused, the cabal of >the ICC and their ilk have decided to reroute it once again back to the >WTO. > >The implications of WTO's involvement are important, for under >C.57, Chapter 47 (1994) WTO Implementation Act, the Prime Minister is >given authority to sign any international agreements within the purview >of the WTO, without reference to Parliament. Just as both Mulroney and >Chretian thumbed their noses at the Canadian public over NAFTA, so, I >think it is Chretian's intention to sign an 'MAI', but under a different >name. But any agreement he signs under the WTO Implementation Act is >actually illegal. > >Under the Canadian Constitution Act (Interpretation Act, R.S.C. >1985, c.1-21, section 42(1)), it is absolutely clear that no parliament, >present or future, can be shackled or bound by the decisions of any >previous parliament. The right of citizens to bring in whatever >legislation THEY please, is sacrosanct. > >It is therefore my contention that because the WTO Implementation >Act does attempt to bind present and future parliaments, that it is >'ultra vires', that is, beyond the jurisdiction of parliament. > >If any of the agreements signed bind any parliament beyond the life >of any one parliament, then this government is acting illegally, and as >such, is bordering on treason. > >Finally, let us remind ourselves that these agreements are not >primarily about trade and investment but, rather, an attempt to replace >democratic involvement and control by citizens, with corporate involvement >and control by a tiny elite. There are many examples of this already, >corporatization of the classroom being just one example. > >My other concern is that while our attention is being diverted over >the MAI, that other agreements, like the FSA, AIT, and TAFTA, are being >signed under our noses. This is happening, I feel, because the movement's >leadership is not presenting the MAI within the context of globalization >(i.e. global corporate governance). Thus we are effectively being >sidelined. > >So, we need to find out as much as possible what is happening >regarding the MAI status. Can you assist, please? > >Regards, > >David J. W. >... > > >From: "Totor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: MAI or IMA ? >Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 17:31:32 +0100 > >I went to a public meeting held in Paris Labour Exchange about MAI >(I wrote a short account of what was said there, in french alas, for >those who could be interested), by the 17th of February 1998. Several >speakers, from a french ecologist deputy to a spanish syndicalist made >various short speeches. By the next day, a small demonstration occured in >front of the Chateau de la Muette, heaquarter of OECD (though I have no >information on the number of persons that were present). > >As one of the speakers, Mrs S. Bertrand, from the Observatoire de la >Mondialisation mentioned that another treaty was being negotiated at the >WTO about exactly the same issues than MAI, i.e. investments abroad. She >named it after almost the same name, but I couldn't figure out what she >was talking about. Is it only a part of a broader agreement or a specific >treaty? How precise is it at the present time? what are the prospects? > >Thanks for any hint or comprehensive resource on that topic. >- >Eric [EMAIL PROTECTED] >-
Re: Jobless PhDs
My section on jobless phd's was not readable. Here it is again: Equally appalling is our failure to put to good use the skills of those people who earn graduate degrees in science. Throughout the Cold War, the military-industrial complex was the primary employer of scientists. For more than a decade now, our universities have been educating far more people with doctorates in science than our economy can accommodate -- at least as the economy is presently structured. For example, in December 1995, the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics announced an unemployment rate of 14.7 percent for the 1,226 Ph.D.s awarded in 1995, the highest ever reported. An additional 4.2 percent were in part-time jobs, and of those employed in academe, 61 percent were not in positions eligible for tenure (Magner 1996). By 1987, 60.5 percent of employed Ph.D.s who had earned their degrees in the physical sciences between 1980 and 1982 were working in business or industry (Stephan and Levin 1992, p. 97). Many of these jobs have little promise of producing any social benefit. For example, a steady stream of Ph.D. physicists finds work on Wall Street calculating strategies for investing in derivatives and other financial instruments (Mukerjee 1994). Still more, even if they do find work related to their education, they will find their skills severely underemployed. Employment prospects are substantially worse for other fields whose expertise appears to be less applicable to the immediate commercial needs of information economy. Manpower Inc., the nation's largest temporary agency, plans to provide holders of advanced physics degrees to corporate clients, mostly in the computer and electronics industries. Though few of the temps would be working directly as physicists, Manpower hopes to place them in related jobs, such as developing new computer chips or writing software programs. Mitchell Fromstein, Manpower's chairman, said that if Manpower's physicists catch on, "we'll offer chemistry Ph.D.s next." "Times have changed for physicists: There are jobs, but physicists have to be more flexible than they were in the past," said John Rigden, director of physics programs at American Institute of Physics (Zachary 1996). The majority of scientists with new Ph.D.s who obtain jobs in an academic setting must settle for temporary positions called postdoctorals that allow the graduate time to publish and gain other forms of distinction. Supposedly, the postdoctoral appointment will allow the graduate a better chance to obtain a permanent position, but the growing number of postdoctoral personnel suggests great competition for more secure employment (Stephan 1996, p. 1214). Today scientists who are unable to get permanent jobs just move from one postdoctoral position to another. In the physical sciences, for example, in the late 1970s as many as one out of every ten Ph.D.s who had been out for four years had a postdoctorate; by the late 1980s, this number had grown to one out of every eight (Stephan and Levin 1992, p. 96). Yes, times are changing. As government continues to cut the funds for higher education, the squeeze on scientists will no doubt become even worse, further discouraging young people from seeking careers in science in the future. As this process continues, the average age of university scientists continues to grow (Stephan and Levin 1992, p. 6). This aging of the scientific community represents another serious dimension to the crisis since most of the breakthroughs in science come from the young (Stephan and Levin, Chapters 3 and 4). What then can we say about the future of our information economy, which is unable to find any use for the skills of those most prepared to further our informational capacity? -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 916-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: What went right?
Michael Perelman wrote: >I would like to start a dialogue on why the (U.S.) economy has been >doing as well as it has over the past few years. We know about the >problems, inequities , but why has the house of cards stayed up as >long as it has. Hey, how about this - taxing the rich reduced the budget deficit, allowing interest rates to fall (take that, Keynesians!), but without compromising aggregate demand. The reduction in interest rates explains a lot of the rise in corp profits, which has sustained investment. I've been away for a few days, so I don't know what anyone else said yet. Doug
Re: new e-zine
Comments, anyone? Doug >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Precedence: Bulk >Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 08:21:33 -0800 >From: Brad De Long <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: Multiple recipients of BAD <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: new e-zine > >Re: >>www.workplace-gsc.com www. workplace-gsc.com www.workplace-gsc.com >> >>Foreword by Marc Bousquet: "The degree holder is the waste product >>of a job system that produces Ph.D holders but does not use them. >>In language and literature more than any other field the teaching >>machine runs on non-degreed labor. . . ." >> > >So far we economists have been able to avoid such a horrible situation, in >part because of the strong non-academic labor market demand for economics >Ph.D.s, in part because of the expansion of business schools (which has >added to academic labor market demand for economics Ph.D.s), in part >because we pay attention to forecasts of the academic job market ten years >out... > >... and in part (dare I say it?) because we economics professors are better >people than language and literature professors in that we view graduate >students as colleagues or comrades, and get profoundly depressed when we >are unable to place new Ph.D.s in jobs that we think are challenging and >appropriate to them. > >Hence a question: how did language and literature (and history, and other) >professors get to the stage where they regard their new Ph.D.s not as >colleagues and comrades who are to be assisted, but as pieces of used >kleenex to be thrown away? It seems contrary to human nature for professors >to develop such an appallingly instrumental attitude toward people whom >they work closely with for years... > > >Brad DeLong > > > >
Re: Jobless PhDs
Unfortunately, many of us cannot read this format. Roger -- From: owner-pen-l To: pen-l Subject: Re: Jobless PhDs Date: Monday, March 09, 1998 2:25PM This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --701EB3CF354B6CD1E17152F2 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I have a short section on this subject in my forthcoming book, Class Struggles in the Information age. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 916-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
globalization on film
Any suggestions for *commercial* films that address "globalization" issues, intentionally or otherwise? Non-western films would be especially nice. Thanks. Peter Dorman
Re: Action Alert
There has been a story floating around in academia for some time about an anthropology professor somewhere whose tenure was revoked for using the term "Indian" in classes rather than "Native American." Can anybody either verify or refute this tale? I am glad to hear Jim Craven reinforce what I have always understood from my (Native American) Indian friends regarding their own attitudes about these terms. Of course most Indians prefer to be identified by their tribes, to the extent that they have a distinct tribal identity. Even accepting the generic term, "Indian" is a relatively recent development and one that only really came with urbanized, often college-educated, Indians, most notably with the American Indian Movement (AIM) a few decades ago. Barkley Rosser On Sun, 8 Mar 1998 11:21:41 PST8PDT James Michael Craven <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Date sent: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 00:06:31 +0800 > > Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > From: "Anthony D'costa" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Subject:Re: Action Alert > > > Does non-Indian world imply India? This is not a matter of semantics but > > given the varying positions on pen-l on "post modernity" what does it imply > > when you use labels that are carry-overs from the colonial past? What does > > it mean for national identities, are native Americans (a problematic term > > too) agree to being called Indians? Has there been a movement to change > > the "label"? Should there be? > > > > Many questions with few answers. > > > > Anthony D'Costa > > in Bangalore, India > > (the next Microsoft destination?) > > The myth is that Columbus was looking for India and took a wrong turn > and winding up in the Americas called the indigenous people "Indians" > thinking that he had hit India. First of all, the area now known as > "India" has referred to as "Hindustan" in the 15th century and was a > collection of separate Kingdoms. Secondly the Spanish also called the > native Filipinos "Los Indios" and they didn't think the area of the > present Philippines was also "India". > > The name Indian, was a bastardization of "en Dio" as Columbus > referred to indigenous people as "una hiente (or gente) en Dio" a > people with God and noted that they were loving, gentle and giving > and would be easy to conquer, take advantage of and turn into slaves > (Columbus Diary). The generic "Native American" is rarely used by > Indians as there is a feeling that it is a generic title imposed by > solictous outsiders. > > Many people in India, when speaking to outsiders will use the term > "East Indian" to differentiate from American Indians or people from > the Caribbean of East Indian descent. > > Jim Craven > > *---* > * "In the development of productive * > * James Craven forces there comes a stage when * > * Dept of Economics productive forces and means of inter- * > * Clark College course are brought into being which * > * 1800 E. Mc Loughlin Blvd. under the existing relations only * > * Vancouver, Wa. 98663 cause mischief, and are no longer * > * [EMAIL PROTECTED] productive but 'destructive' forces. * > * (360) 992-2283 (Office)...individuals must appropriate the * > * (360) 992-2863 (Fax) existing totality of productive forces* > * not only to achieve self-activity,but,* > * also, merely to safeguard their very * > * existence." (Karl Marx) * > * MY EMPLOYER HAS NO ASSOCIATION WITH MY PRIVATE/PROTECTED OPINION * > -- Rosser Jr, John Barkley [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Marxism and the Peruvian Indians
Barkley is correct to point this out. What I should have said was that the rebellions of the 1700s were much larger in scale than anything that had preceded them. Louis Proyect At 03:11 PM 3/10/98 -0500, you wrote: > Thanks to Uncle Lou for an interesting post on the >Incas. The only problem with it is the claim that the >colonial government ruled with little opposition until the >1700s. In fact there were off and on uprisings from the >beginning throughout the 1500s and 1600s. A good source >that recounts these is Weston La Barre's _The Ghost Dance_. >Barkley Rosser > >-- >Rosser Jr, John Barkley >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >
Socialist Scholar Debates
Pen-lers will be interested in two (at least two) debates at the upcoming Socialist Scholars Conference. Globalization or Not: Its Political Consequences for Organizing at the Millennium. Sponsor: CUNY Democratic Socialist of America Panelists: Stanley Aronowitz, Author, "The Jobless Future" Richard DuBoff, Bryn Mawr College Doug Henwood, Author, "Wall Street" Frances Fox Piven, Author, "The Breaking of the American Social Contract" Erika Polakoff, Bloomfield College Time: Saturday, March 21, 1:00 PM and A Debate on Ecology and Social Change Sponsor: Monthly Review Panelists: David Harvey, Johns Hopkins University John Bellamy Foster, University of Oregon Time: Sunday, March 22, 10:00 AM The Socialist Scholars Conference will be held from Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22 at Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street in downtown New York City. Admission to the Conference is: Regular:$45.00 Low Income: $30.00 HS/Undergrad:$8.00 One Day:$20.00 For more information visit our web page at www.soc.qc.edu/ssc or email us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or call (212) 642-2418. See you there. Robert Saute [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Marxism and the Peruvian Indians
Thanks to Uncle Lou for an interesting post on the Incas. The only problem with it is the claim that the colonial government ruled with little opposition until the 1700s. In fact there were off and on uprisings from the beginning throughout the 1500s and 1600s. A good source that recounts these is Weston La Barre's _The Ghost Dance_. Barkley Rosser -- Rosser Jr, John Barkley [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: What went right?
In the midst of making many other interesting points, Louis Proyject writes: << What it will take to reverse these trends is a strengthening of the labor movement, which is already beginning. Alex Cockburn's column in the same digital edition of the Nation reports on the struggle of Oakland longshoremen who had been fined for picketing in support of their Liverpool brothers and sisters. The bosses are trying to bankrupt the union through the courts. >> Strangely enough, on the editorial page of Long Island Newsday today (3-10-98) is a call for the Democratic party to start defending unions and workers attempting to organize unions. The article centers its story around a hotel operator in Las Vegas who was fired for holding an organizing meeting in her home. This was an illegal dismissal, and through the NLRB the woman won her job back, but the movement to unionize in that hotel was destroyed. Basically, the message is that the democrats take union money but are mum about the tidal wave of illegal activity amongst businesses who harrass, intimidate and outright illegally fire anyone even hinting at unionizing. A strong pro-union editorial in the mainstream press -- they must REALLY be tired of sexgate. maggie coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Jobless PhDs
In a message dated 98-03-09 14:32:22 EST, Arvind Jaggi asks: << Greetings. Could you point me to books/studies on the subject of unemployment in academe. Specifically, I am interested in the work on the broad phenomenon that covers the rise of adjunct and visiting faculty, and the proliferation of graduate students with completed PhDs managing to obtain support from their institutions while they seek gainful employment. Anything you might suggest will help. Sincere thanks. >> In the Metro Section of this Sunday's New York Times (3-8-98) there was an interesting article about the increase of adjuncting and the growing pool of PHDs who never find a full time job. maggie coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: What went right?
Amongst other things Jim Devine writes: << Another reason for the US boom has increased consumer indebtedness. This, partly caused by relatively stagnant real wages, has allowed consumer spending to do relatively well. >> Good point. Now a question about the relation of consumer debt to surplus value: Since most consumer debt is accrued by wage earners, and those earning less wages wrack up higher debts to keep up with even basic socially acceptable standards of living AND pay more than higher prices borrowers -- does this become part of the surplus value extracted from the working class? To me, this seems to be a nationalized version of the company store. The working class earns wages which do not pay for all the goods which the media tells us we need, so they borrow from the bankers who finance the capitalists, to consume more goods. Their wages are then held captive by the credit corporations and the profits from purchases return to the capitalists who under pay the wages to begin with. maggie coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Enter the Euro-dragon
Doug Henwood wrote: > The Euro central bank makes the Fed look like a model of accountability. > Maastricht specifies that the president of the ECB and its governing board > must be restricted to "persons of recognized standing and professional > experience in monetary or banking matters," language even more restrictive > than the U.S. law regulating appointments to the Fed's board of governors, > where the president is required to pay "due regard to a fair representation > of the financial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests" of > the country and its regions. You're totally right, this ECB is unbelievable. There is even in the Maastricht treaty a rule which says that it is forbidden to try to influence the members of the board of the ECB. Also, directors of the bank are in for only one period, to avoid that in the last years they start worrying about their re-election and therefore may feel tempted to take popular measures or listen (they should not) to governments or parliaments. > And they're so busy being deflationists, I > don't think they have the lender of last resort thing worked out at all, > even though the IMF predicts massive financial turmoil as capacity is > shaken out. Right again, this is an unsolved problem they're working on if I understand the press overhere well. Maintaining price stability is the only task formulated for the ECB, employment and things like that are not even in the task description. Robert Went = Drs. Robert Went Faculty of Economics and Econometrics University of Amsterdam Roeterstraat 11, k 9.03 1018 WB Amsterdam The Netherlands Tel: 31-20-525.4189 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] =
Jeffrey Sachs
I am no fan of Jeffrey Sachs's, indeed have criticized him in print. But I must support and add to Jim Devine's remarks on him. 1) He was a product of Harvard, not Chicago, allegedly a bastion of some kind of Keynesianism. No, he neither was nor is a direct and personal "disciple" of Milton Friedman's. 2) Yes, he did become an advocate of Friedman-like austerity proposals modeled on those in Chile in Latin America in the 1980s. These became the standard model for the IMF and continue to be so today. 3) He became the main conduit for carrying over such proposals into the Eastern and Central European transitional economies on which he was not an expert, but many of whose governments he ended up advising. The record there has turned out to be a very mixed bag with some notable disasters. Burned by that experience: 4) He has somewhat stepped off the farm recently and has been criticizing the application of this model in East Asia. Some people learn, at least a little bit. Barkley Rosser Rosser Jr, John Barkley [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Jobless PhDs
Check out the lastest issue of the "Chronicle of Higher Ed." also "Academe" and "Aft On Campus" have had a bunch of articles. Jason
Suing an Employer
In a message dated 98-03-09 12:01:57 EST, you write: << there's a big increase in lawsuits by employees against companies. It's expensive, but not totally so given the ability to hire a lawyer on contingenc >> Jim. Most lawyers do not take wrongful termination or other employment cases on a contingency basis. Unlike a car accident, employment lawsuits have a lot less certainty in proving and winning. jason
what when right again
So far, we have agreed on the role of credit and the transfer of power to capital. I would add the expansion of capital made possible by the opening of China, E. Europe and the like. In addition, the financialization of business has added to profits, as well as the likelihood of a future collapse. I think that if we get a better handle on what went right [Of course, I meant from the perspective of capital], we can be better prepared to see what will go wrong. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 916-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: What went right?
The Nation Magazine Digital Edition (www.thenation.com) has an article by Mark Cooper on Chile today that includes the following passage: "Chile hardly holds the patent on a pullback from politics, a reflex now rampant from Peoria to Poland. But few countries in recent decades have traveled quite the distance backward that Chile has. In Eastern Europe the economic systems were stood on their heads, but decades of Stalinist cynicism and duplicity served to grease the way for the savageries of frontier capitalism. Chile was different, though. In 1970, on the eve of Allende's election, one U.S. researcher found Chilean teenagers--along with their Israeli and Cuban counterparts--to be among the three least alienated, most optimistic groups of youth in the world. But years of military dictatorship and a quarter-century now of the most orthodox application of sink-or-swim social policy has imposed a sort of collective neurosis on Chileans--it has driven them crazy, driven them to market. "Chilean millworkers now assiduously follow daily stock quotes to make sure their private pensions will be there when they retire. When their children leave the school gates, they plop Velcro-backed insignias from elite academies onto their uniforms, lest the other subway riders guess they go to more downscale institutions. Bookstores that once brimmed with political classics now stock huge piles of translations of Anthony Robbins and other quick-road-to-success gurus. National "educational" TV features training films in entrepreneurship and good customer relations. Prime-time infomercials beam dubbed-over blue-eyed gringos blissfully hawking vegetable Smart Choppers and Sure Fire bass lures to the rural and fishing villages of the Chilean south, where horses are still sometimes a preferred means of transportation. "A recent police checkpoint in the posh Vitacura neighborhood found that a high percentage of drivers ticketed for using their cell phones while in motion were using toy--even wooden--replicas. Other middle-class motorists, pretending they have air-conditioning, bake with their windows closed. Workers at the ritzy Jumbo supermarket complain that on Saturday mornings, the dressed-to-kill clientele fill their carts high with delicacies, parade them in front of the Joneses and then discreetly abandon them before having to pay. In the tony La Dehesa neighborhood, Florida palm trees are the landscaping fashion à la mode and black butlers are all the rage. But they better be stocky six-foot Dominicans, as the first wave of imported help, from Peru, turned out to be unfashionably short-statured. In the rickety shantytowns around Santiago, readily available Diners Club cards are used to charge potatoes and cabbage, while Air Jordans and WonderBras are bought on a twelve-month installment plan." Cooper points out that the very first experiment in Reagan-Thatcher economics was Chile in 1973. Although the article focuses on Chile itself, there certainly can be an argument that the Pinochet coup was the opening salvo against both Social Democracy and Soviet style Communism, two of the pillars of Allende's Popular Front government. The architects of the economic "reforms" in Chile were the "Chicago Boys", including Milton Friedman who personally directed the changes. His disciple Jeffrey Sachs has adapted this austerity program for Bolivia, the USSR, Poland, etc. Reagan and Thatcher implemented the program also. It persists through the Clinton administration, which like the new regime in Chile, or Blair's government in Great Britain, represents Pinochet with a smiling face. As Maggie Coleman pointed out yesterday, the key to the "success" of capitalism in the USA is a transfer of wealth. In order for this to happen, you have to break the workers movement. In Chile, this was accomplished with guns. In the USA, it was accomplished because the labor movement did not know how to fight. The airline controllers strike was the first in a series of punishing defeats. These defeats made it possible to transfer wealth from the working class to the ruling class. Cooper quantifies the income redistribution that took place in Chile: "The New York Times recently celebrated this state of affairs by crediting Pinochet with a 'coup that began Chile's transformation from a backwater banana republic to the economic star of Latin America,' and the Clinton Administration wants Chile to be the next member of NAFTA. Putting aside the fact that the pre-Pinochet "banana republic" produced a bumper crop of world-renowned artists, scientists and other intellectuals, including the winners of two Nobel Prizes in Literature, the Times also got it wrong on the economy. The 7 percent annual growth since 1986 cited by enthusiastic supporters of the Chilean economy obscures several other less attractive figures: There was no growth between 1973 and 1986; real salaries have declined 10 percent since 1986; and salaries are still 18 percent lower than the
Re: What went right?
"... much of the recent [noninflationary] economic growth [in the US] has
been caused not by productivity gains but by new jobs and by the greater
number of hours worked by those already employed. Workers 'are coming out
of the woodwork' as jobs become available, so the pressure raise wages and
therefore prices has been dampened. The work force seems to be other larger
and more flexible, than was previously realized, which is another way of
saying that the unemployment rate was really higher tan reported, and may
still be. Two decades of surplus labor have also kept workers too docile to
demand serious wage hikes. We are also all aware of what has happened to
the power of organized labor, which once represented one third of all
workers and now represents about one tenth of them.
"In addition, prices of imported goods, which account for nearly 15 percent
of what Americans buy, have been falling for several years, and are
currently well below their 1992 level. Just as important but rarely
commented on is that there may be an oversupply of services in the US.
Consider the large number of health are and financial institutions, in
addition to retail outlets such as coffee shops and department stores. The
highly competitive environment keeps companies from raising prices rapidly.
The problem for future rates of growth is that none of these conditions is
permanent. The unemployment rate cannot fall indefinitely, for example.
This is why few economists believe that a rate of growth of more than 2.5
percent [or real GDP] or slightly higher at best can be sustained
indefinitely."
-- Jeff Madrick, NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, March 26, 1998, p. 30
("Computers: Waiting for the Revolution.") Madrick is the editor of
CHALLENGE, a magazine with a social-democratic tilt.
He also points to the unsustainably high stock market and consumer
indebtedness as signs of instability. I would add to his list...
in pen-l solidarity,
Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] &
http://clawww.lmu.edu/1997F/ECON/jdevine.html
"he who is unable to live in society or has no need, because he is
sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god." -- Aristotle
FWD: Statement of Randall Robinson on Crane Bill
= Original Message from TRANSFOR@SMTP (Arthur R. Ashe, Jr. Foreign
Policy Library) {[EMAIL PROTECTED]} at 3/09/98 6:27 pm
>
>>Robert: Please distribute. Thanks, Mwiza.
>>
>>STATEMENT OF RANDALL ROBINSON, PRESIDENT, TRANSAFRICA
>>
>>HR 1432, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, is the most sweeping
>>Africa-related legislation to be considered by the U.S. Congress in years.
>>
>>
>>To be eligible for the trade and aid benefits under the bill, African
>>countries MUST embrace a number of economic reforms, the major and direct
>>beneficiaries of which would be foreign corporations. While TransAfrica
>>recognizes the value of African nations entering into mutually beneficial
>>ventures with foreign corporations, we do not consider it constructive for
>>the United States to demand via statute solely those policies which make it
>>easier for foreign corporations to function unfettered in African
>>countries, while failing to stress - also via statute - those policies
>>which would directly benefit the people of Africa, such as public
>>investment in the areas of health, education, and democratization.
>>
>>The bill's corporate focus, absent the essential investments in human
>>capital mentioned above, renders the bill a disservice to Africa. Despite
>>the sterile terminology that characterizes much of the bill language,
>>Members of Congress must not lose sight of the fact that there will be
>>severe and lasting human consequences for the people of Africa unless the
>>bill is amended to stress the types of human-capital investments listed
>>above, and unless the Congress signals true commitment to Africa's
>>interests by providing significant debt relief and increased foreign
>>assistance. We all would welcome the day when Africa would not need
>>foreign assistance and would be able to rely sole on trade. However, while
>>working with seriousness and commitment towards that day, the United States
>>should see aid to Africa in the same light as we see aid to important
>>allies in the middle east, Europe, and the former Soviet Republics - not
>>ideal, but essential.
>>
>>Henry Kissinger is reported by the New York Times ("Indonesian Faceoff:
>>Drawing Blood Without Bombs" March 7, 1998) to have stated in reference to
>>the economic reforms being pushed in Asia, "If the definition of a
>>revolution is fundamental change in the economic and political system, then
>>what we are trying to engineer in some of these countries is clearly a
>>revolution."
>>
>>African countries need to take note of that admission, as do Members of
>>Congress. If indeed the United States is attempting to engineer
>>revolutions throughout the African continent via the type of policies
>>mandated by the IMF and HR 1432, it would be in the best interests of
>>Africa, as well as the corporations interested in investing there, that the
>>human suffering and tumult triggered by said revolutions be tempered. This
>>can be accomplished via amendments to HR 1432 which would reflect a serious
>>US commitment to debt relief, investment in human capital, and the
>>provision of foreign assistance which has proven to be of such great value
>>to Ireland, eastern Europe, and other allies to whose socio-economic and
>>political stability we are committed.
>>
>>Most importantly, the sovereignty of African nations must not be
>>compromised. Our nation has the right to determine which facilities should
>>not fall under foreign control for strategic reasons. This is a right we
>>should not deny Africa.
>>
>>
>
Re: What went right?
At 10:07 AM 3/10/98 -0500, Louis P wrote: >The Nation Magazine Digital Edition (www.thenation.com) has an article by >Mark Cooper on Chile today that includes the following passage: what's the URL (web page address)? I am getting sick of being in the NATION time machine, where I read columns and articles concerning matters which the mainstream media consider to be ancient history (like the abortive war against Iraq) because it takes the NATION so long to get to the Left Coast... >Cooper points out that the very first experiment in Reagan-Thatcher >economics was Chile in 1973. Although the article focuses on Chile itself, >there certainly can be an argument that the Pinochet coup was the opening >salvo against both Social Democracy and Soviet style Communism, two of the >pillars of Allende's Popular Front government. the Right has been attacking the Left since the French Revolution of 1789. I wouldn't call the Pinochet coup an opening salvo as much as a response to the Left's temporary success, like the Reaganoid attack on Nicaragua in the 1980s. >The architects of the economic "reforms" in Chile were the "Chicago Boys", >including Milton Friedman who personally directed the changes. His disciple >Jeffrey Sachs has adapted this austerity program for Bolivia, the USSR, >Poland, etc. the MF denies that he "personally directed" the campaign (or maybe it should be spelled "campain"). His ideas were important in inspiring Los Chicago Boys, however. Of course, it was the US/Pinochet forces that needed someone like Friedman for inspiration. If he hadn't existed, he would have been invented. Financial austerity is not really new. It used to be called "adherence to the gold standard" back when that standard existed. I don't think Sachs is one of the MF's disciples. Rather, he comes from a profession infected by the MF's ideas. Again, if he hadn't existed, he would have been invented. in pen-l solidarity, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://clawww.lmu.edu/1997F/ECON/jdevine.html "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- K. Marx, paraphrasing Dante A.
