Apa perlunya pujian Thomas Friedman kepada Irlandia
ini bagi kita atau Indonesia ? Tentu ada, bukankah
hal yang positif perlu kita simak mana tahu akan
menjadi cermin bagi kita ? Dalam waktu tak terlalu
lama, Irlandia maju dari keadaan 'the sick man in
Europe' menjadi negara yang lebih tinggi daripada
Jerman, Perancis dan Inggris dalam hal GDP per capita
dan hanya dibawah Luxemburg saja. Sejarah dan penyebab
kemajuan itu diuraikan disana, tapi saya tertarik pada
pendidikan gratis bagi rakyat --> sejak tahun 1960an
pendidikan dasar dan menengah (sampai SMA) digratiskan
dan ini mendongkrak jumlah tenaga trampil/kejuruan.
Sejak pertengahan tahun 1990an, praktis tingkat
college/univ jadi setengah gratis (sehingga mahasiswa
Malaysia banyak beralih kesana). Yang barangkali juga
perlu menjadi cermin bagi kita adalah ternyata serikat
buruh dan masyarakat Irlandia kompak dengan
pemerintah mendukung program mengencangkan ikat
pinggang alias penghematan APBN -- dan memperbaiki
iklim penanaman modal dengan menekan pajak perseroan
sampai 12.5% saja atau terendah di Eropa. Memang
kemajuan itu tergantung dari manusianya, selain
kebijakan makro yang baik.
Salam,
RM
The End of the Rainbow
(The New York Times)
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: June 29, 2005
Dublin
Here's something you probably didn't know: Ireland
today is the richest country in the European Union
after Luxembourg.
Yes, the country that for hundreds of years was best
known for emigration, tragic poets, famines, civil
wars and leprechauns today has a per capita G.D.P.
higher than that of Germany, France and Britain. How
Ireland went from the sick man of Europe to the rich
man in less than a generation is an amazing story. It
tells you a lot about Europe today: all the innovation
is happening on the periphery by those countries
embracing globalization in their own ways - Ireland,
Britain, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe - while those
following the French-German social model are suffering
high unemployment and low growth.
Ireland's turnaround began in the late 1960's when the
government made secondary education free, enabling a
lot more working-class kids to get a high school or
technical degree. As a result, when Ireland joined the
E.U. in 1973, it was able to draw on a much more
educated work force.
By the mid-1980's, though, Ireland had reaped the
initial benefits of E.U. membership - subsidies to
build better infrastructure and a big market to sell
into. But it still did not have enough competitive
products to sell, because of years of protectionism
and fiscal mismanagement. The country was going broke,
and most college grads were emigrating.
"We went on a borrowing, spending and taxing spree,
and that nearly drove us under," said Deputy Prime
Minister Mary Harney. "It was because we nearly went
under that we got the courage to change."
And change Ireland did. In a quite unusual
development, the government, the main trade unions,
farmers and industrialists came together and agreed on
a program of fiscal austerity, slashing corporate
taxes to 12.5 percent, far below the rest of Europe,
moderating wages and prices, and aggressively courting
foreign investment. In 1996, Ireland made college
education basically free, creating an even more
educated work force.
The results have been phenomenal. Today, 9 out of 10
of the world's top pharmaceutical companies have
operations here, as do 16 of the top 20 medical device
companies and 7 out of the top 10 software designers.
Last year, Ireland got more foreign direct investment
from America than from China. And overall government
tax receipts are way up.
"We set up in Ireland in 1990," Michael Dell, founder
of Dell Computer, explained to me via e-mail. "What
attracted us? [A] well-educated work force - and good
universities close by. [Also,] Ireland has an
industrial and tax policy which is consistently very
supportive of businesses, independent of which
political party is in power. I believe this is because
there are enough people who remember the very bad
times to de-politicize economic development. [Ireland
also has] very good transportation and logistics and a
good location - easy to move products to major markets
in Europe quickly."
Finally, added Mr. Dell, "they're competitive, want to
succeed, hungry and know how to win. ... Our factory
is in Limerick, but we also have several thousand
sales and technical people outside of Dublin. The
talent in Ireland has proven to be a wonderful
resource for us. ... Fun fact: We are Ireland's
largest exporter."
Intel opened its first chip factory in Ireland in
1993. James Jarrett, an Intel vice president, said
Intel was attracted by Ireland's large pool of young
educated men and women, low corporate taxes and other
incentives that saved Intel roughly a billion dollars
over 10 years. National health care didn't hurt,
either. "We have 4,700 employees there now in four
factories, and we are even doing some high-end chip
designing in Shannon with Irish engineers," he said.
In 1990, Ireland's total work force was 1.1 million.
This year it will hit two million, with no
unemployment and 200,000 foreign workers (including
50,000 Chinese). Others are taking notes. Prime
Minister Bertie Ahern said: "I've met the premier of
China five times in the last two years."
Ireland's advice is very simple: Make high school and
college education free; make your corporate taxes low,
simple and transparent; actively seek out global
companies; open your economy to competition; speak
English; keep your fiscal house in order; and build a
consensus around the whole package with labor and
management - then hang in there, because there will be
bumps in the road - and you, too, can become one of
the richest countries in Europe.
"It wasn't a miracle, we didn't find gold," said Mary
Harney. "It was the right domestic policies and
embracing globalization."
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Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg
Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.org
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