The End of Free Trade- December 26, 2007 Here's today quiz. What do the following have in common: (a) Vladimir Putin; (b) China's currency, the renminbi; (c) the U.S.-Peru trade agreement; and (d) Hugo Chvez Answer: They all reflect the "new mercantilism." It's an ominous development affecting the world economy. Even as countries become more economically interdependent, they're also growing more nationalistic. They're adopting policies intended to advance their own economic and political interests at other countries' expense. As...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/25/AR2007122500863.html?nav=r... Another Credit Minefield- December 19, 2007 There is a vast gap of perception between the real economy of production and jobs and the financial economy of loans and investments. The real economy, though weakening, is hardly in a state of collapse. In 2007, it has grown about 2 percent; payroll jobs are up by 1.3 million. Even economists who expect a recession generally think it will be mild. Meanwhile, financial markets are described hysterically as being "in turmoil"; there is a "credit crisis."http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/18/AR2007121801633.html?nav=r... Food vs. Fuel- December 12, 2007 If people can't eat, they can't do much else. One of the great achievements of the past century has been the enormous expansion of food production, which has virtually eliminated starvation in advanced countries and has made huge gains against it in poor countries. Since 1961, world population has increased 112 percent; meanwhile, global production is up 164 percent for grains and almost 700 percent for meats. We owe this mainly to better seed varieties, more fertilizer, more mechanization and..http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/11/AR2007121101834.html?nav=r... Rx for Health Care: Pain- December 6, 2007 We need to have a candid debate about health care in 2008, but the odds are against it. The fact that covering the 47 million uninsured already looms as the centerpiece of this debate is a warning sign that it won't be serious. We're told that the uninsured are our biggest health-care problem, but they aren't. Runaway health spending is. Although politicians pay lip service to that, what they really enjoy is increasing spending.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/05/AR2007120502235.html?nav=r... |