tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279973426476621559.post2653451857453479252..comments2023-04-03T05:20:01.318-04:00Comments on Young, Hip and Conservative: a skeptical blog: Bill Clinton on positive interdependenceMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00427964335321253510noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279973426476621559.post-59320036647513550662010-09-30T16:16:05.079-04:002010-09-30T16:16:05.079-04:00"I have to ask, what specific regulations are..."I have to ask, what specific regulations are you referring to?"<br /><br />And that is a good question to ask. I'm not the kind of guy that accepts blanket regulation and bureaucracy. I like efficiency too.<br /><br />I don't know exactly what regulations Clinton is talking about, but from my understanding of Clinton's ideology - that of liberalizing trade in developing countries - the regulations are pretty comprehensive.<br /><br />(And I only used the Salon article because it was the first I found - I had heard about Clinton's testimonial when it actually happened and couldn't easily find the news report instead.)<br /><br />The focus of most of my economics classes was international development and we studied the effects of development programs of the IMF and WTO on lesser-developed countries. (My nation of study was Algeria, specifically.) <br /><br />Accepting development loans from the likes of the IMF comes with "conditionalities" designed to make it plausible for the country to pay back its loans - as well as allegedly develop the country. These included drastic cuts to gov't spending - sometimes eliminating entire public programs like water-works or energy and privatizing them. They also include removing tariffs and subsidies (and other cock, err... trade-blocks) as well as enacting a financial policy to rein in inflation and also foster favorable interest rates for investment.<br /><br />I doubt any one particular policy fails a nation's development. But in tandem, it is my understanding that these sort of blanket liberalizations fail to significantly lift those in poverty out of it.<br /><br />But I confess - it's not quite that simple, either. Perhaps if EVERY nation had entirely liberalized economies as the IMF/WTO would prefer - it may work. I don't know. We haven't tried that yet. The fact is a lot of developing countries removed all barriers to trade while at the same time competing with the United States (and Europe) while the US and EU greatly subsidized its agriculture - giving our exports a huge advantage.<br /><br />One of the things Clinton said in his testimony was that he felt the only good he did with his trade policy was help a few Arkansas farmers.<br /><br />--<br /><br />As for the financial melt-down, I admit I don't know a lot about it. The regulations I always hear about losing were restrictions on what kind of financial properties different financial institutions could buy. Something about eliminating accountabilities - insurance in bed with loaners; blah blah blah. <br /><br />I don't remember all the details though so I won't pretend to know how to fix our pickle. I'm also not in a position to check out the video right now, but I will later.Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14317329031513410342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279973426476621559.post-69027441873146685432010-09-30T12:25:04.583-04:002010-09-30T12:25:04.583-04:00Whenever I hear that financial deregulation caused...Whenever I hear that financial deregulation caused the problem, I have to ask, what specific regulations are you referring to?<br /><br />If it were that simple, then wouldn't the solution have been to reinstall those missing regulations? But that's not what we did.<br /><br />Check out the end of this interview at the one hour, 8 minute mark: http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2009/10/calomiris_on_th.html<br /><br />Charles Calomiris reminds us that Obama's administration stopped making the "blame deregulation" argument when he took office. He says the financial regulations that went away since the 1980s were: <br /><br />*Regulation Q - a cap on interest for depositors <br /><br />*Branching restrictions<br /><br />*Limits on bank-to-bank underwriting<br /><br />The Salon link never mentioned a specific regulation. If there are some phantom regulations this list is missing, please inform me.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00427964335321253510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279973426476621559.post-45105015125328001912010-09-29T21:54:24.097-04:002010-09-29T21:54:24.097-04:00But you're right, globalization is the directi...But you're right, globalization is the direction we should go in and one he champions - but neither of us thinks it goes hand in hand with neo-liberal economic development.Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14317329031513410342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279973426476621559.post-8476762004660231622010-09-29T21:52:17.322-04:002010-09-29T21:52:17.322-04:00Clinton also testified in Congress this year excla...Clinton also testified in Congress this year exclaiming his regret for his trade policy - which was of neo-liberalism - failing to alleviate poverty around the globe:<br /><br />"It was a mistake," he said of his agribusiness-backed initiatives forcing impoverished countries to eliminate tariffs. "It was a mistake that I was a party to ... I had to live every day with the consequences of the loss of capacity to produce a rice crop in Haiti to feed those people because of what I did."<br /><br />Clinton didn't stop there. In a subsequent ABC News interview, he said that when it came to 1990s-era financial deregulation that so harmed today's economy, "I think [my advisors] were wrong, and I think I was wrong."<br /><br />http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/feature/2010/04/23/bill_clinton_s_contritionJeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14317329031513410342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279973426476621559.post-44227782131660234522010-09-28T23:24:31.161-04:002010-09-28T23:24:31.161-04:00I care more about the ideas and positions than the...I care more about the ideas and positions than the party affiliation of the source. This is a call for globalization.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00427964335321253510noreply@blogger.com