Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Not rocket science

By Richard W. Rahn

Suppose you were appointed global economic czar, and your task was to bring the world's per capita income up to the level of Ireland's (almost that of the U.S.). Would you:
(A) Insist the world's rich nations transfer substantial wealth though massive foreign aid to the poor nations?
(B) Insist all nations adopt policies that would make them as economically free as the top 10 freest economies today?

If you answered "B," go to the head of the class. This shows you have a good understanding of both history and economic reality about what works and what doesn't.

If you answered "A," welcome to the Kofi Annan, Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schroeder school of willful economic ignorance. Graduates of this school are well represented among international institutions, such as the World Bank, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; the political left; and the media elites in such places as the New York Times editorial pages, the BBC and National Public Radio.

Read the rest, here.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

A) is basically communism. Which is the same as welfare, redistribution of wealth or whatever you want to call it. Once you start giving people free handouts, ie a reason not to work, many will take you up on it. Welfare states are not known for providing many job opportunities these days - except in the public sector. Vicious cycle repeated. There is a place for social security and the public sector, but preferably not a very large one.

Ryan

12:53 PM  

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