Washington Post (February 8)
“The central budget issue of our time” is quite simple, but overlooked. “Spending on the elderly and health care is slowly overwhelming the rest of the federal government. Spending on other vital activities (from defense to financial regulation) is being sacrificed to cover the growing costs of a graying nation.”
Washington Post (December 29)
In China, rule by law is an “empty promise.” In the years since President Xi Jinping “came to power, hundreds of rights defenders and intellectuals have been thrown into prison for political reasons. Properties have been expropriated or demolished, free speech has been restricted, religion has been suppressed, women have been forced to have abortions, and torture has multiplied. In Xinjiang and Tibet, the authorities have carried out one shocking human rights catastrophe after another. The abuses have never stopped.” The current Government campaign of “‘governing the country according to law’ is just another attempt by the party to address its crisis of legitimacy. Such slogans may help the party fool people within China and the international community.”
Tags: Abuse, China, Crisis, Empty promise, Free speech, Government, Human rights, Legitimacy, Prison, Religion, Rule by law, Tibet, Torture, Xi, Xinjiang
Bloomberg (December 14)
Under the leadership of Masahiko Kuroda, the Bank of Japan’s “policies have indeed been bold — bolder than anything Abe himself has been willing to attempt. But the BOJ’s policies are allowing the government to sidestep its responsibility. That must stop if Abenomics is to come off life support. On Friday, Kuroda should begin nudging Abe to do something with his popular mandate for change. Anything.”
Tags: Abe, Abenomics, BOJ, Bold, Change, Government, Kuroda, Mandate, Responsibility, Sidestep
LA Times (December 10)
“The emerging sharing economy poses a challenge for government because it doesn’t fit neatly into existing regulatory structures. Individuals put their personal cars, homes and other assets to commercial use on an irregular basis, with the help of companies such as Uber and Airbnb that connect them to customers.”
Tags: Airbnb, Assets, Cars, Challenge, Government, Homes, Regulatory structures, Sharing economy, Uber
Bloomberg (October 23)
“It’s easy to see why Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants Japan’s $1.2 trillion government pension fund to start buying more stocks…. But attempts to game the stock market have failed to revive Japan in the past and are doomed to failure again, unless Abe puts more effort into the harder work of real reform.”
Tags: Abe, Failure, Government, Japan, Market, Pension fund, Reform, Stocks
The Economist (October 4)
The modern digital revolution “is disrupting and dividing the world of work on a scale not seen for more than a century. Vast wealth is being created without many workers; and for all but an elite few, work no longer guarantees a rising income.” The revolution has brought many benefits and has many more to offer, but a bold government response is necessary to ensure workers will be able to benefit from the digital revolution.
Tags: Benefits, Digital revolution, Disrupting, Elite, Government, Income, Modern, Wealth, Workers
Wall Street Journal (September 15)
“The world’s second-largest economy is faring worse than previously thought, with government stimulus measures proving too short-lived to counter China’s sharp real-estate downturn or to prop up flagging factory output.” The slowdown in growth was highlighted by a slump in industrial production which fell to levels last seen during the financial crisis. “The falloff comes as Europe is stumbling and the U.S. recovery looks more moderate than expected, leaving the world in search of economic growth.”
Tags: China, Downturn, Economy, Europe, Factory output, Financial Crisis, Government, Growth, Industrial production, Real estate, Recovery, Stimulus, U.S.
The New York Times (September 7)
“The widening epidemic of Ebola in West Africa looks worse with each passing day. The outbreaks…have outstripped the ability of humanitarian groups and fragile government health systems to treat the sick and slow the spread.”
Tags: Ebola, Epidemic, Government, Health systems, Humanitarian, Outbreaks, Outstripped, Sick, Spread, West Africa
Wall Street Journal (August 20)
“Mr. Modi’s plans to unleash market forces will lift millions of Indians out of poverty, but he also has ideas about how government can better meet the immediate needs of the poor.” Though some of his plans “may sound oddly simple to developed-world ears” (e.g. access to toilets and bank accounts), “the Prime Minister’s humble background gives him an understanding of what the poor need to find their own path to prosperity and the credibility to build a new consensus for those policies.”
Tags: Background, Bank accounts, Consensus, Credibility, Government, Humble, India, Modi, Policies, Poverty, Prosperity, Toilets
Bloomberg (August 19)
The annual meeting of central bankers kicks off this week in Jackson Hole and it’s worth paying attention. “Central bankers, a group of largely independent technocrats, wield more power over the fates of politicians, investors and regular folk than ever before. In the absence of government action, they are bearing most of the burden of supporting economic recoveries in the U.S. and Europe. With their bond purchases and other unconventional policies, they have become a major force holding up financial markets around the world.”
Tags: Bond purchases, Central bankers, Economic recoveries, Europe, Financial markets, Government, Investors, Jackson Hole, Politicians, Power, U.S.