DR-CAFTA & Ohio's 5th

Just want to remind you, as we think about the arguments in favor of free trade and against free trade, that we will have to keep our eye on the ball: Ohio's 5th district. Keep in mind that as we learn about DR-CAFTA, we should also remember what else we'll want to learn about... be resourceful, be resourceful, be resourceful...

DR-CAFTA subcommittee hearing, etc.

On Trey's DR-CAFTA post, I particularly recommend the subcommittee hearing to you all. Though I have not yet listened to the entire length of it (4 hours+), I encourage you to listen to the first 15 minutes or so. There is an introductory statement, with a bit of academic discussion of comparative advantage there (!)

Two opponents of CAFTA follow with "opening statements", then one proponent. In form (and in substance if you choose, and if appropriate to your position), you can think of these as models for what your opening statements might sound like tomorrow.

The other links on Trey's site are very helpful as well. Here also is the view of the Chamber of Commerce, here is the Agriculture Department's view on Ohio, and here is the AFL-CIO (the country's largest labor federation.

More to come.

Open thread on DR-CAFTA

Use the comments to make mention of issues related to DR-CAFTA.

America's Finest on the WTO

Straight outta Madison. Where else?

The Old Gray Lady demands tribute

So much for linking to NY Times Op-Ed columnists.

What would Ralph say...?

(Or better, yet, what would Homer say?
No good.... stupid... corporate ... non-free... media... Why you LITTLE...!)

Tom Brower, you won't have the New York Times to kick around anymore. At least not all of it.

"one atmosphere"

We closed out today with a discussion of Singer's ethical views that seemed to hint at some lingering tensions in his argument, and/or in your views of his argument. Since we never reached resolution, I just want to open up a forumhere where you can add comments if you want to think about this a bit more.

To raise again the key question that we did not resolve: are Singer's ethics correct? Another way of putting this is to ask whether his proposal (p. 43-49, but not the section beginning on p. 49 and after) is indeed fair. This would set aside for the moment any questions about the "practicality" of his proposal, both to simplify the issue and because he does the same in the way he structures the chapter.

Singer calls for everyone to have an "equal per capita share" of entitlement to use the atmospheric "sink". Straight up, let's ask ourselves: is it fair to give every individual on earth the same amount of "right to pollute"? Or should some people get more than others? We seem to get different answers to these two questions when we phrase the question differently.

Most seemed to agree that everyone should get the same allotment, or entitlement. (Of course we can disagree on how big or small that allotment is.) On the other hand, it seemed several people found something intrinsically unfair in the prospect of Americans, Canadians, Europeans, etc., being asked to either cut back on pollution disproportionately or prepare to pay out a bundle to non-polluters in poorer countries. These strike me not as two different issues, but as two sides of the same coin.

Let's examine the source of the unfairness. Is it unfair that a North American only gets the same "right to pollute" as someone from a country where there is little or no industry? (I have used Burkina Faso as the generic example here...). Or is it unfair to give a North American a different entitlement from an African? It seems we need to choose one of these options, but that we cannot have both.

It is certainly possible to disagree with Singer on his ethics -- and many seem to. Let's make sure, however, that we don't call his proposal fair on the one hand, and unfair on the other.

What is fair? WWYD?

As I may have misinterpreted people's reactions today, offer some comments here, if you will...

On the Environment

From the April 23rd edition of The Economist. A couple of articles on the cover story, which is about bringing the market to bear on an increasing number of environmental issues. The leader is here, while the longer cover story is here. These links will only work on campus, as the library has electronic access to The Economist via ProQuest.

Yuan to revalue, or not?

Others have picked up on this. Particularly interesting in this discussion of the valuation of the Chinese currency is the paragraph where one analyst says "Don't bite the hand that feeds you." Think about the logic there, and consider what the undervalued yuan has allowed the United States consumer to do for a very long time...

The Economist on Argentina: "Overdosed"

Here is an article from last week's Economist (mine tends to arrive in the mail a bit late...) on Argentina's current struggles with inflation. Since we contrasted the U.S. with Argentina briefly yesterday, this is worth a look. The article does a nice job, giving a quick overview of the links between inflation and monetary policy. Note in particular the following paragraph:

In a successful effort to resuscitate the economy after the collapse of 2002, the central bank pumped in money. It printed pesos to buy dollars, thus also boosting exports and import-competing local businesses by keeping the exchange rate undervalued. Conveniently, this allowed the government to impose export taxes to boost its revenues. These policies, together with non-payment of debt, engineered an impressive recovery: output is now almost back to its pre-collapse peak of 1998.

That may sound like a mouthful, but I suspect it is the kind of thing you can follow...

Also, they pick up on the fact that both monetary and fiscal policy are expansionary. See the following:

But the authorities carried on boosting demand for too long. In the three months to December, the monetary base rose from 47.5 billion pesos ($16 billion) to 52.5 billion pesos. The government joined in too: "discretionary" federal spending rose by 19% last year, while the government decreed wage increases for the private sector. [...] The inevitable result of more money chasing not many more goods has been price rises.

Don't cry for me...?

One more "fill in the blank"

See? This stuff's a can o'corn now... weak dollar, BMW complains. We'll talk about MNCs next week. (In the meantime, enjoy perspectives on globalization and the IMF from Mr. Nader and Professor Smitka.)

Combine BMW's lamentations with the news yesterday that the Fed raised interest rates, and you'll realize there's lots to think about out in that thar news. BMW might be glad to hear about the Fed's monetary policy, as this might strengthen demand for the dollar, right? This would make the dollar stronger, and BMW would be happy because... why again?

Unsolicited plug for The Economist

Several of you noted an article in The Economist on China, the U.S., and protectionism. I wanted to point out that in the same issue, there is a three-page spread on the hub of India's IT boom: the city of Bangalore (and the state of Karnataka).

The article nicely mixes the appeal of outsourcing and the constraints built into the process. You will probably all find something to agree with in the article -- those of you who find outsourcing a frightening prospect and those of you who are assuaged by its limitations alike.

As a general rule of thumb, flipping through a copy of The Economist (hard copy available in the reading room in Leyburn) is highly educational. The last few pages, for instance, have detailed data each month on economic variables such as exchange rates, interest rates, and trade deficits. Dry reading, perhaps, looking at the charts, but it does put many of our conversations in perspective. They are good about noting current rates vs. rates a year ago, and so on, so you can see how things have changed recently as well. For example, the $US on April 20th was worth only about 5/6 of what it was worth in 2000...

Just food for thought.

Lou Dobbs Tonight

You may recall I mentioned the CNN show Lou Dobbs Tonight in class the other day. The most prominent theme of the show is outsourcing, with a nightly segment called "Exporting America". You can see the site here.

There is even a quiz on how much you know about outsourcing! Go get 'em...

Incidentally, I have no comment about how I did on the quiz.