Breaking News, World News and Taiwan News.

Updated Saturday, September 26, 2009 12:09 am TWN, By John J. Metzler, United Nations correspondent

Beyond U.N. political rants come a few sober economic messages

For a U.N. General Assembly session sadly sidetracked and marginalized by the rants of dictators ranging from Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, there's a positive and almost totally overlooked message from a few low- key buy savvy world leaders. While one of the key themes of the current assembly debate focuses on the continuing blame game for the world recession, a theme which shadows the economic reality of all 192 member states, there's a sublime message emerging from the often erudite ruminations of some speakers.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus set the stage by saying “We are meeting at a time when the world is in one of the deepest economic crisis since the Second World War.” But then he adds, “It would be a tragic mistake to fundamentally impair economic freedom in favor of state or supra-state regulation just now. The long-term experience tells us that it is thanks to the free markets and free entrepreneurship that we can enjoy the current material we welfare and economic progress.”

He then states the obvious but rarely heard: “Business cycles, accompanied by economic downturns recessions and crises did exist, do exist and we will exist in the future. In spite of them, the world has been—at least the last two centuries—characterized primarily by economic growth and growing prosperity.” Absolutely right!

The Czech President, an economist by training, added poignantly “We should build on the idea that the crisis was basically a failure of governments, not markets—Let us not delude ourselves that the economic cycle and its consequences can be prevented by the more extensive government regulation or by aiming at global governance of the world economy.”

President Klaus decried “Protectionism, in all its forms, should be resolutely condemned here today. Having seen former President Ronald Regan speak from this very rostrum many years ago, it appears that his philosophical spirit was in the cavernous U.N. Assembly hall.

But there were lessons from Latin America as well. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was not to be outdone. In a common sense commentary, the leader of a state embattled by narco-traffickers and para-military militias viewed economic development in his country. “Our government encourages investment and entrepreneurship as a means to overcome poverty and built equality, Colombia advances competitiveness and confidence.”

1|2|Next Page>>

Share

Print

Email


Sponsors
▪	Get the best deals for Guangzhou Hotels or choose from more than 10,000 hotels in 499 Chinese cities.
▪	Find great real time deals on China Flights. Book flights to China or China domestic flights 24/7.
▪	Buy china wholesale products from reliable chinese wholesalers on DHgate.com!
▪	Save 70% for hotel in Shanghai and 6000 hotels, in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and all China.