Weekly picks, (19–25 Sept.)
Personal selection of interesting articles in various topics. Enjoy.
Politics (& libertarianism)
Will the Left Survive the Millennials?
For any Macedonian who is following the political debate in USA, this is a good read. Plus, it is good opportunity to take a pick in our near future if “pussy-totalitarian” groups like #Levica and other neo-socialists NGOs become more mainstream (i.e. it will make a full circle and reach the position of the “conservatives”).
How did the Left in the West come to embrace restriction, censorship and the imposition of an orthodoxy … Liberals [leftist] have ominously relabeled themselves “progressives”, forsaking a noun that had its roots in “liber”, meaning “free”. To progress is merely to go forward, and you can go forward into a pit.
Protecting freedom of speech involves protecting the voices of people with whom you violently disagree. In my youth, liberals [leftist] would defend the right Neo-Nazis to march down Main Street. I cannot imagine anyone on the Left making that case [for freedom] today.
Do Orcs Love Their Children Too?
A must read for simultaneous fans of Lord of the Rings and The World of Warcraft and politics. Using the orcs as great parallel for sending political message of love — through teaching a lesson how to recognize a “dehumanization propaganda”.
Macedonians could easily recognize “us vs them” propaganda that was part of the national politics in the last 10 years (against so-called “Sorosids”).
Dehumanization feeds into the “us against them” philosophies of irreconcilable conflict, which in turn underpin all of the State’s outrages: war, oppression, persecution, etc. It fragments civilization into rival herds and facilitates bestial behavior toward the dehumanized. Dehumanization dehumanizes the dehumanizer.
The Experiment: Capitalism vs. Socialism
My personal opinion is that anyone today who is making the case for socialism is total nut job. And reactionary who is wasting our time, distracting our attention of serious political & social issues. Regardless.
What if we could destroy a country’s political and economic fabric through a natural disaster — or a war — and then rebuild one half of it using capitalism as its base, while the other rebuilds on a socialist foundation? David wonders. Let the virtues of each system work their magic, and then see where the two new countries are after fifty years. Actually, he says, we’ve already performed The Experiment. It’s post-war Germany…
And South vs. North Korea; Chile vs. Venezuela; Ukraine vs. Poland; Hong Kong vs. China; etc.
Economics
Global Growth and Inflation Remain Low; Initial Impact of Brexit Is Muted (Dallas FED)
It seems that the interest rates in near-term will stay low. Probably, this will be also the case for Macedonia as well, having in mind the low inflation, low economic growth (although hard to tell, it seems that the econ growth is far below its potential) and good level of FX reserves. Why I am saying this? Well, if someone is considering borrowing (especially, short or medium term) and is scared of interest rate increase. Although, who can tell?
Given the low levels of inflation for most major economies, weak global demand, low investment and low commodity prices, it is likely that global monetary policy will remain accommodative in the near term.
Greece: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2016 Article IV Mission
Some very amusing stuff here on our neighbor that I think may be serious threat in Macedonia on medium-term (today they are issues but not on a level that may drown the whole economy). Like, for example, the structure of social spending (although I would tackle this issue little bit differently):
Spending remains exceedingly focused on unaffordable pensions provided to current retirees, which crowds out other needed social spending to protect vulnerable groups, including the unemployed. A fiscally-neutral rebalancing of policies over the medium term toward lower pensions and a fairer distribution of the tax burden are thus essential for the public sector to able to provide adequate services and social assistance to vulnerable groups, while creating the conditions for investment and growth.
Or, the tax “reforms” focused only on INCREASING taxes that it seems like it will be a first choice of policy in Macedonia.
A new income tax reform has helped to harmonize tax rates and generate additional fiscal savings, while a VAT reform has simplified the system. Nonetheless, the reforms largely rely on increasing tax rates, creating disincentives to work in the formal economy.
But in our case, we will not have this amazing “escape clause” to save us from the State’s never-satisfied thirst for cash:
the income tax reform has not tackled Greece’s very generous tax credit, which allows more than half of wage earners to be exempt from income taxes (compared to 8 percent in the euro-zone).
Read the whole statement.
The Critical Role of Economic Freedom in Venezuela’s Predicament
Excellent overview of the development in Venezuela, starting from its independence of 1821, its “golden years” in the period 1920–1957 when Venezuelans discovered oil reserves and capitalism, its first taste of democracy in 1957 that spranged from the prior period of economic progress, and the beginning of the end that we are witnessing today. Ironically, instead of a tool for protecting political AND economic freedom, in this case the democracy was the tool for curbing freedoms and promoting socialist policies.
Venezuela is just another example that there is NO ALTERNATIVE for market economy.
Something from Macedonia…
[on Macedonian language]
Minimum wage is again hot topic. Here is at least a try to shed some economic basis of the idea by Finance Think
Со години во Македонија се носат битни политики без никакви анализи (а без анализи демократската дебата, и да ја има, во голема мера се сведува на „кафански муабети“). Ништо поразлично не е и со предлогот на СДСМ за покачување на минималната плата, без разлика каков ви е ставот за ова прашање.
За среќа, Finance Think објави Brief кој се обидува иницијално да ја пополни оваа празнина. Brief-от е 2 страници, одлично е сумирана дебатата и понудена е некаква пресметка до кое ниво може да се покачи минималната плата без да има негативни ефекти (би додал, значајни) врз вработеноста. Според FT, минималната плата може да порасне до 11.300 ден без да има негативни ефекти врз вработеноста.
За мин.плата ќе следува посебен пост.
