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Message |
Skate_magnet
Junior Member
Username: Skate_magnet
Post Number: 73
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 9:46 am: | |
[ mental status... Activistic ]
[ inmates screaming... The Sound of Silence ]
It cuts me to the quick what this "Free Trade," and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank are doing to other countries. The IMF and World Bank loan money to countries provided that they agree to some stipulations known as "Structural Adjustment Procedures." These measurements include...
Cut social spending
Shrink government
Increase intrest rates
Eliminate restrictions on foreign investment. * [We'll come back to this later]
Eliminate tariffs
Cut subsidies on basic goods
Borrowed from GlobalExchange.org
THE REPUBLICANS ARE COMING! THE REPUBLICANS ARE COMING!
An issue by issue analysis...
"Cut Social Spending: We aren't talking about Social Security and welfare here people, or little government programs to help out small business owners. We're talking about funding for hospitals and schools. Third world countries shutting down their schools means that the kids are undereducated and unfit for a competitive job market, and literacy rates go down. Obviously, higher costs for medical care mean more needless deaths, but hey - we're the Western world and we don't give a chiiiit about little brown people dying, right?
"Shrink Government": Ri-i-i-ght. I'm guessing South Africa has a MAJORLY overwhelming bureaucracy with tons of red tape. The SAPs encourage countries where the government is the largest and most reliable employer to downsize. This causes higher unemployment rates and significantly lowers wages.
"Increase Intrest Rates": Geeze, just because these countries don't have the benefit of Alan Greenspan in their treasury doesn't mean that they should have arbitrary intrest rates. Rasing intrest rates makes it more difficult for small businesses to get start up capital and then stay afloat in a competitive market. It can cause small farmers to have to sell their land and over all can force people and businesses into bankruptcy leading to what - More Unemployment.
Eliminate Tariffs: This opens little countries up to greater imports. As we've seen in the U.S. this isn't always a good thing - foreign cars from Japan and Korea are outselling American brands like Ford and Chevrolet. This is what's happening at an accelerated rate with the SAPs, and as we all know: decreased profits leads to downsizing, bankruptcy and layoffs which lead to what? - More Unemployment.
And now my favorite
"Eliminate restrictions on foreign on foreign investment.": This is essentially a mandate to privatize everything, which is a really bad thing to do to indiginous people. You got a lucrative copper mining business? Well, instead of the state owning it and making money from the proceeds, you should sell it to an American company. Then, Pedro can work like a dog in the mines making ten cents an hour, the American businessmen get rich on his labor by exploting the natural resources of his country. This system siphons god-given economic opportunity - copper, oil, coal, trees - away from the people who need it. Here's a great example --
In 1999, Bolivia was forced by the IMF to sign a 40 year lease to privatize the water supply - for those of you who don't know, water is something that is essential for living, one cannot live without it. Water prices shot up, two and three times what they had been, making a glass of water far beyond "too expensive," for the average Bolivian citizen. On average, a Bolivian citizen can expect to make 100$ a month - water bills went from 12$ to 30$. This same thing happened with the electricity, but it's easier to sit in the dark than it is to go without water. When thirsty citizens took to the streets in protest, they were met with rubber bullets and tear gas.
Rubber bullets and tear gas. What happened to the Lexus and the Olive Tree that we were promised by Thomas Friedman? He told us that if we took our hands off the steering wheel [Class ending. Will Continue Later]
Look at the Big Picture
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Seanmcguire
Senior Member
Username: Seanmcguire
Post Number: 253
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 4:44 am: | |
wow...hmmmmmm. Nevermind...sean |
Dawnskaybug
Senior Member
Username: Dawnskaybug
Post Number: 587
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 5:09 am: | |
Can I get a cliff notes version |
Skate_magnet
Junior Member
Username: Skate_magnet
Post Number: 74
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 6:32 am: | |
I tried to type slow
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Igtbk
New member
Username: Igtbk
Post Number: 12
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 8:49 am: | |
The bottom line is...
Everyone in this country has the right to CHOOSE...to make thier own decisions in life...To better their family and obtain what they want or feel that they need...
To better their life and live it as they see fit..and if need be, to stand together and fight for what they belive in ...alot of other place's in the world do not have this right...
Trust me, seen that, been there...
That's what make's this country of our's so great, It's the right to openly present our idea's...
Other country's will alway's resent this...
It's America's ability of our people to Speak thier mind's freely,say your feelings loudly and proudly and send them out for all the world to hear,that is what is the most resented...
We do not force our massess to be sheep, as other country's do, but allow everyone to be a sheppard in his own right...
Every man create's his own destany in life, but togeather we created a country, free of dictatorship and gave everyone the right to voice their opinion, {good or bad} and that's what other country's resent...because they,like all people, wish for somthing they dont have...
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Smoothbore54
New member
Username: Smoothbore54
Post Number: 29
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, April 24, 2005 - 1:07 am: | |
Does the World Bank or the IMF force anyone to borrow from them ???
Didn't think so. |
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