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The growth compact for Europe: increasing German wages to benefit German workers and increase imports from other eurozone countries
08/17/2010
German workers exercized a decade of wage restraint under the Hartz reforms. This has led to a large increase in the sector of lower paid workers. Polls show 4 out of 5 workers feel they have not benefitted from the growth in the economy in Germany. Higher German wages coupled with wage restraint in France, Spain, Italy and other eurozone countries would help increase imports into Germany from other eurozone coutnries. This would help rebalance the eurozone economies.
Linked Articles
Germany's Inflated Fear of Inflation
Wall Street Journal 02/14/2012
German Workers' Wages Belie Country's ReboundWall Street Journal 08/17/2010
Who is the sucker in this war? Mohamed Hanif and Thomas Friedman offer two perspectives on the Afghan war.
07/31/2010
Mohamed Hanif of the BBC's Urdu Service gives the view of ordinary Pakistanis outside of the small military and civilian elite that runs Pakistan. They are just looking in and are more interested in the electricity that can illuminate a village, than with an obsession for India. Pakistan has lagged in economic development and has no emerging middle class like India. Friedman of the New York times sees America a the sucker in this game, but is oblivious to the feeling of ordinary Pakistanis who were never part of this.
Linked Articles
In Pakistan, Echoes of American Betrayal
New York Times 07/31/2010
The Great (Double) GameNew York Times 07/31/2010
The huge strains on families of 130 million migrant workers in China.
06/18/2010
The visible strains in the lives of migrant workers employed in China's factories.
Linked Articles
A Night at the Electronics Factory
New York Times 06/18/2010
Lixin Fan, Trailing Chinese Migrant WorkersNew York Times 08/27/2010
How America's need for low wage manufactured products is colliding with worker demands inside China.
06/03/2010
The beginnings of a Chinese workers movement for higher wages and better working conditions that has support within the universities, state run media and the government. The government sees the need to build up domestic consumption as austerity measures in western countries threaten the sustainability of the old export model; and sees higher worker wages make sense in this context.
Linked Articles
The Rise of a Chinese Worker's Movement
BusinessWeek 06/10/2010
Why Apple and Others Are Nervous About FoxconnBusinessWeek 06/03/2010
Strike at Honda and suicides at Hon Hai reflect worker dissatisfaction.
05/29/2010
Wages an issue at both companies. Military style discipline and monotony of life and work an issue at Hon Hai which employs 800,000 workers in China and is a key part of the Chinese manufacturing system which makes all kinds of electronic products
Linked Articles
Why Apple and Others Are Nervous About Foxconn
BusinessWeek 06/03/2010
Unrest May Signal New Phase in China EconomyNew York Times 05/29/2010
Experts like Shiller and Roubini about see dangers of a double dip recession.
05/13/2010
Prolonged period of zero interest rates that encourage excessive risktaking, and declining confidence levels with higher uncertainty, pose serious dangers.
Linked Articles
Charlie Rose Talks to Nouriel Roubini
BusinessWeek 05/13/2010
Fear of a Double Dip Could Cause OneNew York Times 05/14/2010
Health care spending as a critical part of the U.S. deficit problem and why it defies solution (5)
11/18/2009
Linked Articles
Health 'Debate' Deserves a Failing Grade
Wall Street Journal 11/18/2009
A grim diagnosis for our ailing U.S. health care system - The Washington PostWashington Post 11/28/2011
Health care spending as a critical part of the U.S. deficit problem and why it defies solution (6)
11/12/2009
Linked Articles
10 Ways to Cut Health-Care Costs Right Now
BusinessWeek 11/12/2009
A grim diagnosis for our ailing U.S. health care system - The Washington PostWashington Post 11/28/2011
Bill Gates and David Rieff on the untapped resource for India and the global economy of India's children
10/11/2009
The challenge of getting hundreds of millions of rural Indian children into the development mainstream through better healthcare, pharmaceuticals, nutrition, education and agricultural improvement is the next major challenge for India and the global economy. It is a huge untapped resource for India and the global economy.
Linked Articles
Bill Gates: What I Learned in the Fight Against Polio
Wall Street Journal 11/10/2013
India’s Malnutrition DilemmaNew York Times 10/11/2009
Health care cost increases as a critical part of the U.S. deficit problem and why it defies solution (1)
07/24/2009
Linked Articles
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Four Deficit Myths and a Frightening FactWall Street Journal 01/19/2012
Health care spending as a critical part of the U.S. deficit problem and why it defies solution (4)
07/24/2009
Linked Articles
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
ObamaCare's Reality DeficitWall Street Journal 01/08/2011
Peter Orszag and the struggle for a deficit-neutral health care plan (2)
07/24/2009
Linked Articles
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Beneath Budget Battle, a Health-Spending JuggernautWall Street Journal 12/17/2012
Clearly not a Roosevelt like approach or major change in regulatory structures says Nocera of NYT.
06/17/2009
A lot will now depend on who is in charge and creating a culture where strong regulation is an essential step for proper functioning of markets.
Linked Articles
Obama’s Remarks on Financial Regulatory Reforms
Wall Street Journal 06/17/2009
Only a Hint of Roosevelt in Financial OverhaulNew York Times 06/18/2009
Temporary workers in Germany and in the U.S.- the consequences for consumer spending, in higher inequality and poverty
08/17/2010
About a fourth of workers are temporary workers in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau. In Germany OECD figures show temporary workers going up from 16% of all workers in 1998 to 21.5% by 2010.
Linked Articles
The Rise of the Permanent Temp Economy
New York Times 01/26/2013
German Workers' Wages Belie Country's ReboundWall Street Journal 08/17/2010
Andy Grove of Intel and a reminder about Silicon Valley's role now missing role as a serious innovator and job creator at home
07/01/2010
Andy Grove reminded Silicon Valley about the dangers of forgetting manufacturing's important role in the U.S. in 2010. This is even more true today with the working class lagging behind in this recovery. He asked at the time what kind of society are we creating with professionally employed workers and lots of unemployed. It reminded him of 1932 with troops holding bayonets facing unemployed people outside the White House, and of his days in Hungary in the 1956 uprising. Grove also called for serious innovation which he did not see happening at the time in Silicon Valley.
Linked Articles
Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley
New York Times 03/25/2016
Andy Grove: How America Can Create JobsBusinessWeek 07/01/2010
Tan Guocheng and Yuan Yandong- migrant workers on production lines in China and change in 2010-2013
06/13/2010
David Barboza's exceptional journalism talking to production workers on assembly lines in China. Here he tells the story of Tan Guocheng and Yuan Yandong, young migrant workers on assembly lines at Honda and Foxconn in the middle of major changes in China after the first wave of urbanization.
Linked Articles
In China, Unlikely Labor Leader Just Wanted a Middle-Class Life
New York Times 06/13/2010
A Night at the Electronics FactoryNew York Times 06/18/2010
Workers at Hon Hai, Honda, and other companies in China struggle for higher wages.
05/29/2010
China's governmet policy shifts to encourage higher wages to promote domestic consumption.
Linked Articles
Unrest May Signal New Phase in China Economy
New York Times 05/29/2010
Hon Hai to Raise Workers' PayWall Street Journal 05/29/2010
Apple products at manufacturing plants in China and at retail stores in the U.S.- low worker pay and lack of future prospects
05/29/2010
The high margins for Apple achieved through a combination of keeping costs low- even at the risk of providing poor wage and working conditions for the majority of employees employed in the retail stores in the U.S. and in supplier Foxconn plants in China- and by a grasp for innovation and technology. The paradox of a well deserved image for pioneering in technological innovation and the indifference to working conditions and prospects for employees who add value in manufacturing and customer interface. This model of growth is a recent development, put in place after 1997. In 1995-1997 Apple was nearing collapse under Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio, as documented by WSJ technology reporter Jim Carlton in his book- "Apple- The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders." Steve Jobs returned as CEO in 1997 and set the future course and this model in place emphasizing design, his ability to grasp technologies that would appeal to customers, and hired Tim Cook to set up the manufacturing which had high rate of defects and higher costs. The model was as full of paradoxes, of genius combined with mediocre behavioursas the man Steve Jobs. Tim Cook has responded to criticism in 2012 by having the Fair Labor association audit Foxconn plants in China. Foxconn increased wages in 2012, shifted plants to the interior of China, and increased use of robotics.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 05/29/2010
Apple Stores Army, Long on Loyalty but Short on PayNew York Times 06/23/2012
From online retail to selling consumer goods - different ways of selling in Nigeria, rural India, rural Brazil and other emerging markets
12/12/2009
Linked Articles
In Nigeria, Rising Dreams of Web Commerce
Wall Street Journal 06/03/2012
P.& G. Sees the World as Its ClientNew York Times 12/12/2009
Why the Obama health care law gets an "F" grade from the Dean of Harvard Medical School
11/18/2009
The failure to replace the "fee-for-service" system in favor of capitated payments is cited as one of the main reasons. The other reasons are it does not resolve the issues of introducing competition in quality of care and cost, and continues the practices that disguise the true cost of care with a highly fragmented system of care. In a op-ed, Jeffrey Flier, Dean of the Harvard Medical School, gives a detailed account for the reason for his grading. A poorly drafted or incomplete law says Flier can make things worse, citing the example of the health care law in Massachusetts which is driving up costs, as it does not change the old dysfunctional system's key features such as "fee-for service," and instead tries to build a new system on broken foundations. Pearlstein in the Washington Post says the Obama health care law has addressed the "fee-for-service" problem, but this is really not the case, and Flier's reasoning may be the clue to the deeper problem for the Obama health care law.
Linked Articles
Steven Pearlstein: Eat your broccoli, Justice Scalia - The Washington Post
Washington Post 04/01/2012
Health 'Debate' Deserves a Failing GradeWall Street Journal 11/18/2009
David Rieff provides insights on why all developing countries, Mexico, Brazil, India, Indonesia and China need to take child malnutrition seriously
10/11/2009
The Indian lower house of parliament passed a Food Security bill in August 2013. Rieff says China made serious progress to reduce malnutrition from over 21% for children under 5 years to around 7% today after 1990. In India malnutrition for children under 5 years is above 40%. There is a lot that developing coutnries can learn from each other in this area including the Bolsa Familia program in Brazil which uses the concept of improving vaccination for children and school attendance as requirements for subsidy payments to the poor. Mexico and Indonesia have different versions of programs to help the poorer sections of society. The problem is acute in India because of indifference induced by caste and other considerations and the high level of malnutrition for children. Rief says how good is ademographic dividend when many of these children are permanently and silently impaired by malnutrition by the age of three. India's Congress party leader, Sonia Gandhi, put it differently in parliament: "What is our responsibility to these people?"
Linked Articles
New York Times 10/11/2009
India's Lower House Passes Food Bill to Help PoorWall Street Journal 08/26/2013
Intractable conflicts and a way out- the U.S., Europe, India and Pakistan in Afghanistan, and South Asians in Kashmir
09/23/2009
Linked Articles
Obama Is Considering Strategy Shift in Afghan War
New York Times 09/23/2009
Kashmir's troubles: Shaking the mountainsEconomist 01/01/2011
Health care spending as a critical part of the U.S. deficit problem and why it defies solution (3)
07/24/2009
Linked Articles
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
A grim diagnosis for our ailing U.S. health care system - The Washington PostWashington Post 11/28/2011
U.S. president Obama, lobbyists and the 2010 Obama health care law
07/24/2009
The political process and the influence of lobbyists on Congress and the White House constrains the development of laws that control healthcare costs. Higher health care costs means less money for infrastructure development, education, research and development funding, and other priorities which build a future for Americans.
Linked Articles
E-Mails Highlight Extent of Obama's Deal With Industry on Health Care
New York Times 06/08/2012
Obama's Health Expert Gets PoliticalWall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Peter Orszag and the struggle for a deficit neutral health care plan (1)
06/26/2009
Linked Articles
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Obama and Congress Clash on How to Pay for Health CareNew York Times 06/26/2009
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