New York City Schools- failure in the U.S. public school system

12/18/2018

Linked Articles

Opinion | De Blasio Sees Too Many Asians

WSJ 12/17/2018

William Mcgurn

WSJ 12/13/2018

Leslie Brody

The New York Subway System- a failure to invest in basic infrastructure and maintenance in the U.S., a sign of broader failures in infrastructure

12/20/2017

Linked Articles

How Cuts in Basic Subway Upkeep Can Make Your Commute Miserable

The New York Times 12/20/2017

Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Michael Laforgia

The New York Times 11/18/2017

Brian M. Rosenthal, Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Michael Laforgia

Diplomacy as the realistic option in the Korean peninsula- the situation in 2017 with new intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities of North Korea

07/05/2017

Linked Articles

Five Blunt Truths About the North Korea Crisis

07/05/2017

Nicholas Kristof

The New York Times 07/04/2017

David E. Sanger

Shinzo Abe and Japan's personal approach to diplomacy with the Trump administration

02/10/2017

Linked Articles

To Bond With Trump, Japan’s Abe Takes a Swing at Fairway Diplomacy

WSJ 02/10/2017

Jacob M. Schlesinger In Washington, Alastair Gale In Tokyo

Washington Post 02/10/2017

David Nakamuraanna Fifielddavid Nakamuraanna Fifield

Sharp contrast between the Trump and Clinton economic plans- Trump's negative in the long run, Clinton's positive in the long run

10/18/2016

Economic experts look at the Trump and Clinton economic plans, Trump's based on extreme borrowing and Clinton's careful about deficits. Trump's plan aggravates the wide disparities in income in America after the tech booms and Clinton's reduces these disparities. Clinton's preserves global trading system while addressing the problems, Trump's moves in the direction of protectionism and high tariffs with potential unintended consequences for the global economy.

Linked Articles

Donald Trump’s Economic Plan, Up Close, Doesn’t Add Up

WSJ 10/18/2016

Greg Ip

WSJ 10/17/2016

Richard Rubin

Donald Trump's proposal for 45% tariff on China's exports to the U.S.- how a policy of bringing jobs home could lead to the loss of 1 million U.S. jobs

03/08/2016

By damaging the international trading system including with allies such a Canada, Britain, France and Germany, the result of a downward spiral through higher tariffs in other countries, could end up costing the U.S. 1 million jobs. Under such a system the U.S. would lose many of the advantages of its booming tech sector, its tech driven global advantages in many industries, without signifcant gains in low cost imports such as clothing which would simply migrate to other countries such as India. The problem of worker wage stagnation in the U.S., and loss of jobs in certain sectors, is very real, but this is the wrong way to tackle the problem. China is already moving towards a consumer driven economy. Economists show that trade with Mexico would be seriously hurt both ways, creating more pressure of migrants at the border under such proposals as a 45% tariff and its indirect effect on Mexico, when the actual fact is that net migration from Mexico is the lowest it has ben in decades. Politics can do strange things as when two senators Smoot and Hawley from agricultural states Utah and Oregon, at the head of important committees in the U.S. Congress pushed and passed legislation for a 60% tariff in 1930 for the industrial sector they had no idea about. When Smoot and Hawley lost reelection in 1932 they left behind a lot of damage, especially for the farmers and workers they thought they were fighting for.

Linked Articles

How Trump’s Hard Line on Trade Could Backfire

Wall Street Journal 03/25/2016

Bob Davis, Bob, Davis

Wall Street Journal 03/08/2016

Holman W. Jenkins Jr., Holman, W., Jenkins, Jr.

South Korea's women activists and progress changing the troubled male-female birth ratio

11/02/2015

Linked Articles

Asia Struggles for a Solution to Its ‘Missing Women’ Problem

Wall Street Journal 11/27/2015

Geeta Anand And Jaeyeon Woo, Geeta, Anand, And, Jaeyeon, Woo

New York Times 11/02/2015

Amartya Sen, Amartya, Sen

A guide to understanding the Middle East and South Asia and what this means for Europe and the U.S. (2) - Iraq, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan

09/11/2015

Linked Articles

Why Russia is in Syria - The Washington Post

Washington Post 09/11/2015

Ishaan Tharoor, Ishaan, Tharoor

Wall Street Journal 09/25/2015

Neil Rogachevsky, Neil, Rogachevsky

Errors made by the IMF, Syriza Tsipras far left government, leading to the third bailout program of 2015 for Greece

07/06/2015

Just when the first signs of growth in the economy were taking place in 2014 the IMF held back on a 7.2 billion euro payment to Greece which would have increased liquidity to the private sector for growth. The IMF hope to gain leverage with a future Syriza far left government. The first half of 2015 led to economic anxiety in Greece with a failed negotiating strategy of Syriza far left government focussing only on the debt and not on the economy. The damage led to about 85 billion in addtional financing needed following the closing of Greece's banking system in July 2015.

Linked Articles

IMF Warns Eurozone That Greece Needs Far More Debt Relief

Wall Street Journal 07/15/2015

Ian Talley, Ian, Talley

New York Times 07/06/2015

Gikas Hardouvelis, Gikas, Hardouvelis

What Greece won in the negotiations and what Greece lost in the failure of talks with the EU, capital controls, closing of banks and the referendum on July 5, 2015

02/27/2015

Major concessions were won by Greece on the most important issues of the surplus, and the size of the public sector with high unemployment. Compromise was being reached on the value added taxes and age for getting pensions, next down the list. Next on the list were pension cuts which undoubtedly would hurt pensioners but in the larger picture of the economy would come after the size of the surplus and dateline, and the size of public sector. The size of these cuts is small compared to the cost of 60 billion euros from the damage done to the economy, and the alternatives for pensioners and the rest of the country. under bank closure. For the EU this was seen as part of pension reforms and for left leaning Syriza compromising on behalf of pensioners.

Linked Articles

IMF Raises Referendum Stakes With Call for More Aid for Greece and Debt Relief

Wall Street Journal 07/03/2015

Viktoria Dendrinou, Viktoria, Dendrinou, Nektaria Stamouli And Ian Talley, Nektaria, Stamouli, And, Ian, Talley

New York Times 02/27/2015

Paul Krugman, Paul, Krugman

Looking back at Hong Kong and China today and yesterday- China in 1842 and in 1945, nationalism and commercial interests of foreign powers

01/09/2015

A wariness with foreign powers in China stems from the influences left behind from the British commercial interests and the Japanese invasion of China. Compared to that period, the period of collaboration on an equal footing and playing field is is a short and recent one that has taken place for just three decades 1985-2015. Fears that the accelerated development in China could slow down without a strong central government, combine with the awareness of the need for western technology and open communications in today's global economy to accelerate the development, create in the Chinese mind a problem that needs to be tackled carefully to continue progress. Awareness of the huge inequalities and corruption in the rush towards modernization, need to tackle extensive contamination of air and water, and need for social security and healthcare for an aging population create a new urgency for careful policy making to sustain progress.

Linked Articles

Gentlemen Drug Dealers

Wall Street Journal 01/12/2015

George Walden, George, Walden

New York Times 01/09/2015

Thomas J. Christensen, Thomas, J., Christensen

Two party systems and Malaysia's UMNO Party- (2) the future economic prospects of Malaysia under Razak, India under Modi, Indonesia under Widodo

12/08/2014

Najib Razak follows his father Tun Abdul Razak, Mahathir before him, all the way back to Tunku Abdul Rahman, all of the UMNO party, in an uninterrupted control of the United Malay Naional Organization Party which has ruled Malaysia for almost 6 decades. Malaysia has followed the example of Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore by keeping the opposition parties weak to maintain control. Both the UMNO and the party of Lee in Singapore face questions about the merits of suppressing the development of two party systems, at a time when government is changing hands to opposition parties in most of the region and improving economic prospects in each country with a change of government- Abe in Japan, Widodo in Indonesia, Modi and Sharif in India and Pakistan, Aquino in the Philippines, Wickremesinghe in Sri Lanka. A economic drift with no clear direction under Singh and Bhutto in India and Pakistan was reversed with the election of Modi and Sharif, the economic drift and deflation under the Kan and Noda governments was reversed in Japan with the election of Abe, and the economic drift in Indonesia is being reversed by the Widodo government. This shows how critical two party systems are to functioning democracies as middle classes develop and voters look for competing views of the future to choose from.

Linked Articles

Fund Controversy Threatens Malaysia’s Leader

Wall Street Journal 06/19/2015

Tom Wright, Tom, Wright

Wall Street Journal 12/08/2014

Patrick Mcdowell, Patrick, Mcdowell, Ben Otto, Ben, Otto, Matt Murray, Matt, Murray

Abenomics advisers Yamamoto and Hamada, and Japanese prime minister Abe's decision in Nov. 2014 to challenge the Finance Ministry's views

11/20/2014

Abe calls for a snap election in Dec. 2014 after delaying the second increase in the consumption tax from 8% to 10% in 2015. About 53% of the Japanese public opposed the doubling of the consumption tax by 2015 in 2011 poll as the DPJ party Noda administration pushed for it on the advice of the Finance Ministry. Now after the 3rd quarter showed Japan in a recession over 70% of the Japanese public oppose a second increase in the consumption tax to 10% from 8% in 2015. Abenomics advisors Hamada and Yamamoto now say this increase in the tax (especially when wages are only gradually increasing) was never a part of the Abenomics.

Linked Articles

Japan’s No. 1 Reflationist Does a Victory Dance

Wall Street Journal 11/20/2014

Eleanor Warnock, Eleanor, Warnock

New York Times 11/20/2014

Martin Fackler, Martin, Fackler