Quickthink

From the Economist

WHEN economists from the World Bank visit poor countries to dispense cash and advice, they routinely tell governments to reject cronyism and fill each important job with the best candidate available. It is good advice. The World Bank should take it. In appointing its next president, the bank’s board should reject the nominee of its most influential shareholder, America, and pick Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Ouch! Now that would be a kick in the ass. But is it deserved? Well … it is time to recognize that the World Bank and the IMF are western clubs. As clubs, they play a role but not as big a role as they could in global development. Why? Because of the longstanding problem that western foreign assistance policy is too tightly wrapped up with foreign policy concerns. A little de-linking might not be a bad thing. Of course, I still have a hard time getting over the Wolfowitz fiasco at the World Bank, so perhaps I am biased here.

Pink slime? That is what Paul Krugman calls the recent budget proposal by republican Paul Ryan. No - according to Krugman, the budget proposal is worse than pink slime. He goes further. Calling it “the most fraudulent” in US history. Hmm … and there were some whoppers.

One might say, “Well, Krugman is a liberal. He is playing politics.” Well, Krugman is a self-proclaimed liberal. But his argument is not based on his love of government programming — though one could make that case too. It is based on Ryan’s plan for closing the budget deficit. How will Ryan do that? By raising $700 billion a year in additional tax revenues — without raising taxes. And how will he do that? By closing tax loopholes. Which ones? Who knows. Ryan identifies not one loophole that he would close. Not even that whopper of a tax loophole that gives super-rich Mitt Romney a net 14% tax rate.

In other words, Ryan is batting his eyebrows and saying “Don’t worry darling. Of course I will love me in the morning. “  Yeah well. Yet more evidence that one of the major parties in the US is no longer serious about governance.

FOLLOW -  HuffPo has made Krugman’s piece its headliner this morning. Will an editorial about budgeting go viral?