Globalization · Opinion

Affirmative action for the poor

The Economist recently wrote about (article: With reservations) the current debate within India about whether the existing affirmative action (called “reservations” in India) quota legislation for the poor should be extended from higher-education education and government jobs to private companies. First, there are a variety of viewpoints of who should get affirmative action benefits. Historically,… Continue reading Affirmative action for the poor

Opinion

Populist redistribution isn’t working

I remember reading an article in The Economist sometime last year (I can’t remember the exact issue) which was reviewing the impact/results of the various populist political movements in the past 50 years which have cyclically swept through Latin American countries. They all generally followed a similar model … an elite group was governing politics… Continue reading Populist redistribution isn’t working

Opinion

Working Poor 1, Anti-Wal-Mart Coalition 0

A month ago, Wal-Mart announced that it was finally entering the financial services business. I say, finally, because an unlikely group of anti-Wal-Mart collaborators … big banks threatened by Wal-Mart’s commitment to low-cost financial services and the traditional anti-Wal-Mart folks (populist politicians, union organizers and a range of other interests) … had successfully blocked Wal-Mart… Continue reading Working Poor 1, Anti-Wal-Mart Coalition 0