Saturday, October 31, 2009

New Details Emerge on House HC Bill

 

Stolen! With permission by the way, from Anthony, at the Liberty Sphere.

New Details Emerge on House HC Bill

As we reported yesterday, the gargantuan 1990-page ‘healthcare reform’ bill agreed upon by the House is replete with booby-traps for the citizens. New details revealed today indicate that the ‘death panels’ Sarah Palin warned about are back and very present in the bill.

This provision will determine who is worthy of care based upon age and overall health, which will most certainly result in rationing for the elderly. In addition, the measure mandates that ‘end of life counseling’ be offered to the elderly.

The cost of the plan is also of great interest. According to the Congressional Budget Office the pricetag will be 1.055 TRILLION, far above the supposed goal of Nancy Pelosi and others to keep the cost below a trillion bucks.

But by the time ALL of the hidden costs are added in to the measure, the actual price is more like 2 trillion at the very least.

Let’s take a quick review of the provisions of the bill as they are known so far:

*It covers illegal aliens.
*It covers abortions.
*It raises taxes.
*It mandates that all citizens purchase health insurance (which is unconstitutional).
*It takes billions out of Medicare and depletes the Medicare Advantage supplemental programs.
*It gives the HHS Secretary the power to create ‘waiting lists’ which is tantamount to rationing.
*It imposes heavy fines on individuals who fail to purchase insurance and on businesses that fail to provide it for their employees, leading to unemployment and layoffs since many businesses can’t afford it.
*It maintains the so-called ‘public option’ which will drive private insurers out of business. In short, this is government-run healthcare.

The House will debate the bill next week. Assuming it passes, which is in doubt, it will have to go to a conference committee to reconcile the bill with a Senate version. The Senate has already made it clear that ObamaCare is in deep trouble with heavy hitters such as Joe Lieberman and Olympia Snowe indicating they will not support the plan.
SOURCE

Other great things by the author HERE.

2009 Global Gender Gap Report

A few days ago, the World Economic Forum officially published its 2009 Global Gender Gap Report which gives insight into the equality divides between women and men in 134 countries around the world.  The top 10 are:

  1. Iceland
  2. Finland
  3. Norway
  4. Sweden
  5. N. Zealand
  6. S. Africa
  7. Denmark
  8. Ireland
  9. Philippines
  10. Lesotho

The top 4 are Nordic countries, while the Philippines remained the top Asian country.  According to the report, “more than two-thirds have posted gains in overall index scores, indicating that the world in general has made progress towards equality between men and women, although there are countries that continue to lose ground.”

Japan was ranked 75th, one of the lowest among developed nations, but “having climbed 23 places in the rankings, boosted by a narrower the gap among legislators, senior officials, and managers as well as professional and technical workers’ positions.  Japan is now closer to the OECD average on this variable.”

Below is a YouTube video is a short interview with Saadia Zahidi, co-author of the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2009 and Head of the Forum’s Women Leaders and Gender Parity Programme.

Democrats: The Party Of "NO!"

H/T Gold-Plated Witch On Wheels

Everyone’s heard of HB 3400, right? No? That’s the Republican Health Care bill. But HB 3200 weighed in at 1502 pages. And everyone knows about that one. At least everyone in the blogosphere does.

Just recently, the new Health Care bill was trotted out hauled out on a CSX freight train. At 1990 pages, it is one heavy bill.

Remember this?

It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.
James Madison

If you’re not interested in the opinion of the Father of the Constitution, perhaps you’re interested in other numbers. Like the number of pages of other, more important documents.

In case you have been under a rock or you have not heard the news the MSM has not provided, the Republicans have offered a health care reform plan that hits TORT reform, and hits it relatively hard. And the 1990-page Pelosi plan discusses TORT reform. The Pelosi plan says “NO!”

Section 2531, entitled “Medical Liability Alternatives,” establishes an incentive program for states to adopt and implement alternatives to medical liability litigation. [But]…… a state is not eligible for the incentive payments if that state puts a law on the books that limits attorneys’ fees or imposes caps on damages.

(emphasis Sharon)

Under the Democrat/Pelosi plan, any state that does any sort of meaningful TORT reform will be punished, and severely. And those on the left say Republicans are the ones who refuse to negotiate? Republicans are the ones who don’t want any meaningful cost-saving reforms? The Democrat/Pelosi plan is nothing but a Government power-grab and hand-outs to the power brokers already in the Democrat camp. There is nothing there for the average Joe. As the song says, it’s all taking and no giving with the Democrats.

Tell me again, liberals. When someone says “First we’re going to kill you and your immediate family. Next, we’re going to poison your extended family. And third, we’re going to make destitute all your and their friends.” Why should I negotiate with that? I mean, seriously, are you all in First Grade, where you think you can make up all the rules and complain when others “don’t wanna play”?

As for the “Party of NO” is concerned, which party changes locks so the other party can’t do things? Which party refuses to allow full and open debate of the other party’s bills? Which party refuses to allow the other party’s bills on the floor? Which party turned off the lights and the mics when the other party was still around to speak? Which party ran off when the other party was set to discuss real issues of alleged criminal activity in an oversight committee?

Which party is the “Party of NO”?

Thursday, October 29, 2009

National Assets and Privatization: Reliance Gas Dispute

The recent Ambani Gas Dispute has raised many questions regarding privatization of national assets and competition law. The whole controversy mainly concerns with supply and pricing of natural gas between Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani. The dispute has its origins in Reliance Industries split in 2005, where a family agreement was reached between two brothers, brokered by their mother Kokilaben. According to the family pact, Mukesh Ambani headed Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) agreed to supply natural gas at the price of 2.34$ per unit to Reliance Natural Resource Limited, headed by Anil Ambani. Now after five years of the family pact, RIL says it can only sell natural gas for $4.20 per unit, claiming this is the price approved by the government. The core issue of the whole dispute is the legality of the family pact reached between two brothers during Reliance Industries split. In June, the Mumbai High Court upheld the claim by the younger brother Anil Ambani’s group, which was challenged by Reliance Industries in the apex court. The government too has intervened in the matter as an interested party, saying ‘gas’ was the property of State and cannot be fought between rival Corporate Houses.

This leaves us with a big question of privatization of national assets. It is important to delve into this question because in assets like natural gas and oil, any slight price fluctuation can have repercussions in the whole economy. I intend to provide a brief economic analysis of how and when it is feasible to privatize national assets, especially natural resources. As far as Reliance Dispute is concerned, this analysis is very important to understand the possible consequences of the outcome of pending litigation.

The choice of private or national form of institution depends on many factors like economic conditions, human capital, political regime etc. Normally, in developing countries the institutional choices are “volatile” and keep changing from one form to another. Among many other factors, this cyclic transition is mainly determined by economic conditions of the country.  After economic recession hitting the economies across the world, we can easily see the transition from one form of institution, i.e. privatized, to another form, i.e. nationalized. This back and forth movement is natural and as mentioned earlier depends on many factors.

The choice of private or national form of institutions is mainly stated as a trade off between equality and efficiency. On a simpler note, nationalized form is preferred when the commodity is scarce and prices are high. The vice-versa of this is true for privatized form of institution. Apart from the type of commodity and price, other factors like tax regime, risk aversion and other exogenous costs determine which model is to be preferred. Globally, in natural resource and utilities sector, nationalization and privatization cyclic change are more frequent.

Developing countries like India are largely dependent on imported oil because of poor natural resources to manufacture oil. Due to this problem, generally, tax system proves to be inadequate because of fluctuating prices; therefore, all the more it is advisable to have nationalized form of institution to govern such sectors. Not only because of inadequacy of tax regime but also because of poor human capital in India, nationalized natural assets are more desirable.  Privatization of natural resources in a country like India would only increase the already existing inequality. Latin American countries and South East Asian countries are live example and have already witnessed problems due to privatization of natural resources in the past. In my opinion, privatizing, as of now, will only worsen the conditions, and increase misery in poorly diversified productive structure.

By saying that, I am not proposing that “nationalization” is the solution of all problems in a growing economy and privatization is not required at all, but I am stating that in this cyclic transition, at this given point of time privatization of national assets is not required.

In Reliance Gas Dispute, it would have grave repercussions if two companies were allowed to deal with each other in a manner to determine prices of national assets by private agreements. Not only there is danger of worsening inequality, as mentioned earlier, but also of competition between corporates, which will be distorted completely. In view of this, many private companies have already intervened in the pending litigation in Supreme Court. Needless to say, that the Mumbai High Court Judgment is of little help in this regard when it ordered RIL to supply natural gas at the price settled in family pact after assigning NTPC certain quantity at the same price.

Taking all the above points into considerations, in my opinion, allowing Ambani brothers to carry on with family pact would not be a feasible decision in existing conditions. Not only the competition between corporates is jeopardized but also economy, as a whole, would suffer.

Now since the matter is pending before Supreme Court, we can expect that she keeps in mind the social justice point of view and take a strong stance on it. The oil found in Krishna-Godavari basin is one of the major and biggest discoveries not only in India but also in Asia. Any sort of dispute concerning oil distribution between two rival corporate houses will only delay the national progress. Moreover, at present, when the prices of commodities are zooming high, resolving this dispute should be of high priority for corporates, government, and the Supreme Court.

Restorative Justice Will Change the World: Find Out How

Quick heads-up on a fantastic event taking place north of LA in January.  My friends Elaine Enns and Ched Myers are running their annual Bartimaeus Co-operative Ministries Institute – five days of intensive engagement with questions of spirituality, restorative justice and peacemaking.  Ched and Elaine will be joined by Rev Nelson Johnson of the Beloved Community Center in Greensboro, NC; and Rev Murphy Davis from the Open Door Community in Atlanta, GA.  These are seriously cool people – with huge experience in radical activism for the common good. It’s not stretching a point to say that they are at the cutting edge of civil rights work today.

The Institutes that Ched and Elaine host are renowned for engendering life-altering experiences; axes of change for the participants who find their hopes revolutionised as answers to the questions of how change can be achieved in the world become clearer through a week of interaction with others who are committed to the same path.  The Institute takes place from January 18th-22nd, 2010, in the character-filled village of Oak View, where I have spent many a day soaking up the atmosphere of one of the funkiest neighborhoods I know.  It’s limited to 30 participants, so you know you’ll have a meaningful and very substantial experience – but you probably should apply as soon as possible.  And whether or not this will enhance your visit, I should probably tell you that I may be around for some of the time too – I’m co-facilitating a film & spirituality retreat on the weekend of 22nd-23rd January in Los Angeles, beginning just a few hours after the Institute ends, so you may find that you can go to the Institute and get to the our retreat too.  More information from BCM here.

Anime

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Houses for $ 500 in Detroit, but no takers

They’re auctioning houses in Detroit for $ 500 and still have no takers.  It’s almost as if something like Katrina has hit Detroit.  This article is from Reuters.

Detroit house auction flops for urban wasteland

By Kevin Krolicki

DETROIT (Reuters) – In a crowded ballroom next to a bankrupt casino, what remains of the Detroit property market was being picked over by speculators and mostly discarded.

After five hours of calling out a drumbeat of “no bid” for properties listed in an auction book as thick as a city phone directory, the energy of the county auctioneer began to flag.

“OK,” he said. “We only have 300 more pages to go.”

There was tired laughter from investors ready to roll the dice on a city that has become a symbol of the collapse of the U.S. auto industry, pressures on the industrial middle-class and intractable problems for the urban poor.

On the auction block in Detroit: almost 9,000 homes and lots in various states of abandonment and decay from the tidy owner-occupied to the burned-out shell claimed by squatters.

Taken together, the properties seized by tax collectors for arrears and put up for sale last week represented an area the size of New York’s Central Park. Total vacant land in Detroit now occupies an area almost the size of Boston, according to a Detroit Free Press estimate.

The tax foreclosure auction by Wayne County authorities also stood as one of the most ambitious one-stop attempts to sell off urban property since the real-estate market collapse.

Despite a minimum bid of $500, less than a fifth of the Detroit land was sold after four days.

The county had no estimate of how much was raised by the auction, a second attempt to sell property that had failed to find buyers for the full amount of back taxes in September.

The unsold parcels add to an expanding ghost town within the once-vibrant town known worldwide as the Motor City.

Critics say the poor showing at the auction underscores the limits of using a market-based system to clean up property tax problems. They say the system has enriched a few but failed to deliver a way for Detroit to staunch its dwindling population and could worsen the vacancy crisis.

One proposed alternative would have officials take control of the tax foreclosure process through a land bank program of the kind being used to revitalize the nearby city of Flint.

The stakes in the debate are rising.

The number of Detroit properties in tax foreclosure has more than tripled since 2007 and seems certain to rise further. The lots for sale last week represented arrears from only 2006, well before the worst of the downturn for U.S. automakers.

“We have to keep in mind that GM and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy this year,” said Terrance Keith, chief deputy treasurer of Wayne County. “Some people are going to be totally tapped out next year.”

Detroit, already stuck with a $300 million budget deficit, is responsible in the meantime for cutting the weeds and responding to fire calls for thousands more abandoned lots.

‘WHY AM I COMPETING AGAINST A BANK?’

Many potential homeowners that Detroit desperately needs said they felt penalized by the auction process.

They mostly found themselves outbid by deeper-pocketed investors from California and New York who were in a race to claim the auction book’s relatively few livable properties.

Dozens of potential bidders, mostly local residents, were turned away on the first day of the auction by deputies after they failed to meet the morning deadline for registration.

Ross Wallace, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, turned in his check for $500 and waited on the auction floor in full dress uniform for a chance to buy a Detroit house on the cheap.

Wallace, 27, said he did not want to leave his fiancee and two children with a mortgage before shipping out to Iraq later this year.

“I still have student loans and I’m trying to be responsible. I don’t want to leave debt,” he said.

Wallace waited for the auction to roll around to Detroit’s Boston-Edison district, a once stately area that was home to boxing legend Joe Louis and Motown founder Berry Gordy.

But he was quickly outbid. An unidentified investor at the front of the room who had scooped up several dozen properties took the home Wallace wanted for about $15,000.

“Why am I competing against a bank?” he said later. “It would be common sense to have a separate process for people who want to move back to the city or it’s going to stay empty.”

Nearby, a Dutch-born local woman, Riet Schumack, 54, knitted patiently through the auction for a chance to bid on a lot in Brightmoor, one of the most blighted neighborhoods.

Schumack, who runs a community garden near her home that employs 14 neighborhood children, said she had been battling through a maze of bureaucracy for years to try to buy an abandoned lot nearby to expand and plant fruit trees.

She learned the lot had been taken back from its previous owner — an absentee investor with more than 100 abandoned lots in Brightmoor — only because of her constant calls to city and county officials, she said.

When officials told her she would have to wait for a fourth day to bid on the property, Schumack broke down into tears.

“Anybody with a job is not able to sit here for days. So you are left with the sharks,” she said.

Opinions were divided on whether the investors buying lots and homes by the dozen were a sign of better times ahead.

“They weren’t here two years ago. So why are they here now? Unless, as speculators, they believe this is the bottom,” said Keith of the Wayne County treasurer’s office.

Bill Frank, a Detroit realtor trying to buy a small house for a just-married friend, found himself repeatedly outbid.

“Speculators are often not good for a city and, from my experience, they are going to lose a fortune,” he said. “But there are no easy answers. It’s a declining city.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/gc03/idUSTRE59O17F20091026

Globalisation and My Discontents: A Few Teething Issues for Sustainable Globalisation

Opinion piece written by Giancarlo de Vera (c) 2009

“If we do not have equality and social justice, there will be no political stability and without political stability no amount of money put together in financial packages will give us financial stability.”

-       James Wolfenson (Address to the Board of Governors of the World Bank, October 1998)

A broad definition of globalisation allows one to argue convincingly that a degree of ‘globalism’ has existed for millennia, for humans are fundamentally social creatures; and as such it has had an impact on our planet, governance and society. However, the contemporary debate surrounding the implications of globalisation is much more complex and spurious. In light of this, the underlying globalisation and sustainability issue is the lack of definition within the literature that addresses the epistemological question: what is globalisation? As such, each academic discipline and the theories that drive industry and commerce, are operating in the absence of a shared set of values and assumptions, that otherwise would result in logical and uncontested analyses and theories of globalisation. If this trajectory is sustained then the disciplines that inform how we understand globalisation will result in unchartered outcomes that provide the platform for detrimental as well as nuanced effects on the planet, governance and society.

The second issue is a practical one, and the most pertinent manifestation of the underlying issue described above: the incongruence between economic globalisation, the internationalisation of democratic politics, and the seeming inviolability of the ‘nation-state’ as the supreme unit of the global society. To discuss this nexus in on itself assumes three things: economic globalisation’s omnipotence, the increasing interconnectedness of nation-states, and as such the ‘nation-state’, as the basic unit of macro and micro social enquiry, is becoming increasingly problematic.

The social sciences have noted that economic globalisation has involved a drastic reshaping of the overall structure of world politics, which has resulted in a fundamental rearrangement of international regimes. Academics like Jorge Nef (2002) and Dani Rodrik (2005) observe how the global economy distributes its economic output. To this end, Nef stipulates the effect is a ‘stratified disorder’, which upholds the power structures that disproportionately benefit global elites, whom are regulated by the global society; which in turn derives its legitimacy from the elites conveying and strengthening the beneficial image of a global society.  Rodrik arrives at a similar conclusion, but he foresees this as increasingly incompatible with the ‘nation-state’ and international democratic politics, coining it the ‘political trilemma’.

Herein we begin to see the need for commonality to guide our inquiry into ‘what is globalisation?’. The nexus purported by Nef and Rodrik are informed by multiple disciplines. While they can observe effects, they are unable to prescribe solutions. And as such, they fall into a rather common postrstructural trap. The reason for this is the absence of shared values and assumptions that, as earlier argued, would have guided logical and uncontested analyses and theories of globalisation.  These would be at once progressive and cognizant of the pace of the potentially undefined undercurrents of the paradigm-shifting era that contemporary globalisation represents.

Hence, related to the above issue, is the third issue relating to the formation of policy in all levels of government. This is important as the current trajectory can be described as global markets that lack global governance. International norms and practices that script policies to date are not written by Platonic philosopher kings, or even the present-day pretenders – the academic economists – but rather stem from a poorly articulated multilateral and multidisciplinary desire to seek a balance between nation-states and markets. As a result, the issue of international policy formation (that is supra-territorial in nature) keeps the epistemological conundrum described so far intact. And what results is what I label as ‘discourse problematics’.

Discourse problematics represents the notion that policy formation is crowded by liberalisation policies that accentuate and exacerbate asymmetric global power structures that affect social inequalities and the international development project. While these are political and economic in nature, it can be generally observed that the two have not converged in a meaningful way. As such, policies occupy a grey space whereby both political and economics theories neglect the interrelationship between the two – something which contemporary globalisation seemingly embodies.

The effect of this is most apparent in the theorising of feasible and sustainable models for holistic development in the South. The current neoliberal formula essentially locks out citizens of any given territorial nation-state to contribute to the major decisions that affect their social wellbeing. The resultant development strategy emphasises efficiency, growth and competitiveness over social justice and redistribution, and herein we can begin to appreciate what Wolfenson stated in the opening quote.

Conclusively, it is within this context that we can at once address the three teething issues outlined above, to then arrive at a destination full of hope, progress and the recognition that we all must be our brother’s keeper.  

References

Nef, J. (2002), ‘Globalization and the crisis of sovereignty, legitimacy and democracy’, Latin American Perspectives, vol. 22, no. 4: 479-289.

Rodrik, D. (2005), ‘Feasible globalizations’, in Weinstein, M.M. (ed.) Globalization: what’s new?, Columbia University Press, New York: 177-194.

 

general theory of reflexivity

The Financial Times is posting some ongoing lectures by George Soros on a ‘general theory of reflexivity.’ Most of what is there, so far, will be old news to social science readers: reflexivity of theories (e.g., actor’s beliefs vis-a-vis reality), the self-fulfilling and performative nature of expectations, natural versus social sciences etc.

And, indeed, here’s Colin McGinn, extensively citing wikipedia and Popper, discussing self-fulfilling prophecies, bank runs, expectations, etc.

My two cents?  The problem I have with reflexivity, or the self-fulfilling prophecy argument, is that it is a seemingly boundaryless argument, as if objective reality doesn’t even exist.  Furthermore, reflexivity doesn’t identify mechanisms, it doesn’t answer upstream “why” questions.  And, reflexivity is often framed in a way that seemingly denies all human rationality (the classic bank run example illustrates this), without appropriately accounting for uncertainty.  We’ve hashed some of this already in previous posts (for example, here), so I won’t belabor these points.

That said, it’s fantastic to see some public discussion on issues of reflexivity — parts of the Q&A (e.g., here’s part 1)  are also interesting.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

The Death-Defying Dollar

By Barry Eichengreen

October 23, 2009 “Gulf Times” — The blogosphere is abuzz with reports of the dollar’s looming demise. The greenback has fallen against the euro by nearly 15% since the beginning of the summer. Central banks have reportedly slowed their accumulation of dollars in favour of other currencies.

Economists have no trouble explaining the dollar’s weakness after the fact. With American households saving more in order to rebuild their retirement accounts, the country has to export more. A weaker dollar is needed to make American goods more attractive to foreign consumers.

Moreover, disenchantment with the sophisticated instruments that American financial institutions specialise in originating and distributing means more limited foreign capital flows into the United States. Fewer foreign purchases of US assets again imply a weaker dollar. Extrapolating the past into the future, forecasters predict that the dollar will decline further.

The first thing to say about this is that one should be sceptical about economists’ predictions, especially those concerning the near term. Our models are, to put it bluntly, useless for predicting currency movements over a few weeks or months.

I should know. When the sub-prime crisis erupted in early September 2007, I published an article entitled “Why Now is a Good Time to Sell the Dollar” in a prominent financial publication. What happened next, of course, was that the dollar strengthened sharply, as investors, desperate for liquidity, fled into US Treasury securities. Subsequently the dollar did decline. But then it shot up again following the failure of Bear Stearns and the problems with AIG.

Over periods of several years, our models do better. Over those time horizons, the emphasis on the need for the US to export more and on the greater difficulty the economy will have in attracting foreign capital are on the mark. These factors give good grounds for expecting further dollar weakness.

The question is, Weakness against what? Not against the euro, which is already expensive and is the currency of an economy with banking and structural problems that are even more serious than those of the US. Not against the yen, which is the currency of an economy that refuses to grow.

Thus, for the dollar to depreciate further, it will have to depreciate against the currencies of China and other emerging markets. Their intervention in recent weeks shows a reluctance to let this happen. But their choice boils down to buying US dollars or buying US goods. The first option is a losing proposition.

In the longer run, Opec will shift to pricing petroleum in a basket of currencies. It sells its oil to the US, Europe, Japan, and emerging markets alike. It hardly makes sense for it to denominate oil prices in the currency of only one of its customers. And central banks, when deciding what to hold as reserves, will surely put somewhat fewer of their eggs in the dollar basket.

Beyond this, the dollar isn’t going anywhere. It is not about to be replaced by the euro or the yen, given that both Europe and Japan have serious economic problems of their own. The renminbi is coming, but not before 2020, by which time Shanghai will have become a first-class international financial centre. And, even then, the renminbi will presumably share the international stage with the dollar, not replace it.

The one thing that could precipitate the demise of the dollar would be reckless economic mismanagement in the US. One popular scenario is chronic inflation. But this is implausible. Once the episode of zero interest rates ends, the US Federal Reserve will be anxious to reassert its commitment to price stability. There may be a temptation to inflate away debt held by foreigners, but the fact is that the majority of US debt is held by Americans, who would constitute a strong constituency opposing the policy.

The other scenario is that US budget deficits continue to run out of control. Predictions of outright default are far-fetched. But high debts will mean high taxes. The combination of loose fiscal policy and tight monetary policy will mean high interest rates, sluggish investment, and slow growth. Foreigners – and residents – might well grow disenchanted with the currency of an economy with these characteristics.

Mark Twain, the 19th-century American author and humorist, once responded to accounts of his ill health by writing that “reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” He might have been speaking about the dollar. For the moment, the patient is stable, external symptoms notwithstanding. But there will be grounds for worry if he doesn’t commit to a healthier lifestyle. – Project Syndicate

Barry Eichengreen is Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

What could this crisis possibly lead to?

After much thought and reading, the doom and gloom scenario of a possible catastrophic event like a World War has creeped into the realm of possibility.

A recent article published by the Telegraph in the UK talks aboutt central banks monetzing public debt in Western countries to create inflation rather then defaulting on debt.  This seems to be the case that has been taken recently by the Fed.

This would be a case in which bong holders of treasury debt would suffer most (China…).  Im not stressing that this is just a bad scenario for China but for the U.S. alike.  This could lead to capital flight (money invested into our economy immediately leave).  If the U.S. does this, the rest of the world will suffer most. The U.S. is the largest economy in the world, consuming about 60% of the worlds annual production of raw materials, finished goods and services. Hyper inflation caused by monetization of debt would make it harder for Americans to buy goods and services produced abroad.

Japan is the second largest economy with consumption of about 20% of the world’s production, but that isn’t enough to make up the loss of American consumers and businesses. Foreign companies will have no choice but to leave the American market because exchange rates will be horrible and get worse day by day resulting in massive losses between the time money is received and the time it is sent back to their home country.

This would ultimately lead to the Dollar ceasing to be the worlds reserve currency. Countries that the U.S. is indebted to will also see the value of their investments in U.S. treasuries collapse as Washington cranks up the printing presses.   This could lead to another Great Depression and possible war.

Now solutions to this are hard to come by but a real solution would not necessarily be popular and be easy.  If the banks were allowed to fail a painful but quick recovery could have come about.  This is usually not popular among politicians and would instead rather pose short term solutions to keep face.  This is a very important time for the public to see that Keynes politicians who pose short term band-aids on massive leaks only to plug the hole for a very short time.

The benefits from this still remain that the public could finally wake up as well as the media to the real problems facing us.  Hopefully a more informed public, media, and god willing government can emerge from a possible crisis.  Let us hope we get the latter without the crisis.

If the economy is getting better, why...

….is container traffic is down 20 percent to 30 percent at U.S. Pacific ports, analysts say. Last week, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the largest container ports in the United States, reported the lowest September import figures since 2000…..source signonsandiego.com.

Why are the two major rail carriers reporting revenue down over 25%?

When the economy is good, transportation is a key indicator of commodities and goods  being bought and sold, not stocks.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

CCRCs and Problems: Much Ado About Likely, Very Little

A product that has seen its share of struggles in the economic downturn is entry-fee CCRCs.  To clarify, not all CCRC models are struggling and not even all entry-fee based CCRCs are struggling as certain regions have seen less housing market fall-out and concurrently, operators have done the right things to keep their census stable during the “down times”.  Where problems have cropped-up is in new primarily new, unstabilized developments, CCRCs in markets where housing sales are significantly depressed, and in larger suburban and urban market locations where options within the price range are plentiful.

The demand curve for virtually all senior housing that is not low or moderate cost is very elastic; many options exist for seniors when it comes to housing.  Perhaps the most elastic of all demand pertains to entry-fee CCRCs, especially those whose pricing is above the median housing price within a geographic region.  As median housing prices fell in virtually every major metropolitan real-estate market, unless CCRCs recast their entry prices to coincide, their new resident markets may all but dried up.  Certainly, slow housing turnover via sales would chaste the market regardless but all things being equal, pricing would be considered the icing on the cake.  An entry-fee CCRC seeking a premium price (twenty or so percentage points above median housing prices) in a market where housing values were falling and sales were slow should anticipate significant new sales problems and possibly, few to no new sales at all.

Sales/marketing strategy for an entry-fee based CCRC requires a value proposition to be solidly in-place.  The most common entry-fee CCRC includes some form of healthcare coverage (nursing care, assisted living, etc.) for either a period certain or as use to be the most common, for the remaining life of the resident.  Ideally, the balance of the fee (the non-healthcare portion) was set aside as a capital reserve or a combination of capital reserve and debt reserve.  This set-aside allowed for monthly rental prices to remain more stable, reflective of truly the economic costs of occupancy (the market rate philosophy).   If in fact, a CCRC has held to this formulaic standard and is a stabilized community, it should not be too difficult to continue to create a value proposition attractive to new residents.  Healthcare for example, is a hot topic and one that should easily be leveraged for most senior consumers.

Alas, problems have arisen in the sector, most notably with Erickson – one of the largest CCRC developers nationally.  On a case by case basis, there have also been a few other headliners – the Franiscan Sisters in Chicago who built a high-rise CCRC in high rent downtown and a CCRC in Pennsylvania (bankruptcy) sponsored by B’nai B’rith.  The “wind” of these problems has prompted the GAO to conduct and investigative study on the industry and report the same to the Senate Committee on Aging (see my related post on the GAO and CCRCs).  In Erickson’s case, the issues of insolvency have not cost any resident any funds, at least to my knowledge.  While investors and debt holders will take a hair-cut, there appears to be no drastic consumer issue that will arise.  Erickson’s fate occurred as a result of being overstretched on new development, a bit upside down in pricing (see paragraph) above, and locked into some management agreements in locations that were heavily impacted by the economic downturn.  The Franciscan Sister”s issue in Chicago mostly involves an expensive, rather upscale project that has struggled making its value proposition clear to potential residents. This project was an enormously expensive undertaking and as such, pricing is at the premium end of the market in an environment that has seen drastic slow-downs in real estate sales and a large fall-back in property values.

With the GAO taking a look at the CCRC industry, there’s bound to be a bit of fall-out and perhaps, a few calls for added regulations and/or consumer protection activity on a state to state basis.  In my opinion, the Feds, busy with other matters more pressing, will do nothing in the form of federal regulation.  The reality in this situation is that the economy was bound to create a few setbacks for a few providers and developers.  CCRCs require a reasonably stable economy and a solid real estate market in order to flourish and prosper.  As such as has been the case across the last two plus decades more often than not, the track record for the industry has been solid.  For those operators in stabilized projects, well-known and priced accordingly, better times are soon ahead.  For developers of new projects, it will likely take another couple of years before the market is ready to assimilate more units, especially those that are priced at a bit of a premium – or higher.

The Sweet Science II: Cap & Trade

President Obama has admitted that under a cap-and-trade bill, “electricity rates will necessarily skyrocket.”  The Obama
administration’s budget director, Peter Orszag, estimated that a 15 percent decrease in emissions would cause the average American family to pay $1,300 in additional utility costs a year. At the upper end, that amount could reach $1,761 a year.
But it’s better than doing nothing!

Kerry and Boxer deserve credit for their work so far, and encouragement in fending off the inevitable calls for compromises by

industries that fear the cost of change. The cost of inaction – or inadequate action – would be far greater.(boston.com)

Rep. Henry Waxman (D) – The harsh reality is that America’s global warming and energy challenges are just too important for us to keep  mailing it in by not enacting a comprehensive energy and global  warming bill.”

“The bill does not add one penny to the deficit,” Boxer said. “We’re very excited about that.”

The House passed its version of the bill, which is almost 1,500 pages long, at a cost of about $900 billion.  Members had less than 16 hours to read the final bill before it was voted on.  Legislators are seizing power and adding unprecedented tax burdens to Americans
without even reading the legislation. (IBD)

Poor households will receive additional payments to compensate for purchasing power they will lose due to cap-and-trade, another
indication that the administration sees the law’s effects on prices. Oh, like the subsidies to pay for the mandatory health insurance…

President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders, who have suggested that a cap on carbon emissions would help
revive the U.S. economy. (NYT)
But then again, so was the stimulus and health care reform, and the secret talks about another stimulus!!

Heard this one before??

In June, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the Waxman-Markey energy bill, which aims to increase investment in
renewable energy and slash carbon emissions by 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050.  In early October Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer unveiled the Senate’s version of the bill.  It is even more ambitious, with a goal of cutting emissions by 20 percent by 2020.

The sponsors also drop the politically loaded term “cap and trade,”calling it “pollution reduction and investment” instead. Orwellian word games always inspires confidence doesn’t it? But there’s a $3.6 trillion gas tax on the table that already passed the House and is making its way through the Senate, and cap and trade has Americans all over the country concerned. The $3.6 trillion gas tax figure, which includes gasoline and diesel gas, comes from a new report from Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Kit Bond (R-MO) on the effects of climate change legislation. And the energy tax has rippling economic effects, as Senators Hutchison and Bond explain in their Washington Times op-ed:

Americans will be double-hit by the gas tax when it raises the costs of goods and services such as groceries and utilities they must continue to purchase. Energy costs are among businesses’ top operational expenses already. While companies face a variety of energy expenses, ranging from heating and cooling their work space to powering equipment and lighting, operating their vehicles is the most costly. Every company, from the small-town local florist to a package delivery service with nationwide operations, will be hard hit. In order for these businesses to withstand the heavier tax burden and to remain profitable, they will be forced to pass these energy cost increases along to consumers through higher prices.”

Some industries are more energy-intensive than others, and  farmers and ranchers are hit particularly hard. Heritage Senior Policy Analyst Ben Lieberman writes, “In addition to higher diesel fuel and electricity costs, prices for natural gas-derived fertilizers and other chemicals will also rise. Everything else affecting agriculture, from the cost of constructing farm buildings to the price of tractors and other farm equipment, will also go up.”

According to the Hutchison-Bond report, U.S. farmers and ranchers will incur higher fuel costs of $550 million in 2020. That figure will jump to $1.65 billion by 2050. According to The Heritage Foundation’s cap and trade analysis, farm profits are expected to decline by 28 percent in 2012 and will be an average 57 percent lower from 2012-2035. Congress is attempting to buy the farm vote by touting them as the beneficiaries of a carbon offset program because farmers can use cleaner technology, reduce nitrous oxide emissions, or simply not grow crops. However, the revenue gained from offset revenue will pale in comparison to lost income from cap and trade.(Heritage.org)

A Liberal Democrat calls it a Tax, for heaven’s sake: There’s a reason Democrat John Dingell (Mich.) called the cap-and trade portion of the House bill a “great big” tax.  Energy costs will soar under this bill, and those costs will be passed on to consumers.

While in the business of handing out $300 million in stimulus rebates to consumers who purchase Energy Star rated appliances, the US Department of Energy acknowledges in an internal audit that that it does not properly track whether products labeled with the Energy Star actually meet the required specifications for energy efficiency. (examiner)

2008 analysis:
The problem is: the benefits to cutting CO2 are negligible. Even the Environmental Protection Agency found that a 60 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 in the U.S. alone would affect world temperatures by 0.1 to 0.2 degrees C. It would take a global policy with the same cuts to reduce world temperature by just 1 to 2 degrees C.
What about the costs? Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis calculated the costs of global warming legislation in the U.S. alone and the
cumulative GDP losses for 2010 to 2029 approach $7 trillion. Single-year losses exceed $600 billion in 2029, more than $5,000 per
household. Annual job losses exceed 800,000 for several years. That’s a scary price to pay for what little benefits we receive. (heritage.org)

And of course, we are the most evil on the planet in regards to global warming right? And when we co to Copenhagen in December for the Global Warming summit everyone in the world will happily jump on board just like they did in Kyoto when the evil George W Bush refused to bow to the pressure. Right?

China and India are the first and fourth biggest emitters of carbon dioxide emissions, respectively, but they refuse to commit to binding missions cuts. As “progressive” Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold has said, “You know, the other countries won’t play ball…They cannot be given a free pass, and we cannot do cap and trade alone.”
The Chinese will be happy to see us cut our throats.
So will the EU.
The European Union has had a cap-and-tax regime since 1997.  But 12 of the 15 EU nations that signed on are failing to meet their targets.

Other countries have temporarily abandoned enacting crippling cap-and-trade schemes.  The Australian government’s Emission Trading Scheme legislation has been postponed until mid-2011 because of popular backlash fueled in part by increasing evidence against man-made global warming, as well as increasing recognition of the legislation’s economic toll.

But don’t worry, live in Hope and Change!

“The shifts will be significant,” the CBO director said. “We want to leave no misunderstanding that aggregate performance — the fact that jobs turn up somewhere else for some people — does not mean that there are not substantial costs borne by people, communities, firms in affected industries and affected areas. You saw that in manufacturing, and we would see that in response to changes that this legislation would produce.”

But Greenpeace USA’s climate director, Damon Moglen, questioned the bill’s strength.
“While the language the Senate unveiled today contains some improvements over the House bill, it fails to commit the U.S. to
meaningful, science-based greenhouse gas emissions reductions needed to protect us from runaway climate change,” Moglen said. “This proposal meets neither the needs of science nor those of the international community, which is currently negotiating the landmark climate treaty.”

Currently, 60% of the electricity generation in the U.S. comes from coal. The Waxman-Markey bill that passed the House would raise the cost of electricity generated by burning coal. Demand would therefore increase for less carbon-intensive generation sources, such as nuclear power or natural gas. John Shelk, president of the trade association Electric Power Supply Association, predicts that we will see an “increase in revenues to carbon-free power sources like nuclear.” He adds that “this is exactly what is supposed to happen.”

The fact that NO Nuclear plant has been built in this country for over 30 years is not a deterrent. Or the fact that the main reason they haven’t been built is the self-same “environmentalists.

And to give you an idea of what you’re up against:

Liberal post on heritage.org (I fixed the bad speeling and grammar): This is sad to say but Heritage foundation is a conservative right wing research center that includes their bias opinion. This isn’t necessarily true that cost will rise. Profit will fall and the owner can’t have that. They claim they ‘have’ to lay people off. Which isn’t true. Owners need to realize they have to start taking pay cuts for everyone to survive. Cap N Trade isn’t enough. Change the Economy entirely by adding more efficient wind energy and solar. Second use the oceans to create energy. We have the capabilities to do all of this but the upper-upper elite can’t stand the idea of losing just a little bit for the better of humanity. Its always about them. They drag us down with them in this sinking pit.

Don’t pay any attention the the envoronmentalist behind the curtain!

Recommend you read: http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/15762

Section 198 of the bill adds a presidentially-appointed “consumer advocate” to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which already has such an office. H.R. 2454 gives the Commission itself no authority over the advocate, but gives the advocate authority over almost all of FERC’s legal staff.
Thus the White House has you by the legal short-hairs.

We are from the government and we are here to save the planet and you.

A new report from the Environmental Protection Agency shows that 10 states, mostly in the Midwest, would be hardest hit. Rust belt
senators know the legislation will hurt industry and consumers in their region.  And the legislation will punish farmers by raising the
cost of fertilizer and diesel fuels, which will increase food prices.

So higher Electric Bills.
Higher Food Bills.
Higher Fuel costs.

Higher Unemployment

Higher Transportation costs.

Higher Energy costs for businesses passed on to you.

Aren’t you glad in 2013 you’ll have lower Health Care costs?!!

Pop Economics

An article by Noam Scheiber of The New Republic suggests that Freakonomics has had a major impact on the trajectory of recent economics papers.

Scheiber argues that after Freakonomics’ authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner garnered fame and acclaim through “pop-economics”–the identification of interesting trends and relationships in “phenomena from daily life”–graduate students at elite universities have turned their attention to identifying clever, quirky-relationships. This wide, yet narrow focus has led to what he calls “lookie-here” papers that focus on methods rather than question and detract attention away from the big questions that economic theory has the potential to address.

Of course, I cannot speak on this topic like all of you can because my experience is largely in health/science and teaching, but I am sure you can provide some great commentary on it.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Stimulus 2????

Why are people calling for a second stimulus bill when we haven’t even barely spent much of the first one? The first $700+ billion wasn’t enough?!? I knew that bill wasn’t strucured correctly. Dammit now we’re going to repeat the same mistake?

You’ve got to be kidding me. We already have trillion dollar deficits now and planned for the next decade! Now I understand, given past projections haven’t been accurate, we still have a poor fiscal outlook. Think about it folks, we are in the trillions with a t right now in terms of outlays beating revenue!

This will not end well.

Golf Clap for Idiocy

We all know Michigan’s economy is craptastic; it’s become proverbial, like the Pope crapping in the woods.  (Is that a joke anyone makes besides my dad?)

Michigan’s a poisonous mix of high, progressive taxes, union influence, and “investments” in public money-sinks like education, public works, and corporate subsidies. From the WSJ

Meanwhile, the new business taxes didn’t balance the budget. Instead, thanks to business closures and relocations, tax receipts are running nearly $1 billion below projections and the deficit has climbed back to $2.8 billion. As the Detroit News put it, Michigan businesses are continually asked “to pay more in taxes to erase a budget deficit that, despite their contributions, never goes away.” And this is despite the flood of federal stimulus and auto bailout cash over the last year.

Following her 2007 misadventure, Ms. Granholm promised: “I’m not ever going to raise taxes again.” That pledge lasted about 18 months. Now she wants $600 million more. Among the ideas under consideration: an income tax increase with a higher top rate, a sales tax on services, a freeze on the personal income tax exemption (which would be a stealth inflation tax on all Michigan families), a 3% surtax on doctors, and fees on bottled water and cigarettes. To their credit, Republicans who control the Michigan Senate are holding out for a repeal of the 22% business tax surcharge.

As for Ms. Granholm, she and House speaker Andy Dillon continue to bow to public-sector unions. There are now 637,000 public employees in Michigan compared to fewer than 500,000 workers left in manufacturing. Government is the largest employer in the state, but the number of taxpayers to support these government workers is shrinking. The budget deadline is November 1, and Ms. Granholm is holding out for tax increases rather than paring back state government.

The decline in auto sales has hurt Michigan more than other states, but the state’s economy would have been better equipped to cope without Ms. Granholm’s policy mix of higher taxes in order to spend more money on favored political and corporate interests.

Where’s Harold Meyerson on this blow to manufacturing?  Oh that’s right, he thinks only private industry can screw up this badly.

In related links, check out Forgotten Detroit, for an on-going pictorial study detailing the death of a city.  Sadly fascinating.

Are economists bad for the economy?

“…Mr McArdle’s views are symptomatic of a problem in Irish political life and in our debates back and forth on this blog and in the wider media. The notion being expressed is that, somehow, dissenting economists like Morgan Kelly, Alan Ahearne, Karl Whelan, and Brian Lucey, just to name a few, are bad for the economy. Worse than having their views shown to be false, they simply aren’t consulted, or even listened to …” (more)

[Stephen Kinsella, 19 October]

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Review of Ron Paul's "End the Fed"

If you haven’t yet bought a copy of Congressman Ron Paul’s latest book, End the Fed, why the hell haven’t you? Everything our favorite Republican does garners a lot of attention these days, so I’ll keep this review brief.

Congressman Paul covers a lot of ground in a fairly short book; the shady founding of the Federal Reserve, the threat of fiat currency to a free society, the case for a gold-backed currency, and the Fed’s role in creating the current economic crisis, among other related topics, are discussed clearly and concisely, all in layman’s terms. To those already familiar with Austrian Economics, or even libertarianism or (traditional) conservatism generally, most of this material will already be familiar, and those well-versed in the topic can, honestly, safely skip over the book. However, as an introduction to what is arguably the most dangerous single institution in the United States, End the Fed will prove and invaluable tool for those who have not paid much attention to such seemingly arcane topics as monetary policy.

So, buy a copy for yourself, read it, donate a copy to your local library, give a copy to all your friends and relations. With the possible exception of Murray Rothbard’s What Has Government Done to Our Money? (which is available here for free), this is the best introduction to the case against fiat currency I’m aware of, so take full advantage.

Geneologi Ekonomi Neolib Indonesia

Geneologi Ekonom Neolib Indonesia

Yudhie Haryono

Politikana.com

Mungkin sebuah kebetulan, atau agar kita kembali belajar. Ketika Prof. Sarbini Sumawinata meninggalkan kita semua, Prof. Widjojo Nitisastro meluncurkan dua bukunya sekaligus. Kita tahu, kedua profesor ini pada awalnya merupakan staf pribadi Presiden Soeharto pada awal Orde Baru dibentuk. Menurut Prof. Soebroto [2007:34], sejak tanggal 12 September 1966, keduanya diminta memberi masukan pada pemerintah berkenaan dengan nasib negara ke depan pasca tumbangnya Orde Lama. Sayangnya, keduanya kemudian menemukan dunia yang berbeda. Sebab, dalam perjalanan sejarahnya nanti, Widjojo menjadi andalan dan kepercayaan Presiden Soeharto, sebaliknya Sarbini berada di ujung berbeda karena sangat kritis pada pemerintah.

Jika pemikiran Sarbini beririsan dengan sedikit ekonom semisal, Prof. Mubyarto, Dawam Rahardjo, Sri-Edi Swasono, Subiakto Tjakrawerdaja, Adi Sasono, Muslimin Nasution, Tawang Alun, Revrison Baswir, Iman Sugema, Hendri Saparini, Rizal Ramli, Bini Buchory, Ichsanudin Nursi, Tobi Mutis, dan Bustanil Arifin. Sebaliknya, Widjojo punya pengikut yang menyebar di hampir tiap departemen yang beririsan dengan ekonomi. Dalam disertasi Rizal Mallarangeng [1999], Widjojo kemudian menjadi salah satu begawan ekonom pembaharu-liberal terkemuka—sebagai kompetitor dari ekonom kerakyatan/Pancasila—yang berhasil menegakkan liberalisasi pembangunan ekonomi nasional. Widjojo kemudian disebut sebagai “Don Barkeley” yang sangat berpengaruh karena melahirkan sejumlah kader yang secara bergantian duduk di kabinet dan pemerintahan Presiden Soeharto.

Di antara ekonom yang pemikirannya beririsan dengan Widjojo adalah, Ali Wardana, Emil Salim, Mohammad Sadli, Subroto, Rachmat Saleh, Arifin Siregar, Radius Prawiro, JB Sumarlin, Saleh Afif, Soedrajat Djiwandono, Adrianus Mooy, Radinal Mochtar, Bustanul Arifin, Ginanjar Kartasasmita, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Boediono, Sri Mulyani, Mari Pengestu.

Kaderisasi kemudian dilanjutkan dengan memberi kesempatan akademis bagi generasi selanjutnya. Sebut saja, Iwan Jaya Aziz, Barli Halim, Wagiono Ismangili, Sri Adiningsih, Rizal Mallarangeng, Ikhsan, Chatib Basri, Lie Cin Wei, The Kian Wie, Anggito Abimanyu, Arsjad Anwar, Aris Ananta, Ari Kuncoro, Zulkiflimansyah, dkk.

Para kader Widjojo nanti dikenal sebagai mafia atau geng Berkeley. Mereka membentuk jaringan pemikir neolib hasil didikan alumni Universitas Berkeley, California. Dalam sejarahnya, kelompok “Mafia Berkeley” tersebut dipersiapkan secara sistematis oleh kekuatan luar Indonesia, sebagai bagian dari strategi perang dingin menghadapi kekuatan progresif di kawasan Asia. Bahkan, David Ransom (1970), menggolongkan kelompok ini sebagai mereka yang tercekoki ilmu pengetahuan liberal dalam rangka peng-Amerika-an, ketika mereka belajar di Berkeley dan universitas lain seperti Cornell, MIT, dan Harvard atas biaya dari The Ford Fondation.

Dalam prakteknya para ekonom ini meniti karirnya dengan mengembangkan jaringan internasional yang sangat kuat dan meluas seperti USAID, IMF, Bank Dunia, dan ADB. Lalu digerakkan dengan WTO dan GATT. Sementara di tanah air, jejaring mereka diperluas melalui lembaga-lembaga seperti LPM UI dan Freedom Institute. Lembaga-lembaga ini menopang gagasan ekonomi neolib melalui beberapa kegiatan riset, penerbitan buku, seminar-seminar, pemberian award/penghargaan, pelatihan-pelatihan bahkan penyediaan beasiswa secara signifikan.

Tidak mengherankan nantinya jika produk hasil riset dan penelitian serta rekomendasi kebijakan [policy pappers] mereka sejalan dan seirama dengan rekomendasi para ekonom liberal yang bermarkas di Washington. Akhirnya, ibarat masakan, resep neolib sudah lengkap diracik di Indonesia dan disinergikan dengan Washington Plan, lalu disajikan secara apik, lezat dan ready to use ke seluruh pengambil kebijakan dan rakyat Indonesia.

Lalu, apa sejatinya agenda ekonom neolib di Indonesia? Mengacu pada definisinya, neolib adalah madzab ekonomi yang beriman pada fundamentalisme pasar dengan filosofi ekonomi-politik mengurangi atau menolak campur tangan pemerintah [state] dalam ekonomi domestik. Paham berpijak pada perilaku bisnis dan hak-hak milik pribadi.

Ekonomi neolib berangkat dari asumsi dasar bahwa pasar merupakan pengambil keputusan yang paling sah berdasarkan hak kepemilikan individu. Karena itu prakteknya, madzab neolib bergerak dalam praksis the rule of the market, anti subsidi, deregulasi, privatisasi sehingga kesejahteraan bersama [welfare state-society] bukan tujuan, sebaliknya hanya sebagai akibat. Mereka menolak gotong royong dan kebersamaan dalam pengelolaan, kepemilikan dan tanggungjawab bersama dalam kebangkrutan, kepailitan bahkan kemiskinan.

Karena itu lanjutannya adalah kinerja ekonomi pasar dikawal dengan seperangkat aturan yang membuat relasi antara modal dan tenaga-kerja tidak selalu berakhir dengan subordinasi labour pada capital. Seperti tata ekonomi seabad lalu, neoliberalisme cenderung diikuti dengan gejala lepasnya kinerja modal dari kawalan, tetapi dalam bentuk yang lebih ekstrem. Apabila liberalisme klasik lebih menitikberatkan pada globalisasi pasar, maka neolib menitikberatkan pada globalisasi kapital. Liberalisme klasik ala Adam Smith itulah yang kemudian menelurkan imperialisme di tanah Asia hingga Afrika, yang dikenal dengan kolonialisasi. Sedangkan, neolib menelurkan imperialisme yang diperbarui, yakni kapitalisme global.

Dalam prakteknya kemudian, IMF dan Bank Dunia dikenal sebagai dokter spesialis yang punya resep yaitu liberalisasi dan deregulasi sektor keuangan, perdagangan, pendidikan, kesehatan, politik, sosial bahkan agama. Mengutip tesis Susana Sattoli (2000), resep liberalisasi dan deregulasi tersebut menjelma menjadi empat pilar utama. Keempatnya adalah 1). Kompensasi bagi biaya sosial dalam rangka restrukturisasi makroekonomi, 2). selektivitas pengeluaran biaya, 3). privatisasi pelayanan dasar, dan 4). desentralisasi sebagai tanggung jawab negara.

Di Indonesia, keempat ajaran neolib sudah lama dijajakan pada pemerintah, terutama sejak orde baru. Tetapi mulai menjadi acuan suci dan diterapkan sejak krisis moneter tahun 1997. Sejak saat itu, IMF memaksakan kebijakan “reformasi struktural” kepada Pemerintah Indonesia, sebagai jawaban atas pembangunan ekonomi yang menguatkan kapasitas pemerintahan Orde Baru. Reformasi ekonomi ini berisi liberalisasi sektor keuangan, yang mencakup pengurangan anggaran publik dalam bidang pendidikan, kesehatan, pupuk, bahan bakar minyak, listrik, hingga deregulasi perdagangan.

Kebijakan-kebijakan ekonomi neolib masih berlanjut di masa reformasi, bahkan semakin menggila. Pada pemerintahan SBY-JK, ekonom neolibpun semakin menancapkan kukunya. Walau sejak awal, banyak kalangan optimis dan berharap dengan menilik desertasi SBY yang pro-poor dan pertanian, namun hal itu pupus tatkala SBY menempatkan figur-figur yang memiliki karakter neolib. Setelah berjalan selama empat tahun lebih, banyak kebijakan pemerintah yang pro-pelaku bisnis daripada pro-rakyat. Lucunya, dalam praktek ekonomi neolib, banyak perusahaan yang ketika bangkrut meminta pertolongan pemerintah, tetapi ketika jaya, mereka lupa bayar pajak. Kasus BLBI, UUPA, UU-Air, UU Migas, UU BHP dan Lapindo merupakan bukti tak terbantahkan tentang praktek ekonomi neolib di pemerintahan SBY-JK.

Semakin hari para ekonom neolib semakin kuat dan tangguh karena topangan sumberdaya manusia, modal, jaringan nasional dan internasional yang luas. Proyek terbesar mereka adalah menempatkan Indonesia bukan sebagai sebuah kesengajaan. Meminjam hipotesa B-Harry Priyono [2006], para agen neolib meletakkan negara Indonesia sebagai akibat dari bekerjanya pasar berkelanjutan. Inilah logika pasar mengatasi segalanya, mengatasi Indonesia dan seribu problemnya.

Kekuatan ini semakin luas-menggurita juga karena para ekonom kerakyatan/Pancasila mulai hidup tidak sebagai “barisan.” Mereka membiarkan idealisme kerakyatan ditenggelamkan oleh amuk dan hempasan globalisasi. Meminjam terminologi Perkins [2005], mereka membiarkan negara dikelola oleh para economic hitman yang lebih peduli pada tuan di luar negeri dan bersengaja membiarkan rakyat menjadi kuli di negeri sendiri. Akankah ini menjadi babak penegasan NKRI sebagai negara kuli republik Indonesia? Sepertinya iya.[]

SBY-Boediono : Neoliberal/Kerakyatan/Kerakyatan Pro Pasar?

Kucing Neolib

Politikana.com, Kamis, 28 Mei ‘09 10:47

Sedikit menambahkan mengenai diri presiden SBY yang sekarang lagi ramai-ramainya dituduh sebagai Neolib. Ini saya dapatkan dari jurnal Manajemen Usahawan Indonesia No2 th XXXVI Februari 2007 hal 20 dengan judul MEMBANGUN EKONOMI KERAKYATAN karangan Prof Dr.Akhmad Syakhroza. Disini saya cuma mengutip paragraf awal dari jurnal beliau, sisanya bisa dibaca sendiri , tapi sedikit banyak dari paragraf awal ini kita bisa tahu apa garis besar dari jurnal tersebut.

“Kita semua berkeinginan Ekonomi Kerakyatan bisa tumbuh kembang sebagai tulang punggung Ekonomi Nasional, tentu dengan tetap memberi memberi peran kepada ekonomi pasar. Dengan struktur penduduk Indonesia yang dominan berperan di sektor pertanian dan pernelayanan maka menggerakkan potensi kekayaan alam adalah sangat penting. Apabila kita cermati secara jernih, maka sesungguhnya presiden SBY telah  menjalankan ekonomi kerakyatan yang pro pasar, konsisten dengan platform ekonomi sebagaimana ditawarkannya ada kampanye pilpres beberapa tahun yang lalu.
Komitmen ini tergambar secara jelas dari 4 strategi induk pemerintah yaitu :

1)Pro penciptaan lapangan Kerja

2)Pro pengentasan Kemiskinan

3)Pro pertumbuhan ekonomi

4)Pro pelestarian lingkungan

Dua strategi pertama adalah berorientasi kepada ekonomi kerakyatan, sedangkan 2 strategi terakhir adalah lebih berorientasi kepada ekonomi pasar. Berbagai program konkrit yang telah dilakukan oleh pemerintah pada tahun 2005 dan 2006 antara lain adalah menaikkan harga gaba, subsidi pupuk, subsidi bunga untuk RSS, menaikkan gaji golongan 1 dan 2 bagi pegawai negeri sipil/tentara/polisi, Program BOS, Bantuan Langsung Tunai, Raskin beras untuk rakyat miskin, bantuan Askeskin, pengadaan air bersih untuk rakyat, pembangunan infrastruktur pedesaan. Kita telah mendengar bahwa program ini telah dirasakan secara nyata oleh masyarakat golongan kecil meskipun kita juga melihat praktek-praktek di lapangan masih adanya penyimpangan-penyimpangan”

Di dunia ini memang tidak ada yang putih atau hitam murni, yang ada adalah abu-abu. Jadi jangan mentah-mentah menelan kata-kata para politisi yang asal tuding sistem yang diusungnyalah yang lebih baik.

Mansour Fakih Pelaku Intelektual Organik

Yudhie Haryono

Politikana.com

Dari namanya, aku tahu bahwa ia membawa “kedalaman,” baik dalam sikap maupun tindakan. Fakih, adalah nama yang kuat makna: seorang ahli. Tetapi, yang kupahami dari bangsa kita ternyata kehidupan selalu mengambil putra-putra terbaik sewaktu bekerja, satu demi satu: Ahmad Wahib, Soe Hok Gie, Wiji Thukul, Marsinah dan masih ada beberapa yang kita lupa. Ironisnya, kehidupan bangsa ini menyisakan umur panjang bagi para penjahat, konglomerat hitam, penguasa zalim dan aktifis-pemikir yang kerjanya melacurkan diri demi sekeping rupiah.

Mansour Fakih adalah nama yang tidak asing bagi para aktivis gerakan sosial di Indonesia, bahkan di tingkat internasional. Bagiku dan kawan-kawan di lembaga Nusantara Centre, Fakih adalah teladan dan guru. Terakhir, ia dipercaya menjadi anggota Komite Nasional untuk Hak Asasi Manusia (Komnas HAM). Fakih kemudian dipilih sebagai anggota Helsinki Process, suatu forum tingkat internasional yang diprakarsai oleh Kementrian Luar Negeri Finlandia, beberapa negara Selatan dan organisasi non pemerintah (ORNOP) Internasional, untuk mengupayakan jalan keluar masalah globalisasi. Di lembaga Helsinki Process, wakil dari Asia hanya ada dua orang, dan salah satunya Fakih dari Indonesia.

Aku mengenalnya di awal tahun 2000. Saat itu, sebagai pendiri LSM Nusantara Centre, kami sering menghadiri pertemuan-pertemuan aktifis LSM di beberapa tempat. Kita bicara banyak isu strategis. Mulai dari kerusakan alam raya, KKN, civil society dan kemandirian bangsa. Dari aktifis LSM yang paling getol bersuara tentang HAM dan persamaan gender adalah Mansour Fakih. Mungkin karena dia anggota Komnas HAM dan penulis buku Analisis Gender. Yang jelas, pikirannya jernis, sederhana, mau berbagi dan mudah bergaul walau jam terbangnya sudah luas. Selanjutnya, perkawananku dengannya lebih dikuatkan oleh Pak Habib Chirzin [anggota Komnas HAM dan mantan Ketua DPP Pemuda Muhammadiah], ustadku yang sering kudatangi rumahnya untuk diskusi atau sekedar berbagi roti.

Setelah lama dan sering berdebat, aku punya kesimpulan dan kekaguman. Simpulku sederhana, Fakih memang ilmuwan yang “dalam” dan membumi. Sebab, berbeda dengan kebanyakan kaum intelektual di Indonesia, Fakih tidak tumbuh dari laboratorium yang sepi dan menara gading intelektual yang angkuh. Ia tumbuh dari persekutuan dan dialektika teori plus praktek, dari ide plus aksi. Kagumku karena Fakih  memiliki dua gelar (master dan doktor) yang diraihnya di University of Massachusetts, Amerika Serikat, tetapi tidak membuatnya besar kepala dan sibuk dengan kemewahan intelektual. Ia menempatkan gelar sekolahnya sebagai alat untuk memperjuangkan apa yang diimaninya. Baginya, idealisme tanpa ilmu kosong, dan ilmu tanpa idealisme mubazir.

Sekolah Fakih dimulai di Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Jakarta [sekarang UIN], Fakultas Ushuluddin. Saat itu, IAIN Jakarta adalah lahan subur bagi pemikiran pembaharuan keagamaan dalam Islam, khususnya rasionalisme teologi  yang diprakarsai oleh rektornya masa itu, Harun Nasution. Sebagai murid Profesor Nasution, Fakih aktif dalam pergulatan pemikiran ini dengan kawan-kawan seangkatannya, antara lain, Fahry Ali, Bahtiar Efendy, Helmi Ali Yafie, Hadimulyo, Azyumardi Azra, dan Komaruddin Hidayat. Gerakan intelektual di IAIN Jakarta itu makin marak oleh tradisi pergulatan intelektual muda Islam beberapa angkatan sebelumnya yang dipelopori oleh Nurcholis Madjid dan Achmad Wahib di IAIN Jogjakarta. Ketika sebagian besar kawan-kawan Fakih masa itu kemudian lebih membawa pergulatan pemikiran mereka ke aktivitas politik, seiring dengan semakin maraknya gerakan-gerakan mahasiswa menjelang akhir 1970-an, Fakih justru lebih memusatkan aktivitasnya pada proses-proses pendidikan bagi para mahasiswa angkatan sesudahnya. Dan, di sinilah ia kemudian berjumpa dengan beberapa mahasiswa yang lebih yunior, antara lain, Saleh Abdullah, yang kelak tak dapat dipisahkan dalam hampir semua kegiatan dan kehidupan Fakih. Mungkin pilihan menjadi pendidik adalah kesimpulan Fakih tentang modal sosial dan kapital yang harus disiapkan oleh para politisi—yang ia sendiri merasa tak ada. Karena itu, menjadi guru dan aktifis sosial adalah pilihan jernih tanpa harus dipusingkan oleh patronase dan kapital serta tak harus mendefisitkan moral dirinya.

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Sewaktu aku nyantri di Gontor, sangat terkenal di angkatanku bahwa yang berasal dari Bojonegoro dan Aceh biasanya pintar: nilai dan hapalannya bagus. Akankah, kepintaran dan kedalaman ilmu pengetahuan Fakih juga karena lahir di Bojonegoro? Hanya Tuhan yang tahu. Memang, Fakih dilahirkan di Bojonegoro, Jawa Timur, pada tanggal 10 Oktober 1953. Puncak kehidupannya adalah saat ia memiliki hipotesa bahwa gerakan sosial di Indonesia harus dibangun meski swadaya sehingga tak bergantung pada negara. Tetapi, sebelum sampai pada hipotesa itu, Fakih mulai menggumuli wacana rasionalisme Islam dengan serius. Akhirnya, Fakih berkesimpulan bahwa banyak orang di Indonesia yang beragama dengan pemahaman teologis yang keliru. Agama [Islam] akhirnya berkembang menjadi sesuatu yang dogmatis. Pemahaman Islam yang sekadar menerima agama dan wahyu sebagaimana adanya, akhirnya mengarah pada kejumudan berpikir, terutama di dalam menghadapi persoalan hidup sehari-hari.

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Tahun tujuhpuluhan diskursus tentang ummat yang mundur memang sedang seksi. Ummat yang bodoh dan terbelakang dengan poisi pinggiran membuat gelisah para aktifis. Banyak aktifis dan pemikir Islam risau: ada apa dengan umat Islam yang terbelakang? Kultur atau strukturkah yang menjadi sebab. Etos atau “kesempurnaan ajaran” yang membuat umat membeku? Inilah tema-tema utama yang hadir dan dicoba jawab oleh kawan-kawan mahasiswa IAIN. Begitu juga dengan Fakih. Ia berusaha menjawab problema itu dengan caranya sendiri.

Fakih merasa tidak ada korelasi antara ajaran agama dengan persoalan yang tengah dihadapi manusia. Agama benar-benar menjadi setumpuk wahyu dan tata tertib yang ketat dan jauh berada di ketinggian langit. Bahkan di Indonesia yang kita hidupi bersama, agama menjadi alat bagi kekuasaan untuk melakukan penindasan dengan diam-diam. Pada fase itulah, Fakih menjadi seorang pemuda yang terpesona dan teguh meyakini pemikiran-pemikiran Mu’tazillah, aliran teologi rasional yang sangat terkenal dalam sejarah Islam. “Islam adalah rasio. Tanpa rasio, ia bukanlah Islam,” kata Fakih suatu saat ketika bicara dengan kawan-kawannya.

Lulus dari IAIN, Fakih bekerja di Lembaga Penelitian, Pendidikan dan Pengembangan Ekonomi dan Sosial (LP3ES),  sebagai seorang petugas lapangan dan peneliti. Saat itu, LP3ES adalah lembaga idola aktifis di luar CSIS. Watak dan programnya yang merakyat tetapi ilmiah adalah penyebab lembaga ini diidolakan. Lembaga ini juga menjadi kawah bagi uji mental dan teori dari aktifis-aktifis muda. Pada waktu itulah fikirannya  terganggu oleh realitas yang ditemuinya di lapangan. Saat melakukan tugas pendampingan bagi kelompok masyarakat pengrajin di kawasan  Sukabumi Udik, Jakarta Selatan, Fakih menyaksikan bagaimana kelompok pengrajin itu telah  bekerja keras dan rajin, barang-barang hasil kerajinan mereka pun cukup laku di pasaran, tetapi mereka tetap saja miskin. Inilah yang sangat mengganggu pikirannya, terus mengusik dan akhirnya membuat Fakih sibuk bertanya dan berdiskusi dengan orang-orang yang lebih dulu berada di LP3ES, antara lain, Tawang Alun, Dawam Rahardjo, Aswab Mahasin, dan Ismid Hadad. Terutama dari Dawam Rahardjo, Fakih mulai mengenal pemikiran-pemikiran strukturalisme dalam kajian politik ekonomi, sebagai suatu alat analisis terhadap berbagai permasalahan masyarakat. Pendekatan strukturalis ini semakin diyakini oleh Fakih ketika mulai terlibat dalam kerja-kerja pendidikan masyarakat melalui kegiatan-kegiatan pelatihan di Lembaga Studi Pembangunan (LSP) yang didirikan oleh beberapa aktivis senior saat itu, antara lain, Adi Sasono, Soetjipto Wirosardjono,  Sritua Arief, dan Dawam Raharjo. Kita tahu nanti dalam perjalanannya, empat sekawan ini membidani lahirnya ICMI dan berusaha mempraktekkan ilmu dari LSM di pemerintahan/kampus ketika mereka berkuasa.

Kata Dawam Rahardjo, “saat itu, LP3ES dan LSP  ingin memperbarui dan mengembangkan metodologi pendidikan dan pelatihannya. Yang dipercaya untuk ikut membantu itu adalah ‘Kelompok Jayagiri,’ suatu kelompok pelatihan informal yang bermarkas di Pusat Pelatihan Pendidikan Masyarakat di Jayagiri, Lembang, Bandung. Di kelompok ini ada dua orang aktivis dari Volunteer in Asia (VIA), yakni Russ Dilts dan Craig Thorburn, dua orang yang juga sulit dipisahkan dari banyak kegiatan Fakih di kemudian hari. Kelompok Jayagiri  waktu itu bekerja sama dengan Direktorat Pendidikan Luar Sekolah, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, mengembangkan metodologi partisipatif (participatory training methodology)  yang menggabungkan pendekatan teori kritis Jurgen Habermas dari sekolah Frankfurt, dengan teori-teori analisis sosial struktural, dan dengan teori-teori psikologi dan aksi sosial dari Kurt Lewin.” Pada Fakihlah, gagasan pembaruan metoda pendidikan diserahkan. Fakih kemudian membuat dan mengembangkan terus motode baru pelatihan ini.

Berbekal dengan alat analisis sosial struktural dan metodologi pelatihan partisipatif itulah, Fakih kemudian malang-melintang dalam dunia pendidikan masyarakat. Dalam perjalanan intelektual sekaligus praktik politik semacam itulah, ia kemudian bertemu dengan berbagai kelompok maupun perseorangan yang aktif melakukan proses-proses pendidikan kerakyatan (popular education) dan kerja-kerja advokasi. Fakih bertemu dengan orang-orang seperti Toto Raharjo, Erwin Pandjaitan, Simon Hate, Ahmad Mahmudi, dan Roem Topatimasang. Sederet nama ini adalah orang-orang yang telah cukup lama bergerak di lapis-bawah melakukan kerja-kerja  pengorganisasian rakyat (people organizing). Toto dan  Simon khususnya telah lama melakukan kerja-kerja  pengorganisasian rakyat melalui media kesenian, terutama teater rakyat (popular theatre). Toto dan Simonlah yang nantinya memperkenalkan Fakih dengan seniman dan budayawan produk pondok Gontor, yakni Emha Ainun Nadjib, orang yang kemudian juga banyak menjadi kawan diskusi mengenai teologi Islam. Melalui orang-orang ini jugalah Fakih lebih banyak mengenal langsung pemikiran-pemikiran dan metodologi pendidikan kritis (critical methodology of education) dari Paulo Freire. Fakih kemudian mulai berhubungan pula dengan kelompok intelektual dari kalangan katolik yang banyak menerapkan metodologi  pendidikan Freirean, seperti Romo Ruedi Hoffmann dari PUSKAT (Pusat Kateketik) dan Romo Mangunwijaya dari Pastoran Salam, Yogyakarta.

Fakih kemudian membangun komunitas intelektual organik di beberapa kota. Komunitas paling utama adalah Insist dan Pustaka Pelajar di Yogjakarta. Hampir semua buku serius yang ditulisnya diterbitkan penerbit yang didirikannya. Di situ juga Fakih mensuplai data, mengajari teman-temannya survei, mengadakan kontak dengan jaringan dalam dan luar negeri, membuat kurikulum dan menyebarkan virus kemandirian civil society, LSM dan komunitas epistemik pembaharuan agama.

Sayang, umurnya tak begitu panjang. Minggu (15/2/2004), Mansour Fakih meninggal dunia pada pukul 00.05 WIB, lantaran serangan stroke akibat penyakit jantung yang sudah sejak lama diidapnya. Menurut Mas Ahmad Santosa, rekan Fakih di lembaga swadaya masyarakat (LSM) Partnership, almarhum dikuburkan oleh keluarganya setelah sebelumnya disemayamkan di rumah duka di Banjarsari Besi, Sleman, DIY.

Reportase Kompas Senin (16/2/2004) menyebutkan bahwa, “Jenazah tokoh gerakan sosial di Indonesia dan anggota Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia [Komnas HAM] ini meninggalkan seorang istri, Nena Lam’anah, dan dua putra, yakni Farabi Fakih (22) dan Fariz Fakih (19). Tentu kematiannya adalah kehilangan besar bagi gerakan sosial di Indonesia dan komunitas penegak hak asasi manusia (HAM). Ratusan layanan pesan singkat telepon seluler dan tulisan dilayangkan dari berbagai mailing list internet menyatakan rasa belasungkawa, menyebarkan suasana perkabungan mendalam dari Sabang, Maluku, sampai Merauke, bahkan Eropa, Amerika Serikat, dan Australia. Ia adalah teman banyak orang tanpa mengenal suku, agama, kelas sosial, dan sekat-sekat yang dibuat untuk manusia. Romo Mangun (almarhum) adalah salah satu teman dekatnya. Perjalanan pemikiran kritisnya mengenai seluruh wacana globalisasi yang dominan dimulai sejak tahun 1970-an.”

“Saya kira perkembangan gerakan sosial di Indonesia tidak terlepas dari campur tangannya. Dia memberikan seluruh hidupnya untuk itu dengan konsisten,” ujar Wakil Ketua Komnas HAM Zoemrotin KS, dengan suara terbata. “Kita kehilangan anggota Komisi Nasional (Komnas) HAM terbaik. Ia adalah sosok yang konsisten, sederhana, penuh semangat, dan rendah hati. Gagasan dan pemikirannya sangat cemerlang,” kata Salahuddin Wahid, yang juga Wakil Ketua Komnas HAM. Zoemrotin dan Salahuddin berada di tengah ratusan pelayat yang mengantar jenazah almarhum ke tempat peristirahatannya terakhir.

Sejak dirawat di rumah sakit hingga meninggal, keluarga dan teman-temannya secara berganti-ganti berjaga dan berdoa dengan harapan yang hilang-timbul. “Mohon doanya, semoga Tuhan memberi jalan terbaik untuk sahabat kita,” begitu pesan lain yang dikirim Yando Zakaria dan Toto Rahardjo, sahabat almarhum yang bersama-sama membangun Institute for Social Transformation (Insist) di Yogyakarta.

Fakih adalah otak sekaligus ideolog di gerakan kritis bidang pembangunan, lingkungan, pembaruan agraria, kesetaraan dan keadilan jender, kaum cacat, dan lain-lain. Ia pernah menjadi country representative untuk Oxfam UK di Indonesia. Tulisannya bertebaran di berbagai jurnal dan buku agenda reformasi sosial, seperti globalisasi, reformasi pertanahan, pendidikan dan jender. Dua bukunya terakhir adalah, Jalan Lain: Manifesto Intelektual Organik (2002) yang merupakan refleksi tentang Gramsci, Marx, Foucault dan Freire. Buku lainnya adalah, Bebas dari Neoliberalisme (2003). Karyanya yang paling monumental adalah memperkenalkan pendekatan dan analisis jender secara lebih holistik dan mendalam, khususnya di kalangan para aktivis organisasi nonpemerintah di Indonesia. “Gerakan perempuan berutang kepadanya,” ujar Zoemrotin. Mengomentari kematian karibnya di Komnas HAM, Gus Solah berujar, “Semoga segera muncul Fakih-Fakih baru yang akan mewujudkan cita-cita Mansour Fakih.”

Hidup Tak Cukup Berfikir Dan Menulis
Beberapa buku karya Fakih yang sampai ke tangan pembaca adalah, “Sesat Pikir Teori Pembangunan dan Globalisasi.” Diterbitkan oleh Insist Press bekerjasama dengan Pustaka Pelajar, Yogyakarta (2001). Buku setebal 250 halaman ini ditulis dengan baik sebagai analisa terhadap persoalan pembangunan suatu masyarakat, terutama di negara-negara berkembang. Dalam buku ini, Fakih membeberkan sekaligus membuktikan bahwa pembangunan di Indonesia dan kawasan negara Asia Tenggara gagal. Hal ini terbukti dengan berulangnya krisis ekonomi, sosial, politik, dan budaya secara luas di negara-negara tersebut. Krisis multidimensional yang secara tiba-tiba menyerbu sejak tahun 1997 membuktikan kegagalan paradigma pembangunan yang selama ini diterapkan.

Secara simplistis orang-orang sering menghubungkan krisis yang melanda Indonesia ini dengan kegagalan pengelolaan pemerintahan, dengan diangkatnya istilah KKN (Korupsi, Kolusi, Nepotisme) untuk menggambarkan pemerintah yang buruk. Fakih berusaha mengungkapkan bahwa ada sesuatu yang lebih dari sekedar kebobrokan pemerintah totaliter: gempuran global. Fakih juga  menyatakan bahwa jalan keluar bagi kemelut pembangunan yang berpihak bagi rakyat bawah tidak hanya dapat diselesaikan dengan pembentukan pemerintah yang bersih dan berwibawa. Perjalanan kelompok reformis yang telah mengawal proses reformasi telah cukup untuk membuktikan bahwa ada sesuatu yang bersifat lebih mendasar dalam soal penyelesaian masalah pembangunan, yaitu paradigma dan metode. Singkatnya, ada jalan salah yang ditempuh pemerintah.

Dengan uraian teoritik yang cukup meyakinkan, Fakih melakukan studi kritis terhadap teori-teori pembangunan dan globalisasi yang menjadi pembimbing arah pembangunan berbagai kalangan di Indonesia: pemerintah, LSM, aktivis sosial, dan sebagainya. Fakih adalah orang yang cukup lama bergelut dalam kegiatan-kegiatan pemberdayaan masyarakat. Karena itu, sejak awal bagian buku ini mengingatkan bahwa ada suatu ideologi tersembunyi yang merasuk dalam teori-teori pembangunan dan globalisasi. Teori ini tidak mudah dibaca oleh sembarang orang, selebihnya diimani sebagai suatu kebenaran.

Dalam kerangka itulah buku ini menjelaskan analisa kritisnya. Pisau analisis yang digunakan Fakih adalah paradigma Thomas Kuhn, yakni bahwa ada suatu tempat berpijak yang mendasari segenap teori-teori itu yang pada tahap akhirnya mampu menentukan pandangan seseorang untuk menentukan sisi-sisi suatu program sosial. Dan, patut diingat bahwa suatu paradigma tertentu yang digunakan di masyarakat tidak serta-merta berarti bahwa paradigma itu benar, tapi lebih disebabkan karena paradigma itu didukung oleh suatu kekuatan dan kekuasaan yang besar dan kuat. Paradigma yang dijajakan dan diiklankan dengan berulang-ulang sehingga “seperti benar.”

Fakih melihat bahwa ternyata ada beberapa aktivis sosial yang tanpa disadari menggunakan dasar teoritik dan visi ideologis yang bertolak belakang dengan tujuan yang diinginkannya. Ini menunjukkan adanya suatu kelemahan teoritik dalam hal visi ideologis gerakan sosial yang sedang dikerjakannya.
Menurut Fakih, teori-teori pembangunan yang berkembang sebenarnya adalah kelanjutan dari proses kolonialisme yang terpental akibat gemuruh tuntutan berbagai pihak. Developmentalisme dilontarkan guna membendung arus sosialisme, sehingga sebenarnya ia tidak lain adalah kemasan baru kapitalisme.

Dalam praktiknya, pembangunan memang terlalu sering diartikan semata-mata sebagai pertumbuhan ekonomi, dan abai terhadap masalah keadilan, pemerataan, atau perlakuan manusiawi terhadap berbagai khazanah kebudayaan lokal. Segala sesuatu dilihat semata-mata dari perspektif material, termasuk pula manusia. Karena itu, tidak heran bila atas nama pembangunan penggusuran dilegalkan, atas nama stabilitas pembangunan darah rakyat dihalalkan, dan atas nama pembangunan rakyat dininabobokan dalam kabut kebodohan.

Sementara itu, globalisasi tidak lain adalah kelanjutan dari teori pembangunan yang mewarisi semangat hegemonik dan imperialis serta menjajah dengan culas. Dalam teori globalisasi, tiap negara didorong untuk berintegrasi dalam sistem ekonomi dunia. Globalisasi, yang titik awalnya ditandai dengan perjanjian internasional di bidang perdagangan yang dikenal dengan GATT (General Agreement on Tariff and Trade), tidak lain adalah globalisasi kapitalisme yang menjadi perpanjangan tangan kelompok negara-negara maju, dengan antek-antek bernama IMF, WTO, atau World Bank. Dalam proses globalisasi itu sendiri sebenarnya terlihat dengan terang siapa yang diuntungkan dengan sistem tersebut: mereka adalah kelompok-kelompok perusahaan transnasional yang berasal dari negara-negara industri.

Fakih cukup berhasil menelanjangi ideologi teori-teori pembangunan dan globalisasi, sehingga kita semua, terutama para aktivis sosial, menjadi awas terhadap masalah ini. Hal ini penting artinya agar gerakan sosial yang sudah cukup banyak berakar dari bawah tidak sia-sia, hanya gara-gara tidak sadar dengan tirai ideologis yang menyelimutinya.

Beberapa karya lain adalah, “Panduan Pendidikan Politik Untuk Rakyat,” lalu ada buku “Pergolakan Ideologi LSM Indonesia: Masyarakat Sipil untuk Transformasi Sosial,” kemudian, “Menggeser Konsepsi Gender dan Transformasi Sosial,” yang disempurnakan dengan judul baru, “Analisis Gender dan Transformasi Sosial.”

Untuk buku ini, aku punya kesan khusus bahwa Fakih adalah peletak dasar kajian gender di Indonesia. Fakih adalah pemikir, penulis dan ideolog jender berkeadilan. Buku ini lahir karena rendahnya pemahaman kesetaraan kelamin. Tetapi, alasan utamanya karena beberapa hal. Pertama, kata “jender” belum termasuk kata bahasa Indonesia, terbukti belum menjadi entri dalam Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia. Kedua, referensi kata itu tidak jelas karena bersifat abstrak. Ketiga, dalam kamus bahasa Inggris kata itu tidak jelas bedanya dengan kata “sex” yang mengacu pada pengategorian jenis kelamin. Meski ada beberapa penjelasan tentang makna kata itu, penjelasan itu tetap saja perlu interpretasi lebih lanjut. Contoh, Kathy Davis dalam The Gender of Power (1991) menjelaskan bahwa jender menunjuk pada relasi di mana pria dan wanita berinteraksi. Ann Oakley dalam Sex, Gender and Society (1972) mengartikan jender sebagai perbedaan tingkah laku antara pria dan wanita yang secara sosial dibangunkreasikan (constructed-created) oleh laki-laki dan wanita itu sendiri. Karena itu, jender adalah masalah budaya. Masih banyak penjelasan lain yang cenderung berbeda dan sulit diikuti karena sudut pandangnya tidak sama.

Menurut Fakih, jender dan sex pastilah berbeda. Sex adalah pembagian jenis kelamin yang ditentukan secara biologis dan karena itu melekat pada jenis kelamin tertentu. Misalnya, pria adalah manusia berpenis, berjakala, bersperma, dan sejenisnya; sementara wanita adalah manusia yang memiliki alat reproduksi telur, bervagina, memiliki alat menyusui, dan sebagainya. Alat-alat itu secara biologis melekat pada wanita untuk selamanya, fungsinya tidak dapat dipertukarkan, secara permanen tidak berubah, dan merupakan ketentuan biologi atau ketentuan Tuhan (kodrat). Jender adalah pembagian kategori pria dan wanita yang dikonstruksi secara sosiokultural. Misalnya, wanita secara sosiokultural dianggap lemah lembut, emosional, keibuan, dan sebagainya; sedangkan pria dianggap kuat, rasional, perkasa, dan sebagainya.

Sifat-sifat tersebut tidak kodrati. Karena itu tidak abadi dan dapat dipertukarkan. Maka ada pria emosional, lemah lembut, dan sebagainya; atau kebalikannya ada wanita kuat, rasional, dan sebagainya. Dengan demikian, semua sifat yang dapat dipertukarkan antara wanita dengan pria dan yang dapat berubah dari waktu ke waktu, serta berbeda dari satu kelas sosial ke lain kelas, merupakan jender.

Selebihnya, buku yang tak kalah menarik berjudul, “Menegakkan Keadilan dan Kemanusiaan: Pegangan Untuk Membangun Hak Asasi Manusia,” juga ditulisnya. Fakih juga secara serius membuat catatan, “World Reports 2000: Events of 1999, Human Rights Watch,” sewaktu aktif di Komnas HAM. Sedang beberapa buku kecil yang sampai ke pembaca adalah, “Landreform di Pedesaan,” dan “Pendidikan Popular.”

Kini Fakih telah hidup di sorga. Gagasan dan idenya tentang civil society, globalisasi dan HAM terbukti menginspirasi beberapa kalangan. Yang paling nyata adalah “kecemasannya akan nasib bangsa kita yang akan terjajah kembali oleh neoliberalisme.” Kemenangan SBY-Budiono pada pemilu 2009 menjelaskan bahwa nasib rakyat banyak akan makin sengsara dan paria akibat penjajah baru telah bersemayam dan dipilh rakyat. Kita tahu, Budiono adalah wakil terbaik dari ekonom madzab neoliberal yang sangat pro-pasar. Sedang SBY adalah “pelaksana utama” ideologi pasar yang anti rakyat miskin. Karena itu hari ini, pandangan Fakih masih diperlukan dan disebarkan. Dengan begitu, moga-moga Fakih tak makin menangis melihat bangsanya salah berulang kali menentukan pilihan.[]

Furious row at economists' forum over 'zombie banks'

“A furious row broke out at the annual economists’ conference when the former chief economist of Ulster Bank challenged the standing of UCD economist and ferocious critic of Nama, Prof Morgan Kelly. After Prof Kelly had described the Irish banks as ‘worse than zombies’ because they were completely dead, Pat McArdle said the organisers of the conference had to ask themselves whether Prof Kelly should have been allowed to say what he did …” (more)

[Brendan Keenan, Independent, 18 October]

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Markets in Everything, Mark Twain Edition

And no, I won’t apologize to people who think this is an inappropriate subject to blog about. And yes, this is (theoretically) safe for work (no pics). But there is a book on Amazon titled How to Live with a Huge Penis: Advice, Meditations, and Wisdom for Men Who Have Too Much by Jacob and Owens. An excerpt:

When a young Samuel Clemens was a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River, his shipmates used to joke that his penis would reach a depth of “mark twain” (12 feet) if he threw it overboard. The name stuck, though most of his readers never had a clue to its origins. In Twain’s masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, scholars believe that Huck’s friend Jim (the runaway slave) represents the imprisonment Twain felt because of his huge penis.

The conflation of the narratives of slavery and Reconstruction as a priapic metaphor strike me as extremely funny satire, especially since the authors extend the subsuming conceit of the penis narrative throughout the entire book.

Obama Controls Your Television...

Breitbart has a few pieces on the health care fiasco as well as other liberal views that the television networks will be peddling next week. There are three parts to this.

LEAKED NETWORK MEMO REVEALS: Obama Controls Your Television Set
by John Nolte

On September 10th of this year the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) posted a press release informing the world that “from October 19-25, more than 60 network TV shows [will] spotlight the power and personal benefits of service,” and that this “unprecedented block of TV programming is the first wave of a multi-year ‘I Participate’ campaign.”

On its face this all sounds rather benign in that silly, liberal do-gooder kind of way. The networks have launched these kinds of campaigns before and other than some clunky exposition awkwardly inserted into your favorite show to meet the mandate — no harm, no foul.

Part II: Obama Controls Your Television Set — Search and Ye Shall Find…Left-Wing Advocacy
by Stage Right

My ten-year-old daughter loves “So You Think You Can Dance.” I suspect most eight to eighteen-year-old girls do.  So, my question to the producers of this hit show is: “Why are you pointing my daughter to a web page asking her to work at Planned Parenthood?”

Next week the networks will coordinate their shows’ story-lines to promote volunteerism.  At the September 10 press conference in New York announcing this unprecedented message coordination, Ashton Kutcher got his famous Twitter feed displayed on the Times Square jumbo screen.  It said:  “2Day, I activate my citizenship by participating. I Participate! Do u? www.iparticipate.org.”  (Damn he’s good at this whole “Under 14o characters” thing.)

Part III: Obama Controls Your Television Set — Serve.gov or Serf.dom?
by Patrick Courrielche

National service and volunteerism is a top priority of both the President and the First Lady. A broad effort has been launched to promote this priority. We’ve seen this in the May 12th White House briefing, the August 10th and 27th art community conference calls, and now in a new effort by the Entertainment Industry Foundation, entitled iParticipate, that is encouraging broadcast media to infuse national service stories into their show plots. The First Lady has even created a video expressing the importance of national service.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Bonds and Taxes

Another interference into the life of the individual in these United States of America. I was told only yesterday that the government, meaning the liberal Democrats, have devised another new tax system. The average American thinks that streets and sewers and schools built in this country are paid for by their tax dollars. This is not true. Those new city and county and state projects are paid for with bonds. The city or county or state or schools or whatever is needed issue bonds in the amounts that they need to get their construction under way. These bonds are put out for the public to buy at an interest rate that will attract buyers. In effect, they are borrowing money from the investors to pay for these projects. The life of these bonds can vary from a few years to up to about 30 years. The interest rates are not generally very high, but they are usually issued as ‘tax free bonds’. This is what draws the taxpayer to purchase these bonds. Because he can draw interest every six months for the life of the bond or until the bond is called. And he does not have to pay tax on this interest. If the municipality or school or college is able to pay off the bonds earlier than their life, then the bond will be called and the taxpayer gets his investment (loan) back. The taxpayer can buy bonds that are rated very highly, meaning you are almost assured of getting your money returned to you, or they can take more risk, usually for higher interest rates, gambling on whether or not they will get their full return back.

This method of taxpayer funding for municipalities and schools has been around a long time. It has worked for many years. People want to invest their money where they can make enough to pay for their investment. Remember, when a bond is purchased, that money is not in your pocket and you do not have it to spend for a few years or up to 30 years. So you cannot risk buying bonds if you are not sure you can do without the money for a long time. But the municipalities are willing to pay enough tax free interest to attract a myriad of buyers. This tax free interest is very, very important to the progress of municipalities in these United States.

So now, the liberal Democrats have devised a new method for paying for these bonds. They have put out the word to municipalities that if they will put their bonds out for sale and not make them tax free, the government will pay up to 35% of the interest due on the bonds. How’s that for getting into your back pocket without anyone knowing about this. The usual hidden agenda. And this will eventually kill the tax free bond market. The funds will dry up and people will not invest in the building of new streets or schools or sewers of the city or the county or the state. So who will win in this situation. Certainly not the investor. And not the general public because they will be without those much needed services. And the bond seller won’t win either as he will lose most of his business. But the most important part is that the person who will eventually lose in this endeavor is the average, every day taxpayer. Because he will no longer have the services he is entitled to. He will not have the new schools for his children nor the new streets in his town nor the new sewer and water lines that his town and county are depending upon for their expansion. But he will get to pay more in hometown taxes than he ever has before. Because someone will have to pay to have the old streets fixed and to have the old schools renovated and to have the old water and sewer systems upgraded so that everyone won’t get sick. So who has won in this? Of course, as usual, the liberal Democrats, the so-called Government of today. They will have destroyed another entity of this country of ours. They will have once again brought about the change they talk about which is only hurtful to everyone except them.

I remember when Stalin was powerful and how they said only a handful of people benefitted from progress in Russia – of which there was very little. Only a handful of people lived a really good life with homes on the sea and servants and automobiles and schools for their children. That is where this liberal Democrat Congress is leading our country. To where only THEY will benefit. The rest of the country does not count. Just ask Obama and Nancy Pelosi and they will probably tell you just this – it is their country. They have been waiting a long time to change it the way they want it to be.

Vote Republican as soon as you can.