Go Green

By: Leroy A. Binns Ph.D.

In an era of conservatism and social awareness the green revolution has become a global sensation as its message is reflected in deeds impacting every aspect of our daily lives. This phenomenon transcends age, race, class, religion and culture by engulfing human demeanor towards social advancement, wholeness and a cleaner environment.

Eco/wellness friendly debates encompass but are not restricted to healthy discussions on our most frequently used commodities electricity, water, gasoline and food. Unlike matters of religion the doctrine is consistent in its advocacy of responsible behavior and fitness and consequently encourages engagement towards utopia.

On a magnified scale a former professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology William Weihl was instrumental in proposing a 1.6-MW solar system for Google headquarters and redesigning the company’s data center that currently uses 50% less energy. Nonetheless the language is oftentimes simple. Home occupants are encouraged to consume less energy and are informed that the implementation of prescribed measures will in turn promote longevity of electrical appliances and yield financial savings. Some examples of recommendations are as follows:

Adjust thermostat

Turn lights off when not in use

Replace conventional light bulbs with fluorescent light bulbs

Reduce the use of dryers if possible by drying clothes outside

Purchase electronic equipment that is energy efficient

Save energy by installing a devise that prevents the return of power to the power grid while not in use

When warranted seal leaks and add insulation to avoid the loss of electricity

If financially feasible install solar panels to reduce the use of electricity

 

Preservation is also the theme applicable to the usage of water which if accurately observed will attain comparable monetary outcomes. Suggestions most commonly emphasized are:

Refrain from indulging in baths and long showers

Conserve on water while washing dishes

Utilize clothes and dish washing machines only when fully loaded

Fix water leaks

Wash automobiles at the car wash

Avoid excessive use of sprinklers or hose with regard to lawn maintenance

Whereas there is a consensus on fuel consumption in relation to cost and effect on the individual consumer and society, mode of transportation is subject to variance in application. A close to perfect demonstration highlights Vauban, a community of 5,000 residents in southwestern Germany that has refocused its attention on transportation. This town of generous green spaces and bicycle paths is also known for many streets void of vehicles as the inhabitants rely on a public regime of thrifty buses and trams or car pooling to venture long distances. In contrast other depictions reference the conversion of cooking oil to vegetable diesel fuel which does not emit sulfur oxides and half the particular matter of conventional diesel and car sharing as defined by zip and flex cars. The introduction of hybrid vehicles and its reception notably by the increased production of said automobiles worldwide is testament as well to a shift in consumer belief which now entertains fuel efficiency and a pollution free environment. The charge therefore entails the following as indispensable alternatives to offset fossil fuel prices, congestion taxes and parking cost.

When possible carpool, bike or resort to mass transit

Utilize car sharing options provided by the likes of zip and flex cars

If unavoidable purchase fuel efficacious automobiles

In a campaign to diminish health and environmental hazards Go Green extends its intrusiveness to dietary concerns. According to Dan Barber executive chef and co-owner of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, “Simply put people have to cook more. If we cook in our kitchen with fresh foods we end up opting out of where most of our food is coming from, which is to say a conventional food chain that makes profits off processing, off adding to what is raw material. If we just cook more, food becomes less processed by definition.” Moreover an admission that inexpensive food is partly dependent on an abundance of water and a consistent weather pattern fuels enthusiasm for an infrastructure that promotes local farming hence reducing elaborate distribution networks and costs. In essence the battle cry favors:

A switch to organic foods

Support for local producers

The production of seasonal foods which require less energy to produce than foods grown off season

Consumption of in house filtered water as opposed to bottled water to prevent expense and waste

Green continues to be the anticipated color of success as governments partner with business and private entities offering rebates and tax relief as encouragement for installation of weathering and/or energy efficient appliances. Nevertheless the sustenance of this endeavor over time hinges on a steadfast commitment amidst unforeseen challenges and access and availability to pertinent resources.

The New IMF?

By: Leroy A. Binns Ph.D.

Amidst painful memories of excessive intrusion, the IMF a Bretton Woods configuration and off shoot of the Great Depression is once again saddled with the responsibility of lending short term loans to countries attempting to restore economic stability.

Throughout the passage of time the bank has been accused of obstruction of social justice demonstrated by the economic fate of several Third World countries and later relegated to isolation. Nonetheless confronted with international pandemonium once prosperous nations are now financially deprived of cash flow and like the developing community is in search of a lifeline.

Consequently a consensus at the G20 summit in London last April verbalized a need for the fund to expand its role within the world economy. Despite the capacity to lend upwards of $150 billion a year attendees in fear of inadequacy during a period of intense turmoil pledged to increase the institution’s coffers from $250 billion to $750 billion.

Some Anticipated Resources

 Donors                                                                        Amount

China                                                                           $40 billion

Japan                                                                           $200 billion
Canada                                                                        $10 billion
Norway                                                                       $4.5 billion
America                                                                      $100 billion

Conscious of the stigma associated with its lending practices and urgency to exhibit intellectualism and acquire legitimacy in matters of diagnoses and recommendations the establishment seeks to repair its tattered image by the provision of new lending schemes and the attachment of altered conditions to the disbursement of loans. Yet with a protracted chronicle of contribution to economic disintegration many governments will likely opt for refuge with crisis insurance as protection from the bank’s rogue behavior. To override such apparent trauma the summit’s heads of state also announced implementation of quota changes for 2011 which will restructure the balance of power that determines fair access and treatment.

 IMF Votes

 Nations                                   Existing                                  Proposed

America                                   16.77%                                  16.73%

Japan                                         6.02%                                    6.23%
Britain                                       4.86%                                    4.23%
France                                       4.86%                                    4.23%
China                                         3.66%                                    3.81%
Russia                                        2.69%                                    2.39%
Belgium                                     2.09%                                    1.86%
India                                           1.89%                                    2.34%
South Korea                               1.38%                                    1.36%
Brazil                                          1.38%                                   1.72%

With the financial prerequisites of the world’s poorest countries at an all high of approximately $25 billion to $140 billion and advanced countries facing shrinking budgets in light of an unprecedented recession the IMF is perturbed that aid could dwindle by an estimated 30% when compared to the previous year. Furthermore the fund is knowledgeable that the crisis will trigger a severe impact on growth and external stability in low income countries and has identified a rippling impact as at least 26 countries many of which are oil producing states remain vulnerable to the global meltdown and collapse in commodity prices.  

Setting the tone for the debate is Dominque Strauss-Kahn the former French finance and economy minister and managing director of the IMF who predicts exports from low income countries could decrease in 2009 by 16% with remittances in play during the same period by 10%. He has also indicated that direct foreign investment to low income countries would suffer by as much as 25%.

In an effort of assurance at a Resources for the Future conference in Washington DC Strauss-Kahn told his audience that the days of IMF heavy handedness was over and encouraged the IMF to champion the cause of countries in dire needs. “It is no secret that our lending programs attracted some criticism over the years. People said our conditions were too harsh, too intrusive or even misguided. I accept some of that criticism.” We made mistakes, but we always try to learn from our mistakes. He then proceeded to mention, “We need to make sure that the medicine does not harm the patient. Over the past few years we have been streamlining our conditionalities, focusing on core policy measures that are critical for microeconomics stability, poverty reduction and growth.”

While sympathetic of transfiguration some remain cautious. Journalists Kurt Nimmo and Susan George are opposed to Strauss-Kahn’s interpretation of evolution which promotes emerging economics such as China and Brazil under current conditions. Unfortunately the Chinese miracle as the symbol of atonement might encourage forced illegal and/or unethical labor in which sub-subsistence living conditions for billions of people will be ignored in exchange for cheap goods and services. Both discredit the IMF for its shortcomings in association of human value with nation building.

As recent as the turn of the century the IMF has shown disregard for sovereignty enforcing stringent political reforms while simultaneously overlooking its complicity in insufficient political will or corruption. However the gatekeeper as it is oftentimes labeled for its influence in forging relationships between governments and creditors has been held liable for social unrest resulting from structural adjustment policies that minimize the function of states to provide basic social services to their inhabitants. The following is a synopsis of the ills of the IMF

Common Symptoms of Past IMF Partnerships

Reducing government expenditure via public sector redundancies, frozen salaries and diminished health, education and social welfare services.

The privatization of state run industries producing massive terminations void of social security provision and the loss of services to remote regions.

Currency devaluation and export promotion creating the soaring cost of imports and reliance on international commodity markets

Raising interest rates to rectify inflation. Such extinguishes many small companies.

Removal of price controls resulting in rapid prices rises for basic goods and services

 

On an individual basis the system’s disruption of democracy has been visualized through acts of resentment across continents.

Country Reports

Year           Country                   Amount Borrowed              Outcome                

1998          Brazil                        $18 billion               a tribunal on foreign debt and 

                                                                                    referendum denounced the IMF
                                                                                    and a 24 hour strike was imposed.

2000          Argentina                  $7.2 billion             congress picketed, demonstrations
                                                                                    nationwide some led by unions and  
                                                                                    the Catholic church

2000          Ecuador                     $304 million         indigenous people planned week long

                                                                                  protest calling for the president’s
                                                                                  resignation and an end to austerity
                                                                                  measures imposed by the IMF,
                                                                                  trade unions and the church impose
                                                                                  strikes against IMF reforms.  

1999        Zambia                        $349 million          President Frederick Chiluba blames

                                                                                   the IMF for the country’s economic
                                                                                   crisis. Scores of protesters demand an
                                                                                   end to IMF relations.

 2000           Kenya                      $198 million          opposition party and NGOs protest,

                                                                                   President Daniel Arap Moi complains
                                                                                   of harsh conditions attributed by the
                                                                                   IMF.

Since then the IMF has introduced its new facility which is a agenda for monitoring economic policies in countries not seeking the bank’s assistance. Yet initially Abuja was quoted as saying although such policies would be designed and owned by the respective governments these promises are awaiting fulfillment. Moreover former Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale and US Treasury Secretary John Snow have alluded to the new facility as continuity to impose its conditions on countries even when their obligations to the IMF had been officially terminated.

In an extension of a foregone conclusion former IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato concurs “the implementation of this new arrangement called a policy support agreement would represent little change from the monitoring the IMF is already doing in Nigeria. In fact the IMF has monitoring programs with a number of countries that are not borrowing money. By giving these programs a formal name and definition and by publicizing them with supporting papers and press conferences the IMF is making a political point: it is saying more straightforwardly than before that it will be available to impose its views on Southern countries even if they manage to extricate themselves from the multilateral debt and IMF programs.” If such is true what does the IMF have in store for Jamaica during a second encounter?

While many still recollect the first that crippled the island under the socialist leadership of the late Michael Manley during the mid to late 1970s and are therefore skeptical of further association others are convinced in view of globalization and the current international crisis the bank must espouse transformation to sustain viability. Colin Bullock, a lecturer within the Department of Economics at the University of the West Indies, Mona shares his conviction by way of the following characteristics

There is more concentration on overall coherence and quality of a program avoiding the detailed quantities specification of a large number of targets all of which must be rigidly observed every quarter.

There is preference for countries to own and if technically capable specify their own economic program

The IMF currently disregards preconditions for negotiation and is willing to acknowledge a plurality in means to achieve an end.

The IMF has rescinded the notion that all balance of payment problems result from an overvalued exchange rate in need of correction by depreciation.

The IMF has become more flexible in its stance against subsidized interest rates and directed credit.

The IMF has long denounced its position that market forces are automatically and always well intentioned for the disadvantaged.

Political scientist Richard Crawford as well is of the opinion that the IMF has adopted tolerable lending conditions by recalling the fact that the bank has agreed to allow countries such as Belarus, Pakistan, El Salvador and Iceland to develop their own formula for development. In contrast executive director of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute Marie-Kim Spence is unsure as to how countries such as Jamaica would qualify to benefit from new lending arrangements such as the IMF’s credit line for emerging market economies. She also questions the effectiveness of rules lacking qualifications regarding timing for the implementation of structural reform or the dismissal of recommendations by the IMF.

Jamaica has been a casualty of reverberating shocks from the worst global financial calamity since the Great Depression.

The Jamaican Dilemma

Budgetary Revelations (in Ja dollars)

Imposed taxes                                                 $47.6 billion (Fiscal year 08/09)

Expenditure                                                    $201 billion (April to Sept 09)
Total income                                                   $135 billion (April to Sept 09)
Deficit                                                             $14 billion (April to Sept 09)
Total Deficit                                                    $52.6 billion (Fiscal year 08/09)

Oil prices in particular which is currently worth $3 billion per annum exploded from 2007 into the succeeding year. In fact the spiraling increase in the cost of oil and rice accelerated by 38.9% and 138.6% respectively between December 2007 and late July 2008 jolting inflation to a high of 26.5% by mid 2008 and public debt obligation at present to 56% of the total budget. Misfortune also included foreign remittance valued at a monthly decline of $20 million and a disruption within the tourism industry and elsewhere restricting capital from private international creditors.

Unfortunately the Economist Intelligence Unit foresees the Jamaican economy will decline by 1.6% in 2010 followed by unpersuasive growth of 0.2% in 2011 a contraction largely victim to crime and a burdensome public debt. Such debilitating analysis is accompanied by the regime’s inflation of up to date estimates of expenditure by $19 billion from $547 billion to $556 billion and an inability to realize its most recent projected $16.8 billion budget curtailment by at least $5 billion due to an acute reduction in revenue. These disturbing circumstances have led to speculation of necessary borrowing from multilateral institutions at interest rates between 1.5% to 4.5% on $400 to $500 million and a triple c rating, down from triple c + and a notch above the default rating from Standard & Poors.

In the end the government’s incapability to access fiscal support from the open market resulted in a February agreement with the IMF which requires effective public reforms to reduce the budget deficit, the creation of a debt strategy to reduce debt servicing costs and the implementation of reforms to the financial sector to reduce risk in return for the sum of $1.28 billion to be dispersed over a 27 month period.

Partial Disbursement Plan of the IMF Loan to Jamaica

Month/Year                                                                 Amount

Feb 2010                                                                     $650 million

May                                                                             $100 million
August                                                                        $50 million
Nov                                                                             $50 million
Feb 2011                                                                     $200 million

According to Strauss-Kahn, “Protecting the most vulnerable Jamaicans is a key concern of this program. To help soften the impact on the poor, the program allows for at least a 25% expansion of the social safety net, in particular the Program of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) and the school feeding program. The coverage of these programs will be expanded to about 360,000 people from the current 325,000.”

In addition the IMF has responded to its cynics and multiplied its financial offerings to destitute states by raising the bar from $1.5 billion in 2008 to over $3.5 billion by early 2010. A portrait of the contemporary persona engulfs

Mobilization of additional resources – encompassing the sales of gold to boost the fund’s lending potential to approximately $17 billion through to 2014 with $8 billion for the first two years.

Interest relief – zero payments on outstanding concessional loans to indigent states until 2011

Improved concessions – a regular examination of annual interest rates to preserve a greater level of concessionality.

New financial instruments – extended credit facility (flexible medium-term support), standby credit facility (short-term and precautionary needs) and rapid credit facility (emergency support with limited conditionality).

At this point in time oil rich Nigeria is but one of a few specimen of a maturing IMF relationship through a policy support agreement which was introduced to promote debt reduction on a $28 billion loan with the Paris Club. In words of adulation a previous Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala acclaimed, “We are the pilot for the program. The IMF makes sure it is as stringent as an upper credit tranche program and then monitors it like a regular program but the difference is that you develop it and you own it.” Thus far a combination of prior oversight and the new arrangement which imposed spending restrictions and reorganization has been credited during its first years of implementation for a decrease in the nation’s inflation rate from 20% to 10% and a surge to $20 billion in foreign reserves. Another glimmer of hope is the potential to build on the country’s partial payments of 50% ($1 billion) for two consecutive years to the Paris Club lenders.

In summation it is premature to predict favorability for the IMF as its vibrancy is dependent on unwavering loyalty to enhanced communications with its associates, updated surveillance of financial stability and intensification of international coordination and policy making processes. Reflection of today’s global realities is pivotal to the establishment’s mission of realignment.  

Article Review

Article: Support Programs for New Graduates in Pediatric Nursing

Authors: Patricia Messmer, Jane Bragg and Phoebe Williams

By: Leroy A. Binns Ph.D.

Co-authors Patricia Messmer, a consultant for Nursing Education and Research at Miami Dade College, Jane Bragg the director of Psychiatry and Palliactive Care at Miami Children’s Hospital and Phoebe Williams a professor at University of Kansas School of Nursing have concentrated their efforts in conducting research that endorses support programs for newly minted pediatric nurses.

Such collaboration which is intensive in its breath and scope deploys the contribution of associated scholars in assessing three fundamental issues surrounding work satisfaction and “burnout” factors in relation to retention. They are the percentage of new graduates who remain on the job following two years of employment, the connection or lack thereof between work gratification and exhaustion and the turnover rate subsequent to the creation of support programs for incoming registered nurses.

The article is timely in its quest for support systems as it takes into consideration the need to acquire and sustain nurses during a period of chaos, transition and most significantly a deficiency of said care givers as such will gravely impact the nature of care provided. In fact the trio concedes an inability to address stress related concerns that may be attributed to management issues, insufficient guidance and support and an excess in responsibilities resulting in deterioration amongst patient and unacceptable nurse to patient ratios render patients to an unsafe environment.

They are also in agreement with colleagues who are convinced that continued turnover rates could become a fiscal catastrophe for hospitals. To support this claim mention is made of a turnover rate of 35% to 60% of new nurses within the first year of employment to the tune of $60,000 for each position – a fate that could cost individual medical centers up to $300,000 annually and associated entities the likes of employing institutions an estimate as high as $145,000 per RN.

To bolster the argument for retention reinforcement the writers have reviewed additional literature that references a modified version of Aiken’s revised Nursing Work Index and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The outcome of a target group of nurses who completed the aforementioned studies reveals a majority of nurses who were pleased with their jobs and therefore intend to stay on assignment. Growth in professionalism ranged from an increase in the amount of time spent with patients and documenting patient care to an improvement in the quality of patient care provided and is a progression accredited to support group programs and reflected in a decrease in turnover rates from 7.6% in 2006 to 5.7% in 2009.

The NWI scale underscores work satisfaction and scores of participants whereas MBI demonstrates stress/burnout and grades of respondents. In the end in light of evidence of stress associated with exchanges with providers, the use of complicated high tech equipment, interactions with families and particularly in the case of pediatric nurses caring for dying children, the studies advocate for effective strategies to enhance job satisfaction and retention of nurses inclusive of learning from experienced instructors and residencies about how best to defuse stress. The tools of favorability are incorporative of but not limited to clinical skill sets and the ability to interface with other medical professionals and families.

In accordance with supporting documentation testament to the previously cited assumption transcends demographics, gender, ethnicity, age and marital status and is more apparent among nurses in pediatric hospitals as opposed to their counterparts in non pediatric facilities. Further nurses both new and seasoned in magnet hospitals perceive a more desirable work atmosphere augmented by programs that increase professional proficiency.

This scholarly presentation fails to address external factors that are likely in part accountable for dissatisfaction among nurses. However it is comprehensive in the wealth of information it provides primarily by way of surveys to conclude there is a correlation between job satisfaction and fatigue that could adversely affect retention. It also recommends a proven supportive environment towards sustainability of the health care facilitators in question.  

US Healthcare: Strengths and Weaknesses

By: Leroy A. Binns Ph.D.

While healthcare in United States is noted for the finest medical facilities, technology, innovations, treatment and human expertise the service it provides is not inclusive of the public at large.

Unfortunately in most instances those who benefit are either covered by employers or through government assistance to the indigent and elderly via Medicaid and Medicare respectively. This formula disregards over 37 million Americans, a third of whom are children under 18 years of age. US subjects are also confronted with disadvantages such as medical liabilities that trigger spiraling costs – the highest worldwide on record to date. Case in point is medical malpractice that results in 98,000 deaths and 1.5 million injuries per annum. Such presents a huge monetary burden to insurance companies threatening the sustenance of health care providers within the industry as well.

The system has also become a financial albatross to misuse of emergency services and ineffective communication practices. Hospitals are forced to divert human and material resources within emergency departments to patients lacking insurance credentials for unrelated concerns. In addition dependency on a paper based system of medical records is inefficient in coordinating and sharing valuable information and monitoring compliance with prevention and disease management programs.

To offset expenditure and ineffectiveness demonstrated by a cumbersome regime the passage of legislation introduced the 2010 Health Care Reform bill that will within the next five years provide the following:

Access to coverage of all unmarried individuals up to the age of 26 under their parents’ health insurance plans unless the aforementioned has his/her individual policy

Immunization and preventive care with all programs

Coverage with pre-existing conditions

An end to unreasonable annual or life time limits on health care provisions to be determined by income, size of family and use of coverage.

The expectation of minimal insurance to all by 2014 or risk of penalty

Considering many will remain uninsured a single payer system as evident in Canada is worthy of consideration. It too carries baggage such as limited access to high tech procedures, shortage of equipment and beds, omission of assistance for some medical matters and cost overruns but allows all citizens an opportunity to receive primary healthcare regardless of location or employment status. It is credited in part due to the focus on primary care giving which currently experiences a shortage in America and an administrative overhead that is 11% of all healthcare cost as opposed to 19% to 24% in the United States. Moreover when judged among comparable arrangements in 10 developed nations it has received kudos from the Harris polls as the most satisfying service of its kind.

With a growing demand for improved quality in the delivery of healthcare in America current and future administrations must consider the value of human life and its correlation to productivity and advancement and act accordingly. An alternate course of action will most definitely permeate the society with unfathomable social chaos.

Sources

Cooper, Ed and Taylor, Liz. Comparing Healthcare Systems. Good Medicine 6/29/00.
Donohue, Tom. US Healthcare: Strength and Weakness. Washington Examiner, 2/08.
What is Obamacare? www.insuranceproviders.com

NAFTA Unveiled

By: Leroy A. Binns Ph.D.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) proposed by President Ronald Reagan during his 1980 presidential campaign and executed by President William Clinton in January 1994 following the US-Canadian Agreement is intended to eliminate trading barriers, promote conditions for fair competition and increase investment opportunities among participating states.

In response to the European Economic Area the largest trade zone which includes the members of the European Union and European Free Trade Association and a growing Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation comprised of China the worlds most populated state and Japan the world’s second largest economy NAFTA is a similar three state economic pact (an alliance of Canada, Mexico and the United States of America) with 365 million consumers and a monetary value estimated at $6 trillion a year. In the years ahead the NAFTA is expected to produce 25% more commodities and services in comparison to its European counterpart, offer Americans concessions on goods and increase US exports on grounds of affordability. When fully operative the agreement is also expected to produce an additional 200, 000 new American jobs, reduce illegal immigration and drug trafficking and strengthen democracies and the economies of all parties involved.

With signs of hope and prosperity President Clinton has received endorsements from the US Congress and Latin American leaders from Chile, Argentina and Venezuela who have desperately sought solutions to reverse economic instability in their respective states. In fact in less than a year of its approval the president announced plans to expand the program to incorporate Chile while hinting at the admission of other nations of the Western Hemisphere. Nonetheless opponents of the trade measure provide a litany of improprieties that spell disaster.

Despite noble designs, labor, human rights, consumer and environmental advocates are convinced NAFTA is a partnership that is destined to yield checkered results. Unlike the business community of Fortune 500 companies, many Latino organizations and to some extent academe the opposition is most vocal on issues pertinent to basic workers’ rights and is therefore in disagreement with job loss, wage inequality and undesirable working circumstances. Many share the opinion that without rules and regulations protecting Mexican employees US establishments will opt for relocating to the South in attempt to maximize profits creating unemployment at home and the manufacturing of inferior products abroad.

In addition in light of the fact that the gap between average US and Mexican earnings is about 8 to 1 which is twice as large as the wage gap between the European Union’s richest and poorest nations there is unwavering concern regarding appropriate pay for services rendered. A safe and secure work environment and health insurance commonly unknown to many businesses in Mexico coupled with the possibility of an immense flight of capital from the impoverished state in the absence of investment control mechanisms are likewise equally matters of contention.

In response to legitimate concerns aired prior to implementation of the treaty amendments in favor minimum wage, working conditions and environmental protection were tabled and later signed into agreement in 1993 but detractors have sustained vigilance.

An amicable liberalized market may only materialize with a realistic debt reduction plan to offset the Mexican economic crisis enabling the circulation of additional capital to augment salaries and enhance a working atmosphere subject to scrutiny and penalties whenever necessary and to attract foreign currency and encourage the utilization of a significant portion of its return locally. NAFTA’s North American Development Bank which is entrusted with the responsibility of arranging low interest loans to finance environmental projects along the US/Mexican frontier must also play a role by honoring its obligations within specified time periods to ensure progress while other US financial institutions must be committed to long term productive monetary infusions south of our territorial demarcation in order to achieve favorable objective.

This experiment with all its possibilities could fall prey to misconceptions that have weakened or destroyed comparable federations throughout Latin America such as the Latin American Free Trade Agreement, the Andean Pact and the Central American Common Market unless the equation is inclusive of all affected sectors of society – the corporate elites, labor unions, farm groups, consumer activists and others. The four year review of NAFTA’s addendum if methodically assessed and appropriately introduced could facilitate a new dawn to an intrinsic metamorphosis.

Chechnya In Crisis

By: Leroy A. Binns Ph.D.

Russia’s vulnerability a sequel to the collapse of the Soviet Union has been exposed through an ongoing confrontation with Chechnya. To its advantage the latter’s adeptness to embrace self-determination among Muslims within Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia and capitalize on frailty within a new democracy is attributed to comradeship with the neighboring Islamic community.

As Chechnya sought independence on historic and cultural grounds Russia resisted further disintegration that it perceived a threat to its territorial integrity and national security. Equal in value is the jurisdiction’s monetary significance to Moscow. The mountainous region is home to oil deposits, natural gas, limestone, gypsum, sulphur and other minerals. Moreover the location of a major oil refinery in Grozny and the passage of a main oil pipeline that transports the commodity from fields in Baku on the Caspian Sea and Chechnya to the Ukraine are vital to the national economy and the country’s international image.

With much at stake and limited prospect for a compromise Gronzy’s declaration of sovereignty provoked a Russian military response akin to the 1944 Stalinist purge of said locale in anticipation of an invasion from Nazi Germany. In the past decade such a tumultuous relationship has taken its toll on lives and infrastructure. Besides the infliction of unspeakable fatalities and causalities accountable for the extinction of the enclave’s president and icon of its revolution Dzhokhar Dudayev in 1995 the aftermath of the 1994 – 1996 eruption incited massive migration to the tune of 5000,000 refuges gave voice to Islamic radicalism, rendered the Chechen economy bankrupt and rallied world opinion against the Kremlin’s atrocities of forced disappearances, tortures and executions.

Notwithstanding a 1997 ceasefire an uncomfortable Chechnya rejected Moscow’s authority by electing Aslan Maskhadov, a rebel commander its president and in 1999 advanced its influence by lending military assistance to Islamic fundamentalists in nearby Dagestan. It has also been alleged that counter activities encompassed terrorist explosions throughout Russian cities the most noted of which are the demolition of a Moscow threatre in which over 100 perished and the capital’s subway tragedy of 2003 that claimed the lives of 40 passengers.

Yeltin’s retaliatory measures inclusive of the recapture of fragmented portions of Dagestan and the pulverization of Gronzy and its environs and Putin’s determination to stay the course have yielded mixed results. Such fortitude otherwise characterized by some observers as byproducts of political ambition produced a partisan presence through the installation of local officials the likes of Stanislav Llyasov and Akhmad Kadyrov and ultimately a 2003 referendum in which Chechnya abandoned claims to nationhood in exchange for a separatist status within the Russian republic. However, the level of success is questionable when evaluating the irrefutable destruction of humanity and property, fraudulent elections, the recent executions of President Kadyrov and senior members of his entourage, plus uncertainties surrounding the extent to which power will be transferred to the provincial authorities.

In the end a nexus of peace and prosperity is increasingly dependent on the Kremlin’s capability to meet the challenges of everyday life for the Chechen populace.

IMF Exposed

By: Leroy A. Binns Ph.D.

The International Monetary fund was established in 1945 subsequent to the conclusion of World War II at the Bretton Woods conference in New Hampshire with an expectation to promote economic cooperation among states through short term financial assistance for commercial purposes.

Since its incorporation the bank’s uninterrupted existence has been solidified with donations by member states which in turn defines its leadership and policies. In 1998 the US held 18% of the votes within the organization and along with Germany, Japan the United Kingdom and France controlled 40% of shares with a small percentage owned by 175 states. Hence the agenda is primarily dictated by the government of the United States of America.

During the mid 1970s the establishment expanded its role to address monetary aid for countries in crisis. With such leverage it gained unbridled prominence which when translated re-invents economic prerequisites for loans, international assistance and debt relief and magnifies social unrest for its recipients.

The IMF

Structural Adjustment Criteria                                               Effects

Public sector termination and the                                           unemployment

privatization of state companies

Reduction in spending for social services                               unequipped facilities and

                                                                                                 inadequate service

Wage freeze and labor suppression                                         inhumane earnings and             

                                                                                                 and minimal labor representation

                                                                                                 (if any)

Currency devaluation                                                              diminished value of local                                                                                         tender and inflation

Abolition of price subsidies                                                    increased commodity prices

and high interest rates                                                             restricted access to goods and                                                                                           service

Elimination of trade barriers                                                   depletion of foreign reserves                                                                                                  and the destruction of local

                                                                                                 production

The flowing are some classic illustrations of IMF engagement by continent and decade

The 1970s – North America

In an attempt to advance socialism and a new world order inclusive of neighboring communist Cuba Jamaica’s Prime Minister Michael Manley was confronted with resistance from Washington and ultimately his demise in 1980 accredited to IMF’s austerity measures. As the lender sought and won staff redundancies (10,000 – 11,000 workers) within the public sector, greater control of state run operations by the private sector, the dismantling of a large range of social programs, the removal of income distribution policies, a devalued currency and increased importation of Western products the country’s unraveling state of affairs exposed the flight of local technocrats, the loss of foreign exchange and an escalation of violence in urban areas – an onslaught oftentimes compared to the Lebanese debacle of the early 1980s.

By the same token Mexico succumbed to the imposition of drastic conditions in relation to restricted government spending and real wage rates declined in excess of 40%. Presently 60% of the employed earn minimum wage with the purchasing capacity of 25 to 50% of their essential needs.

The 1980s – Africa

As the largest beneficiary of structural adjustment assistance Ghana between the years 1983 and 1990 suffered from severe cuts in accordance with the bank’s directives that directly affected basic social services. Education spending was reduced to half its 1975 levels, scores of jobs were lost and overall enrollment rates rapidly declined from 1983 to 1987.

Mozambique was likewise susceptible to negative influence attributed to IMF intrusion. The mediation of a pact in 1987 advanced budgetary restraint thus eliminating local subsidies and in its stead introduced hefty price hikes. Between the months of March and April 1988 rice prices rose from 20 cents a kilogram to $1.32, sugar from 25 cents to $1.32 and maize from 14 to 56 cents. In essence the acquisition of basic commodities which intensified in cost by 300 – 500% within one month presented a test of sacrifice for the disenfranchised and even qualified secondary school teachers who in the year in question received two salary adjustments in increments of 50 and 15%.

According to the UN Economic Commission for Africa, expenditures in education and health care to IMF programmed countries declined by 25% and 50% during the 1980s with the latter accounting for the death of 5 million children under the age of five within the same timeframe.

The 1990s – Asia

The IMF in response to the 1997 East Asian fiscal crisis instructed Thai and Indonesian authorities to reduce government programs and tighten monetary policy. Consequently both countries endured a massive ongoing outflow of capital estimated at $100 billion by 1998, weakened currencies (the baht by 50% and the rupiah by 75% against the US dollar), the exclusion from support on the international market and the collective closure of 80 commercial banks (50 in Thailand and 30 in Indonesia). In a similar fashion a prescription for South Korea which entailed a $58 billion loan, increased interest rates and the devaluation of the local currency culminated in a recession from bankruptcies, accelerated unemployment (8,000 workers per day) and a decrease in government spending.

The Turn of the Century – South America

Under duress Argentina complied with the IMF’s measures to introduce labor market flexibility that endorsed diminishing employee privileges and undermined the effective presence of labor unions. As a result the passage of unfavorable laws resulted in general strikes and unfortunately an unprecedented deprivation of jobs.

Unlike industrialized states advised and aided to promote national spending, tax reduction and low interest rates as requisites for investments the Third World community is confronted with a recipe for disaster. To this end impoverished debtor nations are challenged with punitive consequences.

Herein lies a sample of the comprehensive nature of the dilemma

Fiscal Liability

An overall sum of $6.5 billion in interest and $12.5 billion with principle per month (the total is on par with the Third World’s monthly contributions to education and health)

An increase of over 127% in debt since 1982

An external debt that has quadrupled as a percentage of GNP since 1980

Debt service the equivalent of over 25% of exports

 

Human Paralysis

Over 100 million children between the ages of 6-12 do not attend school

Another 125 million withdraw from primary schools in under 4 years

Approximately 830 million are illiterate

1.2 billion people live in absolute poverty

80% of malnourished children reside in developing countries that have adopted export oriented production in lieu of tradition farming

1.6 billion inhabitants are without portable water

2 billion people are unemployed or underemployed

With severe disparity (e.g., an income ratio of 150 to 1)) directly affecting human development criticism soars. Davison Budhoo, an illustrious Grenadian economist and former IMF official now spearheads the Bretton Woods Reform Movement in response to increasingly genocidal policies while the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank confirms, “The IMF bails out investors, not the people of troubled countries. It might be time to abolish the IMF.”

In fact a 1988 IMF internal study authenticates the failure of at least 40 programs instituted between 1983 and 1987 to encourage economic growth, reduce fiscal and balance of payment obligations and lower inflation and stabilize external debt. Moreover intensified demands from grassroots antagonists in the form of US Network for Global Economic Justice, Campaign for Labor Rights, Institute for Policy Studies and Global Economy Project to name a few and an ability to incorporate only 36 of 79 states through the 1987 stringently Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility have given rise to the introduction of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. This program requires interaction with civil society for additional loans and debt relief and a commitment to monetary alleviation for the world’s poorest countries. Yet NGO’s doubt the value of consultation if standards are cosmetically altered for the IMF’s seal of approval.

Given a history of incompetence which includes the organization’s failure in aiding 30 of 40 states meet the rigid criteria for Heavy Indebted Poor Country initiative in 2000 the body must rethink its formula and commit to a meaningful solution in support of social justice and economic prosperity worldwide. Unequivocally in an effort to offset a climate of regression that will adversely affect industrialized economies in the near future a restructured organization should demonstrate accountability to and interest in the well being of all clients. Therefore a reversal of past procedures coupled with major debt reductions and long term investments are prime components for lasting success.