The Korea Herald

Stand firm against use of chemical weapons

Sept 9, 2013

For a war-weary nation still feeling the tragic effects of two hard-fought foreign conflicts, the very thought of intervening militarily in another nation’s chaos should give us pause.And that is exactly what is happening as Americans of all walks of life ― from those meeting on Capitol Hill to the ones gathered around kitchen tables and water coolers ― debate whether the United States should strike at the Syrian regime in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack on its own people.The president
[J. Bradford DeLong] A central bank’s primary role

Sept 9, 2013

BERKELEY, California ― Broadly speaking, for at least 115 years (and possibly longer) ― that is, at least since the publication of the Swedish economist Knut Wicksell’s “Geldzins und Guterpreis” (Interest and Prices) in 1898 ― economists have split into two camps with respect to what a central bank is and the purposes it should serve.One camp, call it the Banking Camp, regards a central bank as a bank for bankers. Its clients are the banks; it is a place where banks can go to borrow money when t
Summers could face a bruising confirmation fight

Sept 9, 2013

Throughout the Federal Reserve’s 100-year history, the Senate has generally deferred to the president’s choice of leader for the central bank. If Larry Summers is picked for the job, however, the debate around his nomination would be unlike any that has come before.For reasons that make a great deal of political sense, some Republicans and more Democrats will resist the nomination. Such a roll of the dice by the Barack Obama administration could have short-term unsettling consequences for financ
Putin overwhelms Obama at the Sulky Summit

Sept 9, 2013

When Russian President Vladimir Putin came out to welcome world leaders to last week’s G20 summit at the Constantine Palace in Strelna, a St. Petersburg suburb, many wondered how it would go between him and U.S. President Barack Obama.The latter had, after all, likened Putin to a bored, slouching kid at the back of the class. The Russian ex-KGB officer, eight years Obama’s senior, took offense. In an interview the day before the summit, he resorted to the royal “we” when commenting on Obama’s re
[Cass R. Sunstein] The most important economist of this century

Sept 9, 2013

Ronald Coase, who died last week at the age of 102, was one of the greatest economists of the 20th century. His impact on academic thought and public policy is incalculable.In 1991, Coase won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in part for a theorem he set out in a 1960 article that is, by a large margin, the most cited law-journal paper of all time. The Coase theorem produced a revolution in both thought and public policy.His target was the great British economist Arthur Cecil Pigou,
U.S. calls for renewed relationship with Iraq

Sept 8, 2013

Hard as it may be to believe, the Iraqi government wants the United States to come back ― and right away.“We need you as a partner in a flaming region,” Lukman Faily, Iraqi ambassador to the United States, told me over breakfast a few days ago. “And I think you need us.”Yes, the Middle East is “aflame,” as Faily put it. And Iraq is in deep trouble, like most of the region. Almost daily, 20, 30, 50 or more people die in terrorist attacks that generally involve Sunnis killing Shiites, or vice vers
[Robert Reich] Remaking the basic bargain

Sept 8, 2013

Congress will reconvene shortly. That means more battles over taxes and spending, regulations and safety nets, and how to get the economy out of first gear. Which means more gridlock and continual showdowns over budget resolutions and the debt ceiling.But before the hostilities start again and we all get lost in political strategies and petty tactics, it’s useful to consider what’s really at stake for our economy and democracy.For much of the past century, the basic bargain at the heart of Ameri
[Joseph E. Stiglitz] A victory for vultures on Argentinian debt

Sept 8, 2013

NEW YORK ― A recent decision by a United States appeals court threatens to upend global sovereign-debt markets. It may even lead to the U.S. no longer being viewed as a good place to issue sovereign debt. At the very least, it renders non-viable all debt restructurings under the standard debt contracts. In the process, a basic principle of modern capitalism ― that when debtors cannot pay back creditors, a fresh start is needed ― has been overturned.The trouble began a dozen years ago, when Argen
Why France is suddenly America’s best friend

Sept 8, 2013

It’s like we’re living in some kind of alternate universe where traditional paradigms have evaporated around the Syrian conflict. Suddenly, the fate of the world lies almost exclusively in the hands of France and its pragmatic Socialist President Francois Hollande ― and as a-right-winger based in France, I’m strangely comforted by this. France is the kind of friend who won’t always tell you want you want to hear, but they’ll have thought it through.Arguably, no nation is better positioned than F
[Eli Park Sorensen] Hesitating and acting: Obama’s Syrian dilemma

Sept 8, 2013

As the Obama administration these days is trying to win the support of the U.S. Congress for an immediate, albeit limited, intervention in Syria, the Iraqi War lingers in the background like a ghost reminding the global community of the potential consequences of yet another military engagement in the Middle East. The Bush administration’s dubious claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq inevitably cast a shadow of doubt over the White House’s current efforts to persuade world leaders tha
India’s new central banker isn’t a superhero

Sept 6, 2013

The most important indicator of whether India will crash is the sweat on Raghuram Rajan’s brow.The new Reserve Bank of India governor arrived in Mumbai this week with a bang, announcing a slew of reforms to free up and expand the banking sector and to draw more Indians into the formal financial system. The news impressed traders, who staged much-needed rallies in both stocks and the rupee on Sept. 5.India’s economic crisis, however, is still simmering, and Rajan still resembles the proverbial fr
[David Ignatius] Syria nears a turning point

Sept 6, 2013

WASHINGTON ― A top Syrian rebel commander says that U.S. missile strikes could change the balance of the civil war in Syria. But even the Syrian opposition is worried about the political vacuum that might follow U.S. intervention and the possible collapse of President Bashar al-Assad. Gen. Ziad Fahd, the commander of the “southern front” for the Free Syrian Army, urged in a telephone interview Wednesday that the U.S. and its allies attack six air bases and three rocket-launching batteries around
[David Ignatius] Surveillance: A global problem

Sept 5, 2013

WASHINGTON ― With the global furor over the National Security Agency’s surveillance activities, you might think that other governments are refraining from such intrusive monitoring. But recent reports by U.S. technology companies make clear that foreign governments are aggressively compelling the “lawful” disclosure of information, just as the NSA does.The latest indication of the volume of international snooping came last week from Facebook. The company said it had received requests from 74 cou
Aussie voters face a choice: America or China?

Sept 5, 2013

The only international issue to raise a ripple in Australia’s election campaign has been Syria, which Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tried to exploit to highlight opponent Tony Abbott’s inexperience in world affairs. That’s unfortunate, because the most critical choice facing Australians on Sept. 7 isn’t between Rudd and Abbott. It’s between the U.S. and China. Nothing matters more to Australia’s long-term future than managing this increasingly difficult balancing act between the world’s two stronges
Race is on to find successor to Singapore P.M. Lee

Sept 5, 2013

While Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that his successor has not yet been chosen, his actions over the last few weeks suggest that, at the very least, the field is starting to narrow.First, there was the appointment of Education Minister Heng Swee Keat ― already two years into helming his ministry, and fresh from organizing the Our Singapore Conversation ― as the chair of a yet another key national committee, one to commemorate Singapore’s 50th year of independence.Then on We