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Article Artículo

Government

Never Mind: America Speaks Again

Yes Saturday Night Live fans, Emily Litella is back! For those too young or too old to remember, Emily Litella was the frumpy commentator on Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update.” She would go invariably go into a tirade over some misunderstood word or phrase. Ms. Litella would then be corrected by Jane Curtin, the news show’s impeccably dressed anchor (e.g. that’s endangered “species,” not feces), and then conclude with, “never mind.”

It appears that Ms. Litella has been reincarnated in the form of America Speaks. America Speaks is an organization that was funded by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation to host a series of town halls around the country to discuss the country’s long-term budget problems. The format was rigged so as to force people to support cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

For example, America Speaks told participants that health care reform was off the table so that the only way to save budget dollars was to cut back programs like Medicare and Medicaid. So that participants would not get ideas about taxing Wall Street, the America Speaks budget booklet underestimated the revenue potentially available from a tax on financial speculation by an order of magnitude.

In spite of the rigged deck, the event did not turn out quite as planned. Progressive national organizations like the Campaign for America’s Future and Moveon.org, along with many state level groups, worked to get supporters at the town halls. As a result, cutting Social Security and Medicare proved to be relatively unpopular routes for reducing the deficit, whereas cutting defense spending and higher taxes on the wealthy and Wall Street proved quite popular.

CEPR / July 23, 2010

Article Artículo

Ansel Herz: "How to Write About Haiti"
After the initial whirlwind of coverage of the earthquake the media's attention wained considerably. Last week, which marked sixth months since the quake, saw a spike in coverage as many journalists returned to Haiti for the first time since immediately after the devastating event. Independent journalist Ansel Herz, who was in Haiti for the earthquake, and has remained their since, provided a helpful list for journalists on "how to write about Haiti":
I’ve been on the ground in Port-au-Prince working as an independent journalist for the past ten months. I’m an earthquake survivor who’s seen the big-time reporters come and go. They’re doing such a stellar job and I want to help out, so I’ve written this handy guide for when they come back on the one-year anniversary of the January quake!(Cross-published on the Huffington Post, inspired by this piece in Granta.)

For starters, always use the phrase ‘the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.’ Your audience must be reminded again of Haiti’s exceptional poverty. It’s doubtful that other articles have mentioned this fact.

You are struck by the ‘resilience’ of the Haitian people. They will survive no matter how poor they are. They are stoic, they rarely complain, and so they are admirable. The best poor person is one who suffers quietly. A two-sentence quote about their misery fitting neatly into your story is all that’s needed.

Jake Johnston / July 23, 2010

Article Artículo

IMF Cancels Debt but New Loan Raises New Questions
Yesterday the International Monetary Fund announced they were cancelling Haiti's outstanding debt of $268 million. Many countries have already cancelled bilateral debts, and other multilateral organizations such as the World Bank have also cancelled Haiti's debt. Although interest rates on the outstanding loans were zero until 2012, the IMF projected that obligations would reach nearly 3 percent of government revenue by 2014. The debt relief includes the $112 million loan made in the aftermath of the earthquake.

At the same time, however, the IMF extended a loan of $60 milllion to Haiti. It is highly concessionary, with no interest until end 2011, and a five and half year grace period. However, while the World Bank and IDB have offered money to Haiti in the form of grants, the IMF continues to use business as usual. Jubilee USA, who have long advocated for debt relief, released a statement that reads:
“The IMF is taking two steps forward and one step back. This is a precedent-setting moment as the IMF has agreed to use internal resources to cancel the debt of a country facing extraordinary need. But, unfortunately, this good news is undermined by the IMF’s new loan. The role of the IMF in Haiti has been long criticized, and this new loan could set Haiti on the wrong path toward a new cycle of debt. The IMF must go further by using its new Post-Catastrophe Trust Fund to provide assistance on grant terms and ensure that this comes without harmful conditions,” says [Eric] LeCompte [Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network].

Jake Johnston / July 22, 2010

Article Artículo

Haiti: From Bad to Worse, Because of Policy Decisions
Mark Schuller, who has written extensively on the role of NGO's in Haiti, and who has been providing invaluable information on the ground since the earthquake, writes today about missed opportunities and the immense challenges that remain. Despite goodwill and a sense of unity after the earthquake, more recently the old divisions in Haiti have resurfaced. On a topic we have written about previously, Schuller writes:
Yesterday the CEP, the Provisional Elections Commission, reiterated a decision made in 2009 to exclude Fanmi Lavalas, the party of exiled president Aristide, from this year's legislative elections that were originally scheduled earlier this year but postponed. Although not to the extent of giving out medals, the UN proclaimed last year's elections that also excluded Fanmi Lavalas and where almost no one voted, a success.
Meanwhile, the gaps between rich and poor have only become starker. While hundreds of thousands are fighting for cash-for-work jobs:
Haiti's educated middle class, Diaspora, and foreign consultant zoom by in new air-conditioned cars, some making as much as $1000 per day. Some foreign aid workers even stayed at the "Love Boat" - a U.N. ship costing $112,500 per day, or the price of 100 "T-shelters."

Jake Johnston / July 21, 2010