Suchergebnisse

The total debt of the United States (US) federal government now exceeds annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This level has historically proved problematic in other countries. The primary driver of the debt is a federal budget deficit that now exceeds $1 trillion per year. Despite forecasts of dire consequences, the deficit and debt have not been controlled, as efforts to make meaningful reductionsincluding plans developed by the bipartisan Bowles-Simpson and Domenici-Rivlin groupshave so far fallen prey to infighting in the political process. This paper examines one approach to eliminate the annual deficit, balance the federal budget, and reduce the federal debt. This approach increases tax revenues with a flat income tax applied to a broader tax base plus a consumption tax. Health and welfare spending is reformed using the Boortz-Linder Prebate and the Bismarck social-insurance health care plan to provide a more comprehensive safety net. Defense spending is reduced by making greater use of reserve forces following the model of Sweden, Switzerland, and Israel, by reducing overseas deployments, and by reforming procurement. Many unnecessary or counterproductive activities are cancelled, transferred to the states, or privatized. Social security is placed on a sound footing for the future. These proposals are based in large part upon programs and procedures that have produced positive results in other countries. This approach is offered not as the only or best solution, but rather to indicate that solution is possible and to lead to further discussion.

An introductory chapter to a special issue on "Poverty Reduction: Critical Perspectives" looks at the work of scholar, teacher, activist Cranford Pratt, who spent years working in Africa, & was one of the first Canadians to teach & write about African politics. He was especially interested in the role of countries like Canada in perpetuating discrimination in southern Africa. His early focus on promoting stability evolved into a broader consideration of how members of the international community could help to decrease global poverty & engender development in Third World countries. His studies of the erosion of humane internationalism led him to use a dominant class approach to develop a general theory of the determinants of Canadian policies toward less developed countries. It is noted that all of the papers, except for the essay by Richard Sandbrook, were initially presented at a symposium in honor of Cranford Pratt held at the U of Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies in Oct 2001. A brief synopsis of each contribution is included. J. Lindroth