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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Jan. 31, 2008
/ 24 Shevat 5768
Who's Afraid of Prosperity?
By
John Stossel
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Should we worry that the people of China, India and other undeveloped
countries are getting richer? Apparently so, according to the newspapers
and the "experts" they quote. They don't come right out and say that
global prosperity is bad for us. Instead they say, as The New York Times
recently said, "As development rolls across once-destitute countries at
a breakneck pace, lifting billions out of poverty, demand for food,
metals and fuel is red-hot, and suppliers are struggling to meet it.
Prices are spiraling, and Americans find themselves in what amounts to a
bidding war with overseas buyers for products as diverse as milk and
gasoline."
It is certainly true that China's economy is expanding dramatically
10 percent last year. The Chinese build factories like crazy to pump out
the inexpensive exports we Americans love to buy. To do that, Chinese
producers have to purchase oil, steel and lots of other commodities. The
new demand drives prices up.
And as the Chinese and other people get richer, they improve their diets
and eat more meat, putting pressure on world food prices.
So media handwringers suggest we should worry about the poor becoming
rich.
Actually, we shouldn't. It would be a sad world if one person's economic
success depended on another's failure?
More of us would understand this if we learned what the great economics
writer Henry Hazlitt preached in his classic book, "Economics in One
Lesson": "The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the
immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy."
In the short run, richer Chinese and Indians bid up the prices of
things. But that's just the beginning of the story. Increased demand and
higher prices create opportunities for entrepreneurs.
When the price of, say, oil goes up, entrepreneurs and inventors have a
strong incentive to: 1) find more, 2) find alternatives, and 3) find
ways to use oil more efficiently. You and I cannot foresee what they
will invent, but that means nothing. Predictions about the end of
progress have been issued countless times. There is no reason to think
they will be right this time.
Assuming government stays out of the way. Our current "leaders" are full
of promises about "protecting" workers and industries, creating new
"green" industries, and starting worker-retraining programs. For
example, Hillary Clinton promises government support for "research (to)
stimulate the development of new technologies and life-saving
medicines." Mitt Romney wants "to initiate a bold, far-reaching research
initiative an Energy Revolution, if you will. It will be our
generation's equivalent of the Manhattan Project or the mission to the
moon."
The media lap it up, apparently believing that no one will produce
unless our wise leaders create an inducement. Nonsense.
The market would deliver the goods if government doesn't impose
crippling regulations and tax away everyone's capital to fund its
coercive utopian schemes. I like what Henry David Thoreau once said:
"This government never furthered any enterprise but by the alacrity with
which it got out of the way."
George Mason University economist Alexander Tabarrok has another way to
demonstrate the benefits of spreading prosperity. Tabarrok wrote in
Forbes recently that the bigger the market, the more worthwhile it is
for companies to make products that require costly research and
development, such as medicines and chemicals. As the Chinese and Indians
become more able to buy things, businesses everywhere will find it
profitable to make products that yesterday weren't profitable enough.
The result will be cures for diseases and other products that make our
lives better.
Tabarrok takes this a step further: "Amazingly, there are only about 6
million scientists and engineers in the entire world, nearly a quarter
of whom are in the U.S. Poverty means that millions of potentially
world-class scientists today spend their lives trying to eke out a
subsistence living, rather than leading mankind's charge into the
future. But if the world as a whole were as wealthy as the U.S. and were
devoting the same share of population to research and development, there
would be more than five times as many scientists and engineers
worldwide."
When it comes to being wealthy, the more the merrier.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JUST OUT FROM STOSSEL
Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel --- Why Everything You Know Is Wrong
Stossel mines his 20/20 segments for often engaging challenges to conventional wisdom, presenting a series of "myths" and then deploying an investigative journalism shovel to unearth "truth." This results in snappy debunkings of alarmism, witch-hunts, satanic ritual abuse prosecutions and marketing hokum like the irradiated-foods panic, homeopathic medicine and the notion that bottled water beats tap. Stossel's libertarian convictions make him particularly fond of exposes of government waste and regulatory fiascoes. Sales help fund JWR.
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JWR contributor John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC News' "20/20." To comment, please click here.
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