2013 July 15 « Dr Alf's Blog

Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is an interesting article James Traub, published by Foreign Policy. In my view, it’s WORTH A READ.

via Time to Be Bold – By James Traub | Foreign Policy.

The article argues in favor of President Obama seizing the political initiative with Iran and using some of his political capital with the new Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani.

Personally, I am not convinced that this is a good idea. Why should the US take the initiative? Secondly, President Obama seems to have been remarkably slow in intervening in external, non-US, issues and I do not believe that this suggestion will appeal to President Obama’s risk averse personality.

Any thoughts?

Obama taps Susan Rice as national security advisor | The Cable (ramyabdeljabbar.wordpress.com)
Squeal Like a Pig | Foreign Policy (ramyabdeljabbar.wordpress.com)
What Every Presidential Daily Briefing Should Include (theatlantic.com)
Intervention Escalation – By James F. Jeffrey | Foreign Policy (dralfoldman.com)
The Problem With the ‘Privacy Moderates’ (theatlantic.com)

Cropped picture of Joseph Stiglitz, U.S. economist. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Français : Logo de la station de radio britannique BBC World Service. Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/ . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Listen to Nobel Prize winning economist Joe Stiglitz on global inequality. It’s RECOMMENDED LISTENING, in my view (53 mins).

via BBC World Service – Exchanges: The Global Economy, Exchanges: The Global Economy, Joseph Stiglitz.

Here is the BBC’s introduction to the interview:

Professor Joseph Stiglitz joins the BBC’s Justin Rowlatt, a phalanx of French economists and the Parisian public, as they debate the cost of inequality, at Paris Dauphine University.

Professor Stiglitz is a Nobel Prize winning economist, a former advisor of Bill Clinton and former chief economist of the World Bank. His counsel is sought by much of the developing world’s leadership and by progressives across the globe. He has a stark warning to make: inequality is so rampant that all over the world it is depressing economies and dividing societies. Even when they conspicuously live the high life, the rich are incapable of consuming all they earn – the money is piling up and it is a drag on growth. The rest of us – with declining wages and less influence on politicians – are borrowing more to keep living standards the same.

Stiglitz wants to curb financial sectors, restore full employment, get governments to drive growth and raise taxes. Is he right? Can a ‘state-led’ capitalism lead to high growth and stable economies? Is equality really the way to restore health to advanced economies around the world?

This is a brilliant debate in my view and is an excellent example of the best of the BBC World Service.

Any thoughts on increasing inequality?