Articles

By Lucas Leger
Globalization is often associated with delocalization and unfair competition with emergent countries that are flooding us with cheap goods and services regardless of good environmental practices or social benefits these populations should enjoy, like in rich countries. Beyond this spurious assessment hinge the even more fallacious concept of reciprocity that justifies a new form of protectionism and trade tariffs. The last blow to international trade stems from Brussels and its decision to tax imports of Chinese solar panels – from 37% to 68% - even though this could beget a trade war. 

In a recent post, Nicolas Lecaussin is pointing out that tax consequences can be studied as in a lab: some American States can be observed. Taxes were lowered in thirty States. If they gather only 20% of the US population, they have created 65% of US jobs. 
 

 
The Friedman Foundation has published a report about the 22 American States that enforce school choice thanks to vouchers. Children’s work is better, teaching’s quality has improved and the overall cost of the school system is cheaper which is a benefit to low-income families.
 
 

Germany and Finance Minister Wolfgand Schäuble do not press for setting up a banking union and rejects a centralized authority whereas France and Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici are urging to set up the banking union through centralization. The latter position is also the Commission’s. The Eurozone financial convergence will prove to be complex: European negotiations are at a crossroad not knowing which paths to take yet.
 

Big Governments usually do not trust people or companies to improve living conditions. That is why notions of “social justice”, “solidarity”, “equality” and above all “sharing” were hijacked by Governments and turned into an economic principle: redistribution. Since it is believed the Government is the only organization that can be fair and would share wealth without any interests of its own, collectivism has been on the top of political agendas. Reality and practice have blown up this utopian belief: Governments are acting for their own interest, the one of the public sector, hampering the private sector’s growth. Yet “sharing” does not need any Government to be implemented: citizens can do it on their own and be even more generous than Governments could imagine. A recent study done by Sinan Aral, an assistant professor and a Microsoft Faculty fellow at NYU’s Stern School of Business, leads us to believe that economic “sharing” and distribution of “wealth” do not need any Government to be fair. People can be trusted!