MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'globalization'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:19:41 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653308&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fhd7HTNdwtwA%2F By Daniel GriswoldBack in February, more than 100 House members introduced a bill that would make it easier to slap duties on imports from China. I explain why picking a trade fight with China would be a bad idea all around in an article just published in the print edition of National Review magazine. Titled “Deal with the Dragon: Trade with the Chinese is good for us, them, and the world,” the article explains why our burgeoning trade with the Middle Kingdom is benefiting Americans as consumers, especially low- and middle-income families that spend a higher share on the everyday consumer items we import from China. We also benefit as producers—China is now the no. 3 market for U.S. exports and by far the fastest growing major market. Chinese investment in Treasury bills keeps intere... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653308 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:36:46 +0100 4653308 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4522090&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJOOwocB9cCQ%2F By Daniel IkensonUniversity of Michigan economist and American Enterprise Institute scholar Mark Perry has an excellent oped in today’s Wall Street Journal [$] about how U.S. manufacturing is thriving.  It can’t be emphasized enough how important it is to present such illuminating, factual, compelling analyses to a public that is starved for the truth and routinely subject to lies, half-baked assertions, and irresponsibly outlandish claims about the state of American manufacturing. The truth matters because U.S. trade and economic policies—your pocketbook—hang in the balance. For more data, facts, and background about the true state of U.S. manufacturing, please see this Cato policy analysis and these opeds (one, two, three). American Manufacturing Continues to Thrive in a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4522090 Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:24:41 +0100 4522090 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399496&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoDrngqB050w%2F By Sallie JamesWhen it became clear that President Obama would make “competitiveness” a theme of his SOTU address, I looked forward to seeing Paul Krugman’s statement pointing out how much nonsense that is. Here he is, after all, in his excellent 1997 book, Pop Internationalism (MIT Press): …International trade, unlike competition among businesses for a limited market, is not a zero-sum game in which one nation’s gain is another’s loss. It is [a] positive-sum game, which is why the word “competitiveness” can be dangerously misleading when applied to international trade. Sure enough, President Obama’s speech last night was peppered with references to “the competition for jobs,” “new jobs and industries take root in this... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399496 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:56:54 +0100 4399496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151759&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFnHReG89DVU%2F By Daniel IkensonAt the beginning of the Obama administration, I had the audacity to hope that the new president would defy conventional wisdom and become a proponent of trade and a good spokesman for its benefits. Scott Lincicome and I even wrote a 20,000-plus word Cato analysis explaining why the economic, geopolitical, and domestic political environment offered the president a unique opportunity to steer his party back to its pro-trade roots. The thrust of our analysis was that, despite the campaign rhetoric, the president understood the economic benefits of trade and that he would see it as an escape route from recession and a path to political success; that the president’s visibility and new cache with his trade-skeptical political party—and the fact that he wasn’t George W. Bus... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151759 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:43:16 +0100 4151759 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139214&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3nvUMBUeJXg%2F By Daniel GriswoldDuring his visit to India, President Obama should bury once and for all his divisive rhetoric about American companies shipping jobs overseas. Our growing commercial ties with India are a great opportunity, not a problem. U.S. exports to India have doubled in the past four years. American companies that have set up shop in India have helped to fuel demand in that country for U.S. products and services. The president should be celebrating rather than demonizing our deeper economic ties with India. Commercial Ties with India Are An Opportunity, Mr. President–Not A Problem is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139214 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 20:00:53 +0100 4139214 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133664&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHv3bLt3_CDY%2F By Swaminathan S. Anklesaria AiyarTo make his coming visit to India meaningful, President Obama needs to combat the impression that India fares better with Republican presidents than Democratic ones, because the latter are instinctively more protectionist. In his quest for economic recovery, he has bashed US corporations that outsource jobs to places like India, forbidden companies getting government rescue funds from outsourcing work, and has now enacted higher visa fees for visiting IT professionals which seem designed to hit Indian companies quite specifically. This may be designed to win votes in the Congressional elections, but will not win hearts and minds in India. President Obama needs to state categorically that he will not follow the Great Depression formula of trying to combat u... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133664 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:00:44 +0100 4133664 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4125048&cid=t_112008_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F11%2F01%2Fmeaning-and-politics-in-museums%2F Roger Cooter and Claudia Stein’s presentation at the conference on “Contemporary medical science and technology as a challenge to museums” in Copenhagen last month was about the politics of knowledge production, with medical museums as a case study. One of Roger’s arguments was that the museums, by placing their historical objects in new, global contexts, overlook the original local meanings and the conflicts involved. The museum ought instead to face the political implications of the objects and urge the visitors to take a stand. Claudia made that point that aesthetics is never neutral; as products of political struggles of decision-making, aesthetics should help provoke such the discussion about such struggles among museum visitors. Read Claudia and Roger’s full abstract here. ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4125048 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 21:08:07 +0100 4125048 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4036624&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRrvAJEDU3Ng%2F By Benjamin H. FriedmanBloggers have already noted the most glaring problems with Arthur Brooks, Edwin Feulner and Bill Kristol’s Monday Wall Street Journal op-ed, “Peace Doesn’t Keep Itself,” which worries that conservatives are figuring out that trying to run the world is not conservative. The op-ed pretends that the fact that defense spending isn’t the largest cause of the deficit means it isn’t a cause of the deficit. It obscures the fact that we spend more on defense than we did in the Cold War by counting the defense budget as a portion of the economy without noting the latter has grown faster than the former. So I can limit myself to less obvious angles. The first is that neoconservatives like Kristol are for increasing the defense budget no matter what. For them ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4036624 Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:19:51 +0100 4036624 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378462&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQ2xIsk1ZHis%2F By Sallie JamesI suspect I may be falling into a publicity trap here, but nonetheless I am unable to resist blogging about an email I received this morning from the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University.  The email contained this teaser: How does cheap food contribute to global hunger?  GDAE’s Timothy A. Wise, in this recent article in Resurgence magazine, explains the contradictory nature of food and agriculture under globalization. He refers to globalization as “the cheapening of everything” and concludes: “Some things just shouldn’t be cheapened. The market is very good at establishing the value of many things but it is not a good substitute for human values. Societies need to determine their own human values, not let the market do it for them. Th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378462 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:14:46 +0100 3378462 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3354297&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsCH1nt1xT6c%2F By Chris Moody Greece, here we come…. Congressional Budget Office estimates budget deficits will average nearly $1 trillion per year for the next decade. Matt Drudge re-titles a Cato op-ed: “Mob Tactics Used to Push Healthcare Through.” Daniel Griswold: “On trade, as on so much else, the populists have it wrong again. Free trade and globalization are great blessings to families across America.“ Could Dennis Kucinich bring both sides of the aisle  together to end the war in Afghanistan? Podcast: “Seventies Redux?” featuring John Samples, author of the forthcoming book The Struggle to Limit Government. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3354297 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:44:14 +0100 3354297 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3331271&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaIbxtY5oaD4%2F By Daniel GriswoldIf you want to witness the clash of two worldviews on trade, check out the online debate I’m having with Ian Fletcher of the U.S. Business and Industry Council. A self-described protectionist, Fletcher has written a new book with the unambiguous title, Free Trade Doesn’t Work: What Should Replace it and Why. In the opposite corner, I argue for eliminating barriers to trade, drawing on my own recent book, Mad about Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization. The debate is being hosted by the International Economic Law and Policy Blog. We’ve already filed two 600-word posts each, with a third to come at the end of this week and concluding arguments early next week. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3331271 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:05:21 +0100 3331271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3231450&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYsUdwzn3Ljo%2F By Cato EditorsGlobalization holds tremendous promise to improve human welfare but can also cause conflicts and crises. How will competition for resources, employment, and growth shape economic policies among developed nations as they attempt to maintain productivity growth, social protections, and extensive political and cultural freedoms? In a new study, Cato scholar Jagadeesh Gokhale offers policy recommendations for developed nations to reduce globalization’s negative effects and, indeed, harness it for solving economic challenges. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3231450 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:47:15 +0100 3231450 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3231462&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFIHIydTTF1U%2F By Chris Moody Another day, another IPCC-gate. Why remaining in Afghanistan and creating a stable government there is not a precondition to keeping America safe. For more, watch the debate on Bloggingheads. Jeffrey Miron: “Leave Mideast, end terrorism.” Could Iran’s nuclear program be a sacrificial pawn? Globalization: A curse or a cure? Podcast: “Liberate Bone Marrow Donors” featuring Jeff Rowes of the Institute for Justice. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3231462 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:19:11 +0100 3231462 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3197610&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F46Mw8U1RmtU%2F By Daniel GriswoldThis has not been a good week for the national Democratic Party. Along with losing the Massachusetts Senate seat, the party took another step toward making hostility to trade liberalization a plank of party orthodoxy. As my Cato colleague Sallie James flagged earlier today, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a press release yesterday criticizing a Republican candidate in upstate New York for contributing to the Cato Institute. And, of course, everyone knows that Cato is “a right wing extremist group that has long been a vocal advocate for extremist, unfair trade policies that would allow companies to ship American jobs overseas.” Among our sins, in the eyes of the DCCC, is that Cato research has supported tariff-reducing trade agreements, such as t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3197610 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:23:51 +0100 3197610 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3149029&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6sJIosoLgDU%2F By Chris Moody The moral and constitutional case for gay marriage. The populists have it wrong. Why free trade and globalization are great blessings to  Americans and poor families around the world. How Obama’s plan for health care will affect medical innovation in America: “Imposing price controls on drugs and treatments–or indirectly forcing their prices down by means of a ‘public option’ or expanded public insurance programs–would reduce the incentive for innovators to develop new treatments.” Register now for the upcoming Cato forum featuring author Tim Carney and his new book, Obamanomics: How Barack Obama Is Bankrupting You and Enriching His Wall Street Friends, Corporate Lobbyists, and Union Bosses. Buy the book, here. Podcast: &#8... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3149029 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:24:59 +0100 3149029 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3149038&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fi4laDEwh48A%2F By Daniel IkensonIn a post at the Enterprise Blog two days ago, economist Mark Perry deftly parodies a typical mainstream media account of trade protectionism by editing the story in redline to contrast its original presentation with its true significance. I recommend reading the whole thing, but here’s the first paragraph: WASHINGTON POST (Reuters) – A U.S. trade panel gave final approval on Wednesday to duties taxes ranging from 10 to 16 percent on cost-conscious firms in the U.S. who purchase low-priced Chinese-made steel pipe rather than high-price domestic pipe, in the biggest U.S. trade case to date against China American companies (and their shareholders, employees, and customers) who shop globally for their inputs and find the best value in China. Perry’s point—and I s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3149038 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:40:45 +0100 3149038 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2981058&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqX9P6h_jem8%2F Import competition can throw Americans out of work. Even advocates of free trade like me will readily acknowledge that fact. And nobody needs to remind the people of Hickory, North Carolina. On the front page of the Washington Post this morning, under the headline, “In N.C., damage not easily mended: Globalization drives unemployment to 15% in one corner of state,” the paper reports in detail how the people of that community are struggling to adjust to a more open U.S. economy: The region has lost more of its jobs to international competition than just about anywhere else in the nation, according to federal trade-assistance statistics, as textile mills have closed, furniture factories have dwindled and even the fiber-optic plants have undergone mass layoffs. The unemployment rate is on... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2981058 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:35:09 +0100 2981058 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2920163&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwdhgSn0tlV8%2F If you are looking for a good book on globalization and trade, an excellent source of ideas is the book review section of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. The site features excerpts and reviews of the latest books covering all aspects of the subject. I have an understandable soft spot for the latest posting, on my new Cato book titled Mad about Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2920163 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:06:06 +0100 2920163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2823958&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQsh0Bh-3sIw%2F Anyone still inclined to minimize the meaning of President Obama’s Chinese tire tariff decision should read George Will’s column today. It is not only the direct costs of this particular decision, which are numerous and tallied in the article (and in this paper), that should concern us. Will’s bigger concern is the foreshadowing of more protectionism from a president who has proven to have no qualms about looking straight into other people’s eyes and claiming that his administration opposes protectionism, favors free trade, and is working to advance pending trade agreements through Congress, all while remaining “invertebrate as he invariably is when organized labor barks.” Is this a sign of schizophrenia? No, it’s worse. What we have here is a president who views trad... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2823958 Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:56:44 +0100 2823958 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2823968&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvVttEbFpft4%2F Bloomberg News reports today that the U.S. House may pass a bill by the end of the year lifting the almost five-decade-old ban on travel to Cuba by American citizens. The step is long overdue. According to the article: A group of House and Senate lawmakers proposed in March ending restrictions to allow all U.S. citizens and residents to travel to Cuba. [Rep. Sam Farr, a California Democrat] said the legislation, known as the “Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act,” also has enough votes to clear the Senate, where Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, and Republican Senator Michael Enzi of Wyoming introduced the legislation. As Rep. Farr succinctly added, “If you are a potato, you can get to Cuba very easily, but if you are a person, you can’t, and that is our problem.” “If yo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2823968 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:07:28 +0100 2823968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2820205&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiGD2fKS-X2A%2F For a fair and authoritative (and did I mention favorable?) assessment of my new Cato book, Mad about Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization, you can read William H. Peterson’s review in today’s Washington Times. Dr. Peterson is an adjunct scholar with the Heritage Foundation and the Ludwig von Mises Institute who holds a Ph.D. in economics from New York City University. In his review he writes: Daniel Griswold’s tour de force explores, reasons and documents how import competition benefits the American consumer, seeing him move ahead toward greater peace incentives, lower real prices, more choices, better quality. Mr. Griswold also tracks how the big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Best Buy deliver the world’s goods mostly by sea via mill... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2820205 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:51:30 +0100 2820205 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2800437&cid=t_112008_105_f&fid=35048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FMedicineAndMan%2F%7E3%2FNhhxwt705pk%2F Funny (and interesting) world map illustrated according to the American viewpoint. Taken from the Synthesis blog post – “The Lombardi curse” addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fmedicineandman.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F09%2F15%2Famerica-and-the-world%2F'; addthis_title = 'America+and+the+World%21'; addthis_pub = ''; (Source: Medicine and Man) Medicine and Man blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2800437 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:32:42 +0100 2800437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2796415&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwM3JfpOAuFs%2F President Obama’s decision to impose a 35 percent tariff on imported tires from China was not an act of statesmanship. The White House admitted as much by announcing its decision at 10 p.m. on Friday evening in order to minimize news coverage. A few union leaders are cheering, but in just about every other way our country is worse off. Among the biggest losers will be low-income American families. The tariffs apply to lower-end tires that sell for $50 or $60 each, compared to $200 for higher-end tires. As The Wall Street Journal reported this morning: The low end of the market will feel the impact of the tariff most, as U.S. manufacturers, who joined the Chinese in opposing the tariffs, have said it isn’t profitable to produce inexpensive tires in domestic plants. “I think wi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2796415 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:25:40 +0100 2796415 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2785911&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fwx02WLjdXqg%2F Michael Tanner on the Obama health care speech: All sizzle, no substance. Why Main Street should embrace globalization. Plus, why international trade doesn’t cause unemployment at home. Should the IRS have the right to share your tax information with foreign governments? How about totalitarian ones? It may not be so far off. Libertarian news anchor John Stossel leaving ABC for Fox. Podcast- Obama: Hey, lets force everyone to have insurance, and fine Americans who don’t comply. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2785911 Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:07:38 +0100 2785911 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2778388&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjerIjbKhW7M%2F Will the President raise taxes on new tires? President Obama will need to decide any day now whether to impose tariffs on lower-end automobile tires imported from China. As my colleague Dan Ikenson has ably argued, the decision will tell us much about whether the president believes trade policy should serve the general interest of all Americans, or whether it is simply a political tool to satisfy key constituencies. Neglected in the news coverage of the pending decision is the impact it could have on consumers. The imported tires targeted by this Section 421 case are of the cheaper variety, the kind that low-income Americans would buy to keep their cars on the road during a recession. If the president decides to impose tariffs, his union supporters will cheer, but “working families’ wi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2778388 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:15:35 +0100 2778388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2715920&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUrtpVTrB35Q%2F Pardon me while I pile on the post earlier today by my colleague Sallie James about the Obama administration refusing to allow more sugar to be imported to the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week declined to relax the quotas the federal government imposes on imported sugar despite soaring domestic prices and understandable complaints from U.S. confectioners and other sugar-consuming businesses about potential shortages. For all his talk about change, President Barack Obama has shown no inclination to pursue meaningful reform of U.S. agricultural programs. He supported the subsidy-laden and protectionist farm bill that finally passed Congress in 2008. On the eve of the U.S. presidential election in October 2008, he wrote a letter to the U.S. sugar industry reminding ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2715920 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:49:07 +0100 2715920 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2625952&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUZ1NYgCkBFg%2F We own three iPods at my house, including a recently purchased iPod Touch. Since many of the iPod parts are made abroad, is my family guilty of allowing our consumer spending to “leak” abroad, depriving the American economy of the consumer stimulus we are told it so desperately needs? If you believe the “Buy American” lectures and legislation coming out of Washington, the answer must be yes. Our friends at ReasonTV have just posted a brilliant video short, “Is Your iPod Unpatriotic?” With government requiring its contractors to buy American-made steel, iron, and manufactured products, is it only a matter of time before the iPod—“Assembled in China,” of all places—comes under scrutiny? You can view the video here: In my upcoming Cato book, Mad about Trade: Why M... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2625952 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:54:03 +0100 2625952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2416796&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIB9XXAMEvwQ%2F Thomas Jefferson famously opined that “the natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground,” but Canada has bucked that gloomy forecast in recent years. As my co-authored op-ed in the Washington Post yesterday showed, Canada has: Cut government spending Cut government debt Balanced its budget consistently Pre-funded its version of Social Security to make it solvent Decentralized power within its federation of provinces Cut taxes, particularly corporate taxes  Meanwhile, the United States has headed in the opposite direction in each of these policy areas. Consider further that Canada has other economic policy advantages over the increasingly uncompetitive welfare state to its south: Canada has more liberal immigration policies for highly... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2416796 Mon, 18 May 2009 19:01:06 +0100 2416796 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375868&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAFLxsmlonfI%2F Despite the recession, globalization continues to exert pressure for beneficial tax reforms. From Tax Notes International today: Jordanian Finance Minister Bassem al-Salem on April 20 confirmed that the government is working on draft legislation that would cut corporate tax rates drastically, reducing them in some cases by more than half. Al-Salem said the government will seek to introduce a single 12 percent tax rate for most corporate entities, although companies in the banking, insurance, and mining sectors would pay tax at a rate of 25 percent. The current corporate tax rates range from 15 percent to 35 percent for different profit levels and also differ by business sector. The draft legislation would also rationalize individual income tax, custom duties, and other taxes to increase e... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375868 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:58:03 +0100 2375868 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2255998&cid=t_112008_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxYhBDG6ePHk%2F El Salvador is becoming an economic success story in Central America, says Cato scholar Juan Carlos Hidalgo. Since 1992, the country has undertaken an aggressive program of liberalization that has transformed its economy and yielded major improvements in various socioeconomic areas. In a new study, Hidalgo explains how El Salvador “is showing the rest of the region how economic freedom can pave the way for development and how globalization offers great opportunities for developing countries that are willing to implement a coherent set of mutually supportive market reforms.” In today’s Cato Daily Podcast, Hidalgo explains how despite recent economic reforms, next week’s election in El Salvador could end with a  government that has great admiration for the policies o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2255998 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:26:12 +0100 2255998 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2108657&cid=t_112008_147_f&fid=38117&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.engageinhealth.com%2F2009%2F01%2Fhealth_across_borders_and_medi.html There is a new paradigm in health. We have long acknowledged the globalization of healthcare. However, we have not always recognized that the globalization of personal health has come along with it. It seems that as health transcends borders, the definition of ‘personal’ is augmented, and the line between ‘my’ health and ‘our’ health is blurred. In the past, when people were sick, they visited their family doctor and, if the condition was severe, they were referred to a hospital or to a higher institution of medical treatment. How things have changed! With the increasing cost of healthcare in traditional mainstays such as Europe and the United States, patients are now traveling abroad to Asia, enjoying discounts of up to 60 to 80 percent compared to prices in the United States... The Health Engagement Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2108657 Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:46:55 +0100 2108657 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1875948&cid=t_112008_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F15%2Fworld-health-report-2008%2F The World Health Report 2008 finds clear inequities within and between countries in health outcomes, in access to care, and in what people have to pay for care. To steer health systems towards better performance and greater equity, the report calls for a revival of the primary health care approach launched 30 years ago. Globalization is putting the social cohesion of many countries under stress, and health systems are clearly not performing as well as they could and should. People are increasingly impatient with the inability of health services to deliver. Few would disagree that health systems need to respond better – and faster – to the challenges of a changing world. PHC can do that. Posted in Deprivation, Equity, Grey Literature, Poverty, Primary Care   Tagged: Depr... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1875948 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:36:54 +0100 1875948 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=638210&cid=t_112008_105_f&fid=35048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FMedicineAndMan%2F%7E3%2F119931580%2F is the winner of the World’s Best Presentation Contest organised by Slideshare. “This is a stylization of a slideshow originally created by Karl Fisch, examining globalization and America’s future in the 21st century. It is designed to stand alone, without having to be presented in person” Enjoy this excellent slideshow. Technorati Tags: Globalization, Presentation, Slideshare, Slideshow (Source: Medicine and Man) Medicine and Man blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=638210 Sat, 26 May 2007 23:27:20 +0100 638210 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=541665&cid=t_112008_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F108906380%2F Stanford Magazine (May/June 2007) asks, What’s the next step in human evolution? Luigi “Luca” Cavalli-Sforza, professor emeritus of genetics, is a pioneer in “genetic geography,” a field that uses DNA to help understand human migration throughout history. …A major genetic change which started already some centuries ago, with the navigation of the oceans, and is becoming faster now, is globalization. This is having major genetic consequences. It will bring back greater unity of the species, by diluting and eventually canceling differences among ethnic groups existing today, that are largely if not exclusively the consequence of adaptation to environments that differ most climatically to which modern humans spread in the last 50,000 years… (Source: ... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=541665 Fri, 13 Apr 2007 22:37:10 +0100 541665