NewsWhore
02-09-2007, 03:10 PM
Hoy newspaper's editorial today says that the World Food Program (WFP) nutrition indicators should encourage the current authorities to reflect on the poor quality of their social policies. "These figures on hunger and malnutrition should inspire social policy planners to change their attitudes, eradicate politics and political campaigning, and direct their efforts towards improving the people's quality of life, such as nutrition. The editorial says that despite the high growth rate indicators the authorities boast of, these are doubtful given the quality of this economic growth and the base it is built on that entails an increase in the number of poor people. The newspaper encourages the government to change its policies so that more jobs can be created to reduce the number of households that do not have sufficient income to feed their families.
Also writing in Hoy today, journalist Jose Baez Guerrero points out that economic growth in the DR is only reaching the rich. "The worse formulas are ones that assume that wealth is a single cake and the government needs to grab the largest share by imposing more taxes. This is what is being done, instead of more modern policies that have proven that the government should stimulate all possible types of investment, create jobs in the private sector, reduce taxes and promote a climate of transparency and stability that will attract foreign investment, he writes. In his opinion, the current government understands this but remains trapped by the conflicts of interests that paralyze so many initiatives. He mentions impunity and the weak justice system, which scare off foreign investment, and the impression that an important sector of the government is not really committed to fighting corruption. He points out that the country's entry into DR-CAFTA is another example, where the government prefers to continue to benefit by collecting the taxes that are due to be eliminated once the treaty goes into effect.
He writes that the lack of commitment to fight corruption is what is behind the increase in malnutrition, while at the same time more champagne keeps flowing at the tables of people without scruples, who would be filled with shame if they had to explain the origins of their fortunes to their children.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
Also writing in Hoy today, journalist Jose Baez Guerrero points out that economic growth in the DR is only reaching the rich. "The worse formulas are ones that assume that wealth is a single cake and the government needs to grab the largest share by imposing more taxes. This is what is being done, instead of more modern policies that have proven that the government should stimulate all possible types of investment, create jobs in the private sector, reduce taxes and promote a climate of transparency and stability that will attract foreign investment, he writes. In his opinion, the current government understands this but remains trapped by the conflicts of interests that paralyze so many initiatives. He mentions impunity and the weak justice system, which scare off foreign investment, and the impression that an important sector of the government is not really committed to fighting corruption. He points out that the country's entry into DR-CAFTA is another example, where the government prefers to continue to benefit by collecting the taxes that are due to be eliminated once the treaty goes into effect.
He writes that the lack of commitment to fight corruption is what is behind the increase in malnutrition, while at the same time more champagne keeps flowing at the tables of people without scruples, who would be filled with shame if they had to explain the origins of their fortunes to their children.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)