Charlie Rose

tartufe  05/05/2009 01:22 PM Report

Were I better equipped, I would have said what REMant said. As it is I resort to blunt instruments. Like I know he's a self serving scoundrel, why doesn't the world?

Particularly like Mant's, ". . . I do not see how avoiding the issue of repairing our moral decline can be a good course of action." As I too do not see it. Given the relative magnitude of a sentence for a convenient store robbery and what is morally due the financial wise-guys for the abject misery they have caused, we are irrevocably stained until some and many of the perps are fined proportional to the misery and likewise imprisoned proportionally to that of a convenience store robbery sentence. For the rest of their grubby, grabbing mean-spirited little lives in short.

Alas, the corrosion is too endemic for that to happen. Probably a law-of-cultures that they get what they deserve ultimately. A la the decline and fall of the Roman empire.

REMant  05/05/2009 01:24 AM Report

Zoellick is I suppose to be considered a Reagan-era Wanniski-ite. But, despite Wanniski's "research," trade barriers had little to do with either Crash or Depression and I do not see how avoiding the issue of repairing our moral decline can be a good course of action. Our greatest asset at the moment except for our military is that the dollar is the world's reserve currency, but that relies ultimately on the US as the primary mkt and buyer of last resort, which undoubtedly can't continue. He is certainly right that the Chinese can't continue to subsidize us in this respect. He has been a protege of James Baker, and a loyal Republican mafiosi. Looking at his resume I also notice another guy in the inner circles of military policy, who avoided service himself during the Vietnam era, and who's held several economic policy positions without a comprehensive knowledge of economics, as well as, far too many jobs to possibly ever had time to acquire any. A number of ppl have noticed the hypocrisy in the position held by these ppl analogous to Britain's during the 19th c (and as much of the 20th as they could manage) of free trade only when they benefited from it. His views appear to be in the main those of typical American manifest destiny and exceptionalism, and, I take it, a rather antiquated and patronizing view of "economic development." He backed the invasion of Iraq. And he must also bear some responsibility for the mortgage mess.

tartufe  05/04/2009 10:48 PM Report

Zoellick comes off as very astute which merely adds to the potential exploitive outcome of the international manipulators. A la more of the same from the financial wise-guys - as in too clever by fractions. He's merely an international extension of the domestic ne'er-do-wells. He and Bobby Rubin are doubtless bosom buddies jointly laughing up their sleeves on their Bahama based yachts.

Shaft  05/04/2009 08:25 PM Report

Mr. Rose thanks for the nice conversation, good questions. This is another important episode as far as Africa is concerned. I would like to be frank with Mr. Zoellick, World Bank (WB) has been extremely meddlesome in African politics and create more mess than the help it extended, essentially earning it bad name. For instance, recently the same WB gave Ethiopia the finance it to needed to invade Somalia, and without it Ethiopia would never have invaded Somalia. So in that regard WB has been an arm of econo-colonization.

patriceweber  05/04/2009 04:07 AM Report

@George

I never said that the IMF or the World Bank don't need reforms and that their past behaviors have been less than perfect. I was commenting on Robert Zoellick intellect and his analysis on the complex role those institutions might play, if run properly.

I've long been aware of the policies flaws pushed by those institutions on developing and emerging economies when a crisis hit.

Nonetheless, the current recession the world is experiencing will hopefully change the dynamics in the North/South relationship.

BTW I live in the "real world" and when you're willing to come down your pedestal, we can have a conversation.

Sincerely

george  05/03/2009 02:29 PM Report

Sounds smooth if one knows nothing beyond cartel news and conversations like this.

But search "conditionalities+Greg Palast", along with World Bank and IMF and learn something about the real world.

Why Charlie Rose puts no difficult questions to this man, I don't know. Very disappointing that he does not do so.

patriceweber  05/02/2009 07:24 PM Report

Robert Zoellick is quite an impressive man. I've rarely listen to someone which such a synthetic and analytic mind combined. A sharp intellect indeed.

@avidreader : I don't get where your criticism comes from, listen to the interview once more.

tartufe  05/02/2009 02:28 PM Report

The best counter to Zoellick's drivel is the book "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man," by John Perkins. The World Bank and their related blood suckers, a la Asian Development Bank, USAID, Interamaerican Dev Banks, yadda yadda send in American consulting firms to over inflate potentials of American engineered and built projects and saddle them with debt they can't repay and then impose draconian economics on them making them chattels of the empire.

Shades of McNamara. Wouldn't buy a used car from him.

avidreader  05/02/2009 01:49 PM Report

Comparing US consumption and China’s saving, Zoellick says that “one is not more morally righteous than the other” (17:00 min to 17:45). It’s this kind of mindset that is going to lead our (US) ruin and lead to China controlling world economy.

Zoellick, like previous western leaders, focus erroneously on the environment issues (and political freedom in the past). We are fixated on issues that they won’t budge on or will move in a limited way so they can earn kudos for their flexibility. It is a distraction from the real trade issues. If anything US needs to develop environmental cleanup product and services that we can sell to the Chinese.