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My thoughts on Wolfowitz
Brad DeLong sums them up.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on May 10, 2007 at 02:03 AM in Current Affairs | Permalink
Comments
Now would be a good time to just shut the whole thing down. The bank serves no meaningful purpose other than to provide jobs to a bunch of recalcitrant economists; who only brought this back room deal to light when one of them got pissed that Riza was to skip to the head of the gravy train, not for reasons of good public stewardship and governance.
Posted by: Shaun M. at May 10, 2007 2:53:25 AM
This is a Bush plot to shut down the IMF. :-)
My bet is that this blows up and all the good the IMF does will go for nought.
Luckily the IMF doesn't do any good. At least that's what President for life Hugo thinks.
Posted by: Huggy at May 10, 2007 8:05:31 AM
I apologize. I've mixed up the IMF and the Worldbank. That's what I get for being snarky.
Posted by: Huggy at May 10, 2007 8:09:26 AM
I'm sure that this is business as usual at the World Bank (the patronage and cronyism and nepotism). If anybody else did it, nary an eyebrow would be raised. But because its Wolfowitz, the insider phonies figure it's a conveniant time to become high and mighty about cronyism and patronage.
Of course, this doesn't speak well of Wolfowitz's political acumen. He must have known he had a target on his back since coming to the WB, so providing his enemies with ammunition is just plain dumb. Or unspeakably naive.
Posted by: bartman at May 10, 2007 11:49:29 AM
This is Brad DeLong's inner two-year-old:
'I don't know but I think I can guess what the story Paul Wolfowitz tells himself is, and it goes like this:...'
I don't know, but I'm going to slander someone I don't like.
What a waste of a good economist.
Posted by: Patrick R. Sullivan at May 10, 2007 12:30:25 PM
The funny thing is that if the IMF (not the WB) is shut down, it might put the bonds of a large number of developing countries in "technical default" as Mr. Chavez discovered when he contemplated leaving the IMF recently.
Posted by: Mr. Econotarian at May 10, 2007 1:02:15 PM
I doubt DeLong has a clue whether Wolfowitz is a good president or not. His inner two year old tells him he's not, why would he argue with a two year old.
I like looking back on the full transcript of the 2003 Vanity Fair interview with Wolfowitz when people slander him. After reading it, it's really hard to have anything but respect for the man.
Posted by: aaron at May 10, 2007 1:12:28 PM
I used to think the people who went on and on about the World Bank and IMF were crazy. Maybe they're reasoning is still crazy, but their policy prescription looks better all the time.
Posted by: 8 at May 10, 2007 2:08:32 PM
Regarding the WB and the IMF, the latter really is about to go out of business. Its major client these
days is Turkey. If Turkey were to go off the IMF dole, the place would be nearly bankrupt for a lack of
interest income on outstanding loans. However, the WB continues to make plenty of loans, although one
can argue that they are misguided in terms of countries or projects or badly spent due to corruption or
a variety of other matters.
I agree with the both Tyler and Brad. A major bottom line is that if you are going to go around
campaigning against corruption, then you had better avoid even the appearance of it yourself. It is
not just PW himself who has failed so to avoid it, but his aide Robin Cleveland as well. Just being
cynical that "everybody does it at the WB" will not cut it.
BTW, I have known Paul Wolfowitz for nearly a half a century. He is an absolutely brilliant man, if
misguided. But he has really fallen into a deep swamp of his own making. He should resign. Anyone
curious about my more at length discussion of all this, including much background on PW, go check
the posting and comments in "Paul D. Wolfowitz Must Go," by me, now in the archives of maxspeak.
Posted by: Barkley Rosser at May 10, 2007 3:40:29 PM
Wolfie needs too be fired from the World Bank. He is a black plague, the worst cancer in the Western society.
FB Wilcoxen
Posted by: fb wilcoxen at May 10, 2007 8:06:47 PM
Seems Soros might have a hand in this.
Posted by: Sandy P at May 11, 2007 1:59:14 AM
It should only be about what is right or wrong.
Although I was an Executive Director at the World Bank, 2002-2004, I arrived there directly from the private sector and so I might not know much about the nuances of diplomatic affairs but, the way I see it, perhaps I am better off so.
The Ethics Committee proposed a solution to Mr Wolfowitz’ conflict of interest that could have entailed having the poverty fighting World Bank to pay out US$1.950.000 over ten years (US$ 130.000 plus 50% benefits per year) and that, no matter how we read it, is just plain crazy. Then Mr Wolfowitz, who as President should know that something does not have to be right just because an Ethics Committee says so, raised the potential cost for the bank of what is delicately phrased as a secondment to US$2.700.000, or more.
Wolfowitz needs now to resign but the overwhelmingly good staff, management, board members and presidents, present or past of the World Bank, as well as a world that needs a respected multilateral institution where global challenges can be discussed, they all deserve that this issue should exclusively be about right or wrong and not just a banal pro or against Wolfowitz political row.
Posted by: Per Kurowski at May 12, 2007 8:06:57 AM
Let us keep the eyes on the ball!
If we want good government results that have a chance of doing what is humanly good for humanity, in a shrinking world, that could only happen through more credible and better governed multinational institutions. But in this case, while rolling up or shirtsleeves to get going at it, we must also learn about how to prioritize our efforts.
Instead of beating the good guy on the head, just because he is more amenable to being beaten on the head, and start with a World Bank and that no matter Wolfowitz and some others, in relative terms, still stands out as a shining example of relative good governance in the world, we should all concentrate more on where good governance is much more lacking and much more needed, namely the United Nations.
May I humbly suggest we keep our eyes on the ball!
Per Kurowski
Chairman
The Voice and Noise Foundation for International Development and Global Strategic Action
http://perkurowski.blogspot.com/
http://teawithft.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Per Kurowski at May 19, 2007 12:31:52 PM
Posted by: 鑽石 at Apr 2, 2008 8:26:12 PM
