Hi Merritt, the IMF doesn't waste taxpayer dollars.. they're loans which so far have had a near perfect record over a 50 year period. I don't even look at it as a loan, but a cultural economic political entity.
Many countries have little operating habits or knowledge of how a market system works. If you and I were to sit down to negociate a contract we'd have a good sense of what's necessary to make it work. Traditions of communism, socialisms, despotisms do business through old habits even as they attempt to democratize their political environment. Its obvious many will have near failures as both internal and external structures evolve to minimize exploitations.
Even Japan, is a relative newcomer after WWII. We certainly don't have the only solution to world economics, its an evolving environment. As many countries including Asia, Russia, East Block, African, and South American states attempt to adopt new models of democratic and free trade goals, they also run the danger of imploding and reverting or converting to less hospitable systems. China is very active in promoting its Asian/political influence for example.
Long term its the smallest price to pay to engender trade partners, resource and manufacturing alliances, markets and allies in a world that gets smaller with every sunrise..
Jim |
