Representative image Impostor syndrome seems to be more common than actually thought, though at a collective level. People may often feel that the groups they are affiliated with may be underperforming in comparison to other groups. Although this self-critical approach may work in certain cases, it may also overlook the positives, and decrease the morale of those affiliated with the group. Many in India seem to have a collective/national-level impostor syndrome. While the Indian economy is much better placed than its peers in the emerging markets, and other economies, the government is being criticised on the economic front. The criticism comes when the fundamentals of the Indian economy are robust, despite the exogenous shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, monetary policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and inflated crude oil prices. India's macroeconomic health remains robust despite external pressures, and ongoing … [Read more...] about Bibek Debroy writes: India’s economy is better placed than its peers, other economies around the world
Criticism of world bank
In hatred and in haste
A few weeks ago, I was a keynote speaker for a national conference for educators. I talked about teaching critical thinking, which includes encouraging kids to read beyond headlines—and to read carefully before commenting on anything, whether online or offline. A question came up during the open forum: What do we tell people who say that they don’t have time to read? My reply became relevant in the weeks that followed. A few days after the conference, ex-Lamitan mayor Rose Furigay was assassinated on our campus. Within minutes of the event, and despite no official statements or reports, comments sprouted online. A media person claimed that it was the Pinks and Yellows shooting each other down; another wished that Leni Robredo would be next. People laughed at the Ateneo, saying that it got what it deserved for being antigovernment. The insults kept flying, even when the news later showed that the gunman was loyal to the current administration, hateful toward Robredo, and … [Read more...] about In hatred and in haste
Central Planning Fails Just As Much When Conservatives Are the Planners
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It’s a popular narrative on the Left at the moment to say that members of the Right have an unhealthy disdain for “experts.” Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell is a notable critic on the matter, but the view here is that her criticism misses the mark. Reasonable members of the Right don’t loathe experts as much as they dislike central control. Reducing all of this to the absurd, let’s imagine for fun that the smartest individual in the United States is none other than our President, Joe Biden. In a nation populated by geniuses, Biden sitting at the top in terms of intelligence wouldn’t alter a simple truth frequently ignored by the expert reverent: there’s arguably not a fraction yet conceived that could properly convey how small Biden’s knowledge would be relative to the collective knowledge of the American people. All of which hopefully explains why markets always and everywhere beat central planning. It’s … [Read more...] about Central Planning Fails Just As Much When Conservatives Are the Planners
Stock Buyback Tax Will Harm State & Local Pensions
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The growth trajectory of the largest national entitlement programs — Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — has many concerned, understandably so. But state and local unfunded pension liabilities must also be counted among the major challenges to U.S. fiscal health. According to Pew research, unfunded state pension liabilities reached a combined $1.25 trillion in 2019. Other projections that assume more modest investment returns find total unfunded state pension liabilities today in excess of $8 trillion . The trillions of dollars in growing unfunded public pension liabilities, for which taxpayers are ultimately on the hook, is a problem that could soon be exacerbated by a new federal tax in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that will diminish state and local pension plan returns. “We should not increase taxes, and we did not increase taxes,” Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) said about the IRA on NBC’s Meet the … [Read more...] about Stock Buyback Tax Will Harm State & Local Pensions