Naughty and nice list for 2015

So many lumps of coal, so little time. We’ve seen a lot of mischief and bad behavior this year, from mean-spirited campaign pledges to deceptive diesel engines to stubbornly profligate water use. (And that’s not even counting the truly evil deeds of 2015, starting with the Charlie Hebdo killings and running through the massacre in San Bernardino.) But like Santa’s tally, our Naughty ledger has a Nice counterpart, and this year the names included those of an unflappable police chief and, yes, a c

Dec. 29, 2015

‘-ism’, identity the world’s real words of 2015

What’s the word? The “Word of the Year” at Oxford Dictionaries is not even a word. It is an emoji, a digital image that is used in text messages to express an idea or emotion in a style that seems in my eyes to be aimed at illiterates.　Oxford Dictionaries justified this selection by citing an explosion in “emoji culture” over the last year and not, as I fear, a collapse in the public’s desire to read.　“It’s flexible, immediate and infuses tone beautifully,” Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford

Dec. 29, 2015

2015: The most hyperbolic year ever

It’s the end of the year, when newspaper columnists are supposed to fill in the blank — “2015 was the year of ____ ” — and decide whether the phenomenon in question falls into the category of “good thing” or “good riddance.”　This year, however, so much of what happened has been framed as larger-than-life, as history in the making that I find myself at a loss when it comes to identifying the One Defining Trend.　There was the big stuff, like guns, refugees and government dysfunction. And then ther

Dec. 29, 2015

Cronyism causes worst kind of inequality

Economic inequality has skyrocketed in the U.S. during the past few decades. That has prompted many calls for government policies to reverse that trend. Defenders of the status quo argue that rising inequality is a necessary byproduct of economic growth -- if we don’t allow people the chance to become extremely rich, the thinking goes, they will stop working, investing, saving and starting businesses. A receding tide will then cause all boats to sink. 　Critics of the status quo have responded wi

Dec. 28, 2015

Terrorists with assault weapons rewrite script

Over the last 15 years, Americans have become accustomed to distinguishing domestic mass shootings from Islamic terrorism -- the difference between Columbine and the Sept. 11 attacks, if you will. In 2015, that conceptual division broke down with the massacre in San Bernardino, California. It wasn’t the first domestic act of terrorism inspired by Islam -- Army Major Nidal Hasan’s attack on Fort Hood and the Boston Marathon bombing both featured American Muslim terrorists. But San Bernardino was

Dec. 28, 2015

Fight poverty from radical political center

The main casualty of Washington’s endless partisan squabbling is a pragmatic approach to policy -- meaning one that prefers results to noise. Ideological warriors of left and right say centrism of this kind is mere cover for cynical deal-making, splitting the difference and substituting platitudes for principles. They’re wrong, and proof is at hand.　　A working group convened by the (conservative) American Enterprise Institute and the (liberal) Brookings Institution has just produced an excellent

Dec. 28, 2015

[Joseph R. Mason] Ending U.S. oil export ban good but not enough

Congress passed legislation lifting the 1970s-era ban on crude oil exports. While it is great that Congress ended this outdated policy, there is more work to do to realize America’s full energy potential.　Under current policies, the government continues to keep federal lands off limits to energy production. Earlier this year, the administration proposed a wilderness plan for Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to starve the Alaska pipeline, while others want to deny Americans their energy resources

Dec. 27, 2015

[Leonid Bershidsky] Berlin right to flout Russia sanctions

Germany has rallied Europe in support of Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia, but has been less diligent in their implementation. German leaders back these ineffectual measures primarily to humor the U.S. and are rightly unwilling to suffer too much for them.　In a recent speech to her CDU party, which ended with a nine-minute standing ovation, Chancellor Angela Merkel said of the sanctions: It was the right reaction, no matter how much we’d like to keep a good relationship with Russia. We m

Dec. 27, 2015

[Howard Davies] Political consequences of financial crises

I may not be the only finance professor who, when setting essay topics for his or her students, has resorted to a question along the following lines: “In your view, was the global financial crisis caused primarily by too much government intervention in financial markets, or by too little?” When confronted with this either/or question, my most recent class split three ways.　Roughly a third, mesmerized by the meretricious appeal of the Efficient Market Hypothesis, argued that governments were the

Dec. 27, 2015

Strengthened IMF benefits U.S. and world　

Overlooked in the circus of national politics this past week was a small victory for U.S. global leadership and common sense -- in the bipartisan agreement to restore full U.S. support for the International Monetary Fund.　This move, part of what’s known as “quota reform” of the IMF, should have been a no-brainer when it was proposed five years ago. The modernization plan will expand the voting power of emerging economies such as China and India in the IMF, and modestly reduce that of European co

Dec. 24, 2015

We must do more to help H.K. street sleepers

On Dec. 13, a 59-year-old street sleeper who had worked as a food delivery worker was found dead at the intersection of Fa Yuen Street and Nullah Road in Kowloon’s Mong Kok district.　Two months earlier, a homeless woman was found dead in a 24-hour McDonald’s at a public housing estate in Kowloon Bay in Kowloon. It is believed, from security camera footage that she was a street sleeper who regularly spent her nights in McDonald’s. 　These are terribly sad stories at a time when people are preparin

Dec. 24, 2015

India returns to Russia for weapons procurement

　A tactical imperative and a strategic rekindling of relations could both result from the Defense Acquisition Council’s clearing the purchase of five advanced S-400 Triumph antiballistic missile systems from Russia.　The price, an estimated 350 billion rupees, or about $5.28 billion (to be paid in hard currency), would certainly be duly appreciated by the Russians, who have their economic difficulties given the shrinking of dealings with the West. A major gap in the Indian defense shield would be

Dec. 24, 2015

Thai government crowing over precious little

The Thai government will today formally list its accomplishments after a year in office. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his Cabinet will be on hand for the unveiling of an exhibition outside the Government House that continues through Saturday. 　Keeping the public informed is fine, and politicians can’t be faulted for wanting to boast about gains they’ve made on the country’s behalf. But this is, after all, a military-installed government, and Prayuth goes on TV every Friday to declare wha

Dec. 24, 2015