That 1999 Time magazine cover is finally catching up with Lawrence Summers. That was the year Summers was celebrated along with Alan Greenspan and Robert Rubin as “The Committee to Save the World” for their free-market solutions to Asia’s financial crisis. The timing always struck Asians as odd, given that they were still picking up the pieces from a meltdown made worse by the trio’s ill-conceived and overbearing remedies. That baggage is but one reason many in Asia favor Janet Yellen over Summe

Viewpoints Aug. 6, 2013

The same House of Representatives that just voted to speed up the end of U.S. combat missions in Afghanistan seems eager to embroil America in another war in the greater Mideast ― with Iran.In high dudgeon, House members voted, 400-20, last week for more harsh economic sanctions on Tehran ― just before the inauguration of Iran’s president-elect, Hassan Rouhani. The new Iranian leader says he wants to ease tensions with Washington, and has signaled he may be ready to limit Iran’s nuclear program.

Viewpoints Aug. 6, 2013

In 16th-century England, Thomas Gresham formulated what is now known as Gresham’s law, which stipulates that bad money drives out good. Paper money tends to circulate more freely than silver, and silver more freely than gold, because people hoard whatever type of money is seen as best. It’s why we spend those torn dollar bills first. I have no problem with this. It might even be a good thing, because it expands the money supply and credit. But I do have a problem when a similar dynamic takes ove

Viewpoints Aug. 6, 2013

The U.S. House of Representatives has a peculiar way of welcoming Iran’s new president. Just days before today’s inauguration of Hassan Rohani, who has vowed to improve relations with the outside world and bring transparency to Iran’s nuclear program, the House approved legislation that would impose the harshest sanctions to date on Iran. It’s possible to doubt both the sincerity of Rohani’s pledges (or at least his ability to follow through on them) and the value of the House’s legislation. Par

Viewpoints Aug. 5, 2013

Democrats and Republicans, bracing for a game of chicken over a possible government shutdown and a debt-ceiling default, should rewatch the 1955 movie, “Rebel Without a Cause,” starring the American icon James Dean. A thug challenges Dean’s character to race their stolen cars toward an abyss. The first driver who jumps out of his speeding vehicle is a coward. Dean leaps just as his car is about to go over the cliff; the other guy’s leather jacket gets ensnared in the door handle, and he plunges

Viewpoints Aug. 5, 2013

Perhaps the most promising thing that can be said about anticipated Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations is that we don’t know much about them. After hosting talks about talks in Washington this week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said formal discussions would begin within two weeks. No terms of reference were announced, so it’s not clear whether the two sides will begin where previous negotiations left off, from scratch or somewhere in between. This is a plus. When commentators, politici

Viewpoints Aug. 2, 2013

For American forces in Afghanistan, this should be the last straw.It started in early July, when President Obama was once again so furious with Afghan President Hamid Karzai that for the first time he began talking about the so-called “Zero Option” ― bringing home the entire American military presence next year.This came after Karzai lambasted the U.S. for trying to arrange peace negotiations with the Taliban. Lost in his latest fit of pique, Karzai summarily terminated the continuing negotiatio

Viewpoints Aug. 1, 2013

Public trust in the nation’s tax office has taken another tumble with the emergence of allegations that a former chief of the National Tax Service took bribes from CJ Group in return for favors during a tax audit years ago.Prosecutors have already arrested Heo Byung-yik, a former deputy commissioner of the NTS, on suspicion that he took bribes from CJ, a food and entertainment conglomerate whose chairman, Lee Jay-hyun, was recently indicted on charges of dodging taxes and misappropriating corpor

Editorial July 31, 2013

The Cabinet has finally approved the so-called “Kim Young-ran Bill” aimed at rooting out corruption in officialdom. It was almost a year after Kim Young-ran, then chairwoman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, first put forward a draft bill. The main cause of the long delay was disagreement between the anti-corruption commission and the Ministry of Justice over some of Kim’s proposals.Kim, who had also served as a Supreme Court justice, wrote the bill to plug the big loopholes in

Editorial July 31, 2013

Iran will inaugurate its seventh president on Aug. 4. Hassan Rouhani assumes power at a time when the Islamic Republic is confronting international isolation and simmering domestic discontent. He has already changed the tone of the regime, promising moderation and a fresh look at Iran’s many quandaries. The temptation to embrace an Iranian politician who speaks the language of pragmatism may prove irresistible. However, as Rouhani settles into office, it is best to hold back and see how much aut

Viewpoints July 31, 2013