AUSTIN, Texas ― The twin revelations of the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative political organizations and, now, that the U.S. Justice Department was spying on the Associated Press ― all in a few days ― mean this: It is time to air the dirty laundry of this administration’s intelligence and surveillance programs ― and it is way past time for heads to roll in Washington.Love it, like it or hate it, one thing is clear about the Obama administration: It is addicted to secrecy. First, C

Viewpoints May 19, 2013

Ten years ago this month, President George W. Bush climbed confidently from the cockpit of a fighter jet that had landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln flight deck. He strode to the microphone and declared an end to major military operations in Iraq.Behind him fluttered that infamous banner that declared “Mission Accomplished,” an embarrassing artifact that nonetheless is housed in the new library he dedicated last month.A great deal has been written about the miserable failure of the Iraq war. Much

Viewpoints May 19, 2013

PARIS ― Hardly a day goes by without America-bashers accusing the U.S. of “imperialism” or “interventionism.” Meanwhile, China is largely exempt from that sort of criticism from the same crowd. If only they’d listen to the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and a few other stray voices.In late 2011, I had the privilege of sitting on a panel in Morocco with Lamido Sanusi, the aforementioned Central Bank of Nigeria governor, who’s on a mission to clean up Nigerian corruption. Sanusi told me t

Viewpoints May 16, 2013

The government has started to churn out detailed policy measures geared toward realizing President Park Geun-hye’s economic vision ― building a “creative economy.” On Wednesday, the government unveiled steps aimed at boosting investment in venture companies, the key players in an innovation-driven economy.The package is highlighted by measures designed to ensure that capital invested in venture companies is easily recouped and re-invested. Thus far, the government has focused on supporting ventu

Editorial May 16, 2013

The government has come up with a plan to reform the National Basic Living Security System, a social safety net designed to provide income security for people in poverty.The proposal is aimed at increasing the number of beneficiaries by easing the eligibility criteria and changing the way benefits are provided. According to a government estimate, the proposed changes will boost the total number of recipients from 1.4 million to 2.2 million.The safety net needs to be expanded in light of the wors

Editorial May 16, 2013

The title of a book by the late American sinologist Benjamin I. Schwartz, “In Search of Wealth and Power,” rather accurately sums up the preoccupation of generations of Chinese intellectuals, reformers and revolutionaries in modern times. These men and women, with varying degree of success, sought to stem the tide of imperialist encroachment on China in its struggle for survival in the modern world, principally by unlocking the secret to “wealth and power.” A wealthy and strong China, one that i

Viewpoints May 16, 2013

Republicans in Congress are so hungry for scalps, they just can’t leave well enough alone. The scandal engulfing the Internal Revenue Service is a story that’s playing to their benefit. Yesterday, after having the weekend to think about it, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida puffed himself up and called on the president to “demand the IRS commissioner’s resignation, effectively immediately.” Only one problem: The position of IRS commissioner is currently vacant. (Rubio’s spokesman later clarified he wa

Viewpoints May 15, 2013

It sounds like a Bond villain’s idle fantasy. An enchanted machine that can produce any instrument of criminality you can think of: weapons, money, illicit keys, magical pills. Three-dimensional printers, as it happens, may soon be able to produce all this ― if they aren’t doing so already. We’ve argued that these machines could have significant economic and social benefits. But as with all human creations, they will also have a dark side. The critical thing for government, as it contemplates th

Viewpoints May 15, 2013

The sexual abuse scandal involving a now-sacked presidential spokesman has exposed another big hole in the governance system of the Blue House. The first hole needs no further explanation. A series of personnel appointment debacles by President Park Geun-hye a couple of months ago showed that the presidential office lacked a system that could help her pick the right person for the right post. This hole still needs to be plugged.The newly identified hole concerns crisis management. The way the gr

Editorial May 14, 2013

About three years have passed since the government launched a campaign to promote mutual prosperity between big companies and their smaller partners. Yet the deeply entrenched practice of large corporations bullying their suppliers still remains firmly in place.This is well illustrated by recent surveys. In a survey of CEOs of small firms, many respondents cited unfair demands for price reductions from their principal contractors as the biggest obstacle to mutual growth.Another major obstacle wa

Editorial May 14, 2013

The smile on Kazuo Hirai’s face shows why the yen’s drop below 100-to-the-dollar is as much a curse for Japan as a blessing. The Sony Corp. chief executive officer is beaming because his company has produced its first profit in years. Did the troubled giant that redefined consumer electronics with the transistor radio and then the Walkman dream up a new gadget better than Apple Inc.’s iPhone, iPad or iPod? No. Has Sony raised productivity or halted dangerous infighting between departments? Nope.

Viewpoints May 14, 2013