A little sensitive today?

I don’t necessarily look at everything through an educator’s eyes. However, this particular thread is specifically about education so it’s not quite using a hammer where one shouldn’t be used.

In addition, I didn’t join the ranks of educators until after I was already 31 years old so I don’t really consider it my “formal background.”

As for what to cut from the budget or who to tax…that’s a question that deserves a much more in depth answer. But, since we’re talking about the “allocation of existing resources” I’d propose that not building the metro would have made about USD $1 billion available without having to do either.

This is why majority of that 10 % of dominicans that is educated and in a state of crisis usually tries to emigrate to get a better a life. Therefore the country has even less people to count on and make some progress. The country is experiencing a typical “fuga de cerebros” (brain drain)

And I recoginize that when the only tool in your box is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. An educator sees things through the eyes of education. A social worker sees things through those eyes. Someone with a formal economics background sees things through the prism of choices in the allocation of resources.

But again I ask: where will the money come from to put a world class education system in the Dominican Republic. Or even a secodn class system. Specifically, how much of an increase do you propose in real $$$ or pesos, and specifically, what gubmint program will you cut, and who will you tax to accomplish it?

It all comes down to money. If you tire of my “single minede” hang-up, I’ll be more than happy to simply not respond anymore.

*Of course, the U.S. building them back up after bombing them to smithereeens in WWII, and mandating they not be allowed to re-militarize has been a significant help. Maybe the US should bomb the DR.

Educated populations create a hell of a lot more opportunities than uneducated populations. Are you arguing differently?

Japan is overcrowded as hell but the second largest economy in the world because they have an educated population able to shift with the times.

With such a large popuation on such a small spit of land, where are the opportunities to effectively ~use~ a good education? Where will they be coming from? They are very limited.

Many call the 1,000,000 or so Dominicans living elsewhere “economic refugees”. They left primarily to seek better economic opportunities for them selves away from their native country. If you think the situation is bad now, can you imaging adding another 11% to the current population?

Education is a singular pursuit within a group dynamic. The single greatest motivator in seeking a quality education is a lifetime payout in increased economic opportunities. Without them, what is the motivation for the “average” Dominican to dedicate themselves to one?

Personally, I feel that it’s mainly due to a lack of real leadership in these countries. Either they just aren’t getting the quality leadership that is required for a nation to thrive, or that leadership is being ignored; I’m not quite sure which, and it likely varies from country to country.

Using the United States as an example: Look at all of the great leaders and leadership that we’ve have over the years. Even during the English colonial days we had fantastic leadership. I recently had an interesting discussion about the early colonial days of North America and just wrote an article that is related on my blog.

Without John Smith and John Rolfe would Jamestown have even survived and helped North America become what it is today? I don’t think so. Without the founding fathers would we have the United States that we know today? Certainly not. Just as the US would be very different if we didn’t have many great leaders throughout our history.

I think that the same idea can be applied to most countries. Without great leadership it’s difficult for any group of people to better themselves, it’s almost as if many people simply aren’t motivated enough to do anything about their situations. That same idea applies to many Americans as well.

And, yes, it is possible for GDP to increase and poverty to increase, but usually poverty gets re-defined in the process. In the US, poverty has “gone up” since the 60’s War on Poverty, but now the face of poverty doesn’t include gubmint financial aid, and does include cable TV, cell phones, a/c and microwaves. The US doesn’t have many people living in dirt floor shacks any more.

My reference to corruption being $20 per person is accurate. It addressed the premise many folks have that if the amount of $$$ corruption sucks down, thene there would be enough money to go around to solve all the DR’s economic problems. That is just not true. And even if the UN figure in understated by a factor of 4, $80 per person will not correct the country’s problems.

But both beg the point about internal resources. What I state is correct: the problem is not enough internal resources to support the population.

And certainly corruption creates weaker institutions and distrust within the population, furthering the distrust. But as I have also stated that there is no clear desire of the voters of the Dominican Republic to change it.

Why?

Last election the voter turnout was around 71.4%. 94.3% of those voted for one of the two status quo candidates who are part of the entrenched system. That means that over 67% of the voting population voted FOR the status quo. The numbers don’t lie.

My background is economics and business, not social science. I’m not stating that I agree with the Dominican voters. I’m merely drawing a conclusion on what their clear actions are based on the numbers. I do not necessarily agree with what the conclusion is.

I’ve stated before elsewhere that the one single thing that could be done to “fix” many of the inbedded problems with the country we live in would be a real, impartial, performance-based Civil Service System. Taking political connections out of the political process in emplying bureaucrats and gubmint workers would make a single HUGE difference in efficiency and gubmint efficacy. But it won’t happen, because the current political electoral system depends on giving jobs to their supporters.

Do you have a reference on those UN corruption numbers? I’d love to see how they determine the estimate. I’d also submit that it’s an oversimplification to view the amount as “only about $20 per person.” The compounding effect over decades is much larger and contributes greatly to our institutional weaknesses. And it’s those weaknesses that kill us daily, especially when we enter free trade agreements.

Also, I’ve noticed that you always (and I mean always ) Come back to GDP. But It’s possible and even likely in the developing world for GDP to increase (along with a number of other economic factors) but for poverty to INCREASE as well. Need a reference? (see anything recent by Sachs, Friedman, Stiglitz)

Cheers,

RHM

And I agree, it is “a” precondition.

But there is an even more fundamental precondition: internal resources.

Fact is, as I have posted elsewhere before and often when this topic comes up, there are not enough internal economic resources to support the population. The per-capita GDP is around US$4000 per person, and government budget takes around 20% of that. If it weren’t for various forms of foreign aid, remittances and investment, the DR would not be able to operate even at the level it does today. As a resident, I shudder at that thought.

And corruption, although a serious and distasteful problem, isn’t why the country is relatively poor. The UN pegged DR corruption at US$117,000,000 a year. And while that may buy a boatload of jeepetas and mountain cabanas, it comes to only around US$20 per person.

Too many rats in the cage. When that happens, ever morsel of cheese becomes the object of a fight, and the controllers of the cheese make sure they get ~theirs~ first. If there was more cheese, the attutudes of the controllers would be different, and the cage residents would have different attitudes about cheese.

It’s difficult for those of us who come from affluent societies to understand the mindset of those who come from impoverished societies. We are at a different level of cultural Maslowian development.

The REAL question is this: what can Third World and developing nations do to increase their country’s GDP. Because without this, all governmental reforms are moot. And mute.