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Commentary half the borrowers in the program do become current within a year. If the lenders and the regulators follow through, they can ease the problem substantially. August 28, Globe and Mail (Canada) <strong>Hudson</strong> scholars publish op-eds and opinion pieces in top publications. For full-length copies of each of the following excerpts, as well as archives of each scholar’s body of work, please visit individual scholars’ homepages at www.hudson.org. September 5, WashingtonPost.com HERBERT LONDON “IN JAPAN, LEADERSHIP AT A CROSSROADS” The recent upper-house elections in Japan served as a wakeup call for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. His party, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), lost its upper-house majority for the first time since its establishment in 1955, making Abe vulnerable to political opponents who may seek to block important legislation and pressure him to call early lower-house elections. Abe rode to power almost a year ago—in September 2006, propelled by his pledge to continue the reformist policies of popular former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. But it is one thing to pledge and another to perform. In 2005, Koizumi’s then-stagnant poll numbers shot up by taking on the anti-reform barons in his own party opposed to the privatization of the postal system. Privatizing the postal system in Japan was a particularly bold move because Japan Post not only delivers mail, but also serves as the nation’s main savings and insurance institution, with $3 trillion in assets. In contrast to Koizumi, Abe reinstated several of the so-called “postal rebels”—those LDP opponents of postal privatization whom Koizumi purged from the party in 2005—in return for a pledge of future obedience. August 29, Wall Street Journal JOHN WEICHER “DESPERATE HOUSE LOANS?” As the subprime problem has worsened, the fi nancial regulators have been encouraging forbearance. Their joint statement in April asked lenders “to work constructively” with homeowners who cannot make their mortgage payments, and to “consider prudent workout arrangements that increase the potential for financially stressed residential borrowers to keep their homes.” The regulators are right. The evidence suggests that forbearance works. The Federal Housing Administration, which insures mortgages to many borrowers with less-than-perfect credit, began a forbearance program in 1999. Lenders try to work out a modified repayment plan if there seems to be a realistic chance that the borrower can catch up. Often there is a realistic chance. In the FHA’s experience, about JOHN O’SULLIVAN “A WORD OF ADVICE FOR BRITAIN’S TORIES” On Europe, for instance, understand that Britain’s economic and political future lies more with Asia and North America (in particular with the socalled anglosphere) than with the European Union. Isn’t this a novel idea requiring long-term intellectual investment? Certainly, but it is one with better prospects of ultimate electoral and practical success than the necrophiliac policy of merging gradually into some new European semi-state entity. And almost any response would be better than the current Tory attitude of primly averting one’s gaze, like a maiden lady frightened by something nasty in the woodshed, whenever these topics intrude on polite political conversation. August 27, Washington Post NINA SHEA “IRAQ’S ENDANGERED MINORITIES” Lebanese Maronite scholar Habib Malik has written that the Middle East’s Christians and other minorities have historically served as moderating influences. Their very presence highlights pluralism, and they are a bridge to the West and its values of individual rights. These communities sponsor schools 18 HUDSON INSTITUTE / FALL 2007
with modern curriculums benefiting all; a prime example was Baghdad’s Jesuit College, whose past students include three Muslim presi den tial candidates in Iraq’s last election. It is in America’s national and moral interests to help Iraq’s Christians and other non-Muslims. The most vulnerable must be given asylum. We must also help those determined to stay. It is not favoritism to acknowledge that they face specific threats that require specific policy remedies apart from the military surge—such as aid and protection to resettle in their traditional Nineveh homelands. August 27, National Review ROBERT BORK “SENATE TO GO GONZO?” [T]he problem created by Gonzales’s resignation is likely to spread well beyond the DOJ and hamstring the remainder of George Bush’s administration. The president must soon nominate a successor to Gonzales, and Senate Democrats are surely con temp lating making the confirmation of that person contingent upon the appointment of a special prosecutor. The appointee will inevitably be charged, among other things, with investigating the firing of eight U. S. attorneys, possible perjury by Gonzales and others who testified before the Senate Judiciary Com mittee, and whatever additional matters Senate Democrats’ fertile imaginations can pack into the special prosecutor’s charter. Grand juries will be convened, subpoenas issued, witnesses badgered, documents demanded from the White House, and so on, through the full repertoire of special prosecutors’ antics. August 9, Gulf News HUSAIN HAQQANI “POVERTY FUELS EXTREMISM” Pakistan’s growth is not creating jobs and is not helping alleviate poverty at a rapid pace. [A former Pakistani finance minister] estimated that 65 million Pakistanis live in absolute poverty while another 65 million live in poverty. Only 30 million Pakistanis are wellto-do. The well-to-do often ignore the rage and anger brewing among the poor, who will be particularly vulnerable to extremist ideologies if political inclusion does not replace the current system of oligarchic rule. Nothing short of a complete overhaul of the state structure under elected democratic leadership, based on rule of law and well-defined roles for all institutions, will bring Pakistan from the brink where it currently finds itself. August 6, Weekly Standard IRWIN STELZER “MR. BROWN GOES TO WASHINGTON” Here is the state of play on the eve of [British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s] visit. Brown’s international development secretary, Douglas Alexander, the prime minister’s closest associate with the exception of [Member of Parliament Ed Balls], travels to America to tell the Council on Foreign Relations that Britain plans to “form new alliances,” and that its foreign policy will emphasize multilateralism and “soft power,” both of which America is supposed to oppose. The press was briefed by Alexander’s staff in advance of the speech to make certain that reporters would notice how the language was chosen to distinguish Britain’s approach to foreign affairs from America’s. Alexander also warns that Britain will no longer measure nations’ might by “what they could destroy,” which will come as a surprise to those who remember that it was the destructive power of the American military that helped prevent Alexander from growing up a German-speaker. July 27, New York Sun DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH “KEEP OUR MONEY HERE” In addition to overturning decades of tax law, raising taxes on financial partnerships would have negative unintended consequences. According to the National Venture Capital Association Yearbook, more than 60 percent of investors are not multimillionaires but pension funds, foundations, and endowments. Mrs. Clinton’s desired tax changes would mean less efficient capital markets, and therefore smaller pensions for millions of retired Americans and fewer foundation grants for charity and research. Partnerships are conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship because they enable those with capital and management experience to team with innovators and entrepreneurs. Raising taxes would curtail entrepreneurs’ ability to plan for the long term. FALL 2007 / HUDSON INSTITUTE 19
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