The Ethics of Hope

In a movie i recently saw, the main character was asked an interesting question, due to the different alternatives to respond it and how to interpret those answers. Bear in mind the nature of the background, WW II; the question was about choosing a word between: faith, hope and love; and the answer picked by the actress in this case, was “hope”.

The word “hope”, must be at the height of the preferences of readers, taking in consideration the current circumstances of economic slowdown in most parts of world; and financial instability, as a result of the european debt crisis. But, What part of the definition of “hope” will set us free?

Part of the “financial armagedon”, as many analysts have described the chaos we all live in, are the result of lack of business ethics and beyond that, the inability of the political class to forsee the creation of a framework to regulate it and therefore enforce it, so who is to be blamed for this global mess?

Greed, is to be blamed and the alluring gifts that comes with it, specially the fame of becoming rich without any regreat of wrongdoing to society at the expense of thousands of people. In this unfortunate shift of values, the reward of being wrongly admirated by the masses comes along with the validation from the state.

In recent publications around the world, the case of Iceland, have brought the attention of many, for breaking the believe in a so called doctrine saying: “ in the aftermath of a financial crisis, banks have to be bailed out while the citizens have to the pay the consequences of the mismanagement”. Oddly sponsored by the IMF and the European Central Bank.

We are in the verge of turning this lesson into a practical piece of public policy, by not letting the dictatorship of the capital nor the dictatorship of socialist demagogues in dampening an opportunity to show the benefits of innovation and entrepreneurship in society, under fair rules without special interests pressing on.

Let's stand firm in defense of a better world.

Repression instead of answers...

At uncertain times, it is important to reinforce to the people the principles of democracy and participation, to let them know they belong to a unity called “your country's name”. The unfortunate represion of hundreds of protesters in Boston by the local police, shows signs of a government disconnected from its people.

Movements of “Indignados” inspired by their spanish peers, have taken squares and streets all over Europe and North America in defiance of failed policies to guarantee the welfare of the citizens. Protesters raise their voice against inappropiate corporate conduct, that is, a lack of responsibility towards society.

Corporations have been effectively lobbying the government when their needs are at stake, also they have asked for bail out money when they were in troubles, and they have had the leeway to get rid of thousands of employees when necesary to safeguard their survival.

However, the relationship of the corporations with the civil society can the label as “uncommitted”, between previous administrations tax reliefs and other cuts in contribution to the public coffers. They, that is, “the corporations” have been unwilling to share the difficulties during hard times.

The “ill fated” corporations have become in subjects with limited legal liabilities, allowing them to act with no fear while doing wrong. For futher details in this matter, please feel free to check the records of Enron, Lehman Brothers, Worldcom MCI, Haliburton, among others. 

Ultimately is about setting a precedent in business ethics.

Latin America...red warning!!!

Street violence is considered today's most threating scourge in Latin America, due to lack of continuity in public safety policies. Some says the primary sources underlying in the region's spike of violence are: Drug smuggling operations, youth unemployment and political factors.

Various countries in the region have dealt with insurgent leftist groups since the sixties, and drug cartels explosion in the eigthties, along with their iconic drug lords, epitomizing the essence of the traditional strongman; evolving throughout the years into a sophisticated machinery of death and destruction.

As a result of the death toll and civil unrest left by those groups, the institutions suffered by becoming an element of “democratic” decoration rather than an effective tool to protect their citizens. Just until recent years, inititiaves in disarmament have produced some kind of relief to communities affected by violence and dispair.

Disarmament laws have been approved in different countries in the region, with mixed reviews and unproven final results yet. Brazil in the forefront of the movement has promoted a fierce PR campaign with shocking images of the army assaulting the “favelas” or poor neighborhoods, watched around the world.

However, unproven because of numbers not high enough to convince the most skeptical analyst. In Argentina the ministry of justice, through its website published 12,000 arms to be voluntarily recovered, and in Brazil after 6 years of disarmament the figure goes up to 500,000 based on the non-profit Viva Rio.

In Venezuela, the opposition presidential pre-candidate Pablo Pérez, mentioned 12 million of illegal arms to be regained. At a 100,000 arms per campaign like in Brazil, it would take 120 of those to reach the goal plus an approximate 720 million to 1.8 billion US$ in recovery incentives only, using the same price tag by argentines in their voluntarily crackdown.

Official aligned journalist Edwin L'Bachi from Aporrea.org on sept. 03, 2011, mentioned the following “...one of the more dire actions in a revolutionary process is disarming the people...”. Raising questions on, How compromised a government would be with a policy ideologicaly opposite to itself? 

Many other decisions will need to be taken in order to help the disarmament having a real effect on reducing violence and crime.

Education Inequalities (Part II)

In the wake of college tuition raises across the world, many people wonder who would pay those enormous figures to put in school a bunch of brats? The answer does not come as a surprise when well off middle easterns, asians and latinamericans make the bulk of those who pays full tuition at world class institutions.

Despite a world financial crisis, the influx of international students at universities across Europe and North America have increased exponentially. Solid economic growth in the emergent markets with a new middle class with deep pockets and aspirations to compete globally, keep  some faces smiling.

Live after graduation for the talented and privileged alumni from universities such as: Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge, among others; are far different from the graduates of colleges in the third world. With salary caps and competitive disadvantages, becoming a terrifying reality for the less “gifted”.

Get worse, in Latinamerica not every high school graduate has the opportunity to be admitted at a public university, some of them centuries old and with a fairly decent faculty. Decades of demographic pressure and stagnant budgets for universitiy expansion, have put a limit in providing public tertiary education to the youth.

For the business savy entrepreneurs the opportunity seems too tempting to let it pass by, hundreds of private universities have opened throughout the region, in order to satisfy the demand created by inefficient goverments, lower grades and a saturated public system.

As a result of having an improvised vision of formal education, the quality gets compromised, the professionals graduated from most private universities founded within the last twenty years, most likely would lack of the sufficient skills to break away from the improvisation cycle.

How about who does not have any means to pay for education? Unfortunately, they would have to attend some recently created tertiary institutions, where virtual classes are not necesarily cutting edge concept but a cost cutting product. Recent student riots in Chile has questioned states subsidies for private eductation, while tuitions still high.

Education Inequalities (Part I)

Talking about educational policies would be very extense to take a glace of, but at least reviewing what it has been done in the developed world and the developing world in regards to provide access to tertiary education, should be our task on hands.

These days the chances to have a college education are far more dificult than in previous generations, who benefited from generous state incentives and lower tuition fees. In certain parts of Europe tuitions have skyrocketed within the past few years, in contrast with a growing demand for highly skilled workers.

Demographic has conspired in either way, first of all, because of the fewer number of applicants in most programs, the financial resources for grants or scholarships for those who needs it would be less or at least the same than before. In another words, tuitions go up, number of prospective students go down, resulting in a manageable situation.

However the analysis does not stop there, having in consideration the disparity in demographic growth in various groups of the society, the funding assigned for grants and sholarships must be rethought, due to the socio economic profile of the families sending their kids to college, if inclusion is the intention and social harmony the goal.

Now, What is going to happen to those who does not make the cut? Academic standards are getting higher as the world becomes a more competitive environment; nonetheless as a society, Do we have a plan to train or retrain those who lacks of “certified” qualifications to enter a tertiary institution?

The recent events in Madrid involving “Los Indignados”, represents the ever growing number of people feeling left behind by the system and demanding directly from their goverments being taken in consideration. Employment is the most talked issue when dignifying the livelyhood of the young graduates is at stakes.

The technological evolution has deeply affected the approach of goverments into vocational and higher education, with efforts as the ones carried on by american goverments, starting with the Clinton administration, in promoting science related careers.  Still thousands of foreign talent is recruited yearly under the unkind scrutiny of the local press.

In the meantime, Germany has started a program to atract experienced professional, to fill the gap of 100,000 engineers needed by the year 2025 and unable to replace by natural population growth. The german goverment has chosen the selective inmigration program from Canada as the most prone to produce “citizens instead of migrants”.

With an election year ahead in the US, lots of hispanic lobbyists and activist will be watching very closely the unfolding of the Dream Act case, which in any event should function as a measurement tool for young hispanic students in achieving their dream of having a college degree.

The Nature of Public Policy

In amy opinion, a modern approach in the design of public policy should start as an expression of our own reality, segmenting the natural audience in line with a micro vision rather than a broader one, in order to make an effective impact to better people lives. So, Why is it important the making of public policy? Because we need a plan in solving the problems we face as social beings.

Is goverment the only one responsible to make public policies? Public Policy covers the analysis of govermental decisions but not necessarily all the design of the strategies are made by the goverment.

Social issues tend to come first while working towards “courses of action” in meeting the aspirations of the people. However, those aspirations and their priorities would change depending on how diverse the target audience is as a result of cultural, demographical and socio economic factors.

Issues such as: universal health care, inmigration, gender equallity, discrimination based on sexual orientation among others; seem to be first in mind of people rather than sustainable growth or energy security, for example. Not for being more important but for affecting the individuals more directly in regular basis and in their own macro view of the reality.

Are you regularly involved in public policy strategies? Yes, constantly, it must be that way

When parents meet at school to discuss problems as well as creating norms and regulations to improve how the institution functions, they are in presence of “Public Policy”. The only way to change the course of action is by participating in the decision making process.

Before any regulatory measures have been implemented, it is important for the target audience to have an approach in place, that is, a proper strategy with its respective funding priorities, otherwise the survival of the inniciative would be at stakes.

I would leave you for now with an idea to brainstorm, some have agreed to put limits to the state in order not to intrude in people's personal life, i personally would agree, but most importantly it would be to put real limits to the corporations, to have them do their productive purpose only and to strip them out from any political involvement as well as reducing their size to avoid temptations about their agenda in changing your mind and the regulatory nature of goverment.