Posted on 09/21/2003 2:45:03 PM PDT by blam
Thus the Independent continues it's "proud" tradition of blaring blatatant lies, and running its editorials in the news pages.
And why all the beating around the bush anyway? Why not say plainly what this "news" story is saying implicitly: "The Independent is inconsolable that Iraq will be capitalist society."
Yeah, sure. Democratic right wingers are everywhere in the world. This probably originated from one of them.
<sniff> another socialist utopia ground down by the Vast International Capitalist Conspiracy!
Too bad our legislators won't make that the percentage cap here in the U.S. Of course, they don't have any problem voting themselves a pay raise every year.
* 100 per cent foreign ownership in all sectors except natural resources;
* direct ownership as well as joint ventures and setting up branches;
* full, immediate remittance to the host country of profits, dividends, interest and royalties;
* no condition on the need to source products locally;
* no need for clearance for foreign investment
Sounds like a prescription for prosperity.
It is also a dramatic departure from Saddam Hussein's centralised management of the Iraqi economy, which was reasonably successful in capitalising on the country's oil wealth to build state-of-the-art hospitals, schools and other infrastructure, at least until the upheavals of the Iran-Iraq war, the 1991 Gulf War and the imposition of United Nations sanctions from 1991.
<sniff> another socialist utopia ground down by the Vast International Capitalist Conspiracy!
Saddam might have been even more successful if only he'd made proper use of all his resources, for instance by selling the hair of slaughtered Kurds and Shia for wigs. Doubtless Andrew Gumbel could have advised him.
There already are several. (All having reformed since Gulf War I, but of course you won't hear that from the "war doesn't solve anything" crowd.) According to the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, Bahrain and the U.A.E. have more free economies than Tawain, Israel, Japan or France. Kuwait's is as free as France's, and Qatar nearly so. The column heads got stripped, but the overall score (the lower the better) immediately follows the year (which is the last time the country was evaluated):
Overall rank |
Country | Year | |||||||||||
1 | Hong Kong | 2003 | 1.45 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
2 | Singapore | 2003 | 1.50 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
3 | Luxembourg | 2003 | 1.70 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
5 | Ireland | 2003 | 1.75 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
6 | United States | 2003 | 1.80 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
9 | United Kingdom | 2003 | 1.85 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
15 | Switzerland | 2003 | 1.95 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
16 | Bahrain | 2003 | 2.00 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
16 | Chile | 2003 | 2.00 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 |
19 | Belgium | 2003 | 2.10 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
24 | United Arab Emirates | 2003 | 2.20 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
27 | Taiwan (China, Republic of) | 2003 | 2.30 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
33 | Israel | 2003 | 2.45 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 |
35 | Japan | 2003 | 2.50 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
40 | France | 2003 | 2.55 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
40 | Kuwait | 2003 | 2.55 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
44 | Qatar | 2003 | 2.65 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
52 | Korea, Republic of (South Korea) |
2003 | 2.70 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
62 | Jordan | 2003 | 2.85 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
68 | Saudi Arabia | 2003 | 2.95 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
104 | Egypt | 2003 | 3.35 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
119 | Turkey | 2003 | 3.50 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
127 | China, People's Republic of | 2003 | 3.55 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
143 | Syria | 2003 | 3.95 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
153 | Zimbabwe | 2003 | 4.40 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
156 | Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (North Korea) |
2003 | 5.00 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
Bolster Freedom, Not Dependence, in Iraq (Heritage Foundation Advises Economic Freedom)
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