Economic Development

Here's the proposed Economic Recovery Package. The overall intent to "not forget Main Street" and "create good-paying American jobs" is a noble one, I question whether this package achieves such a goal. There is a great deal of progress in the area of Energy, allocating funding for key energy initiatives of which NDN has been an advocate (see NDN's Green Project blog). However, there is no mention of International Trade or initiatives to export new technology; the section on job creation mentions infrastructure, which is an important step forward, but no mention of how to use globalization to create more high skilled, better paying jobs. I would ask why the section designed to help small businesses - by all accounts the "job creators and drivers of the economy" - only allots $275 million for microfinance and other assistance to "Main Street," while it provides $776 million for border facility construction and "other homeland security infrastructure." I hope our taxpayer dollars don't continue to go towards a border fence that has not worked instead of small and medium-sized businesses that sustain our communities. The stimulus includes $466 million for DHS to begin construction of a consolidated headquarters in Washington, D.C., as "DHS has a critical need for a permanent, unified headquarters" - maybe having everyone under one roof will help reduce the backlog in naturalization and immigration applications! THAT must have been the hold-up all this time. While the $466 million are being allocated for offices, only $100 million is going to help communities along the southwest border fight the illegal flow of guns and drugs between the U.S. and Mexico that is fueling violence along the border. Call me crazy, but I think the offices can wait in line behind the safety of border patrol and citizens on both sides of the border. The conflict on the border similarly contributes to the economic downturn in that the violence has effectively killed business and tourism that previously made border cities job creators and places that flourished with commerce and (legal) economic activity.

Hey everyone! I just touched down in Cape Town, South Africa, where I'll be working this summer on entrepreneurial small business development projects through TSiBA Graduate Business School. I'm looking forward to building upon the knowledge I gained as an NDN intern this past Spring, and sharing my experiences right here on the NDN blog. And if my first few hours are an indication of what's to come, I'll have plenty to discuss.

As I stepped onto South African soil Sunday night I had no idea what to expect. For months I've planned to work in Cape Town for the summer, but with the recent attacks on foreigners in the country, I was forced to become more cautiously optimistic of my plans. When I arrived everyone was extremely welcoming, but I was truly amazed when during breakfast this morning, I looked out the window to see hundreds of people protesting the recent xenophobic attacks marching down the street.

What I saw opened my eyes to multiple aspects of this problem that have been somewhat overlooked. First, while the media portrays the attacks as attacks on foreigners, they are largely assaults on Mozambicans, Zimbabweans, Malawians, Nigerians, and others who have been accused of stealing jobs from South African citizens, not attacks on tourists or volunteers who are also foreigners in the country.

In addition, the situation reminded me of an exacerbated parallel of the Minutemen in the United States who task themselves with patrolling the American border with Mexico. In drawing this similarity it can be seen that these feelings of xenophobia are not exclusive to South Africa, however the means will hopefully remain vastly different.

Moreover, in Peter Fabricius' article (subscription only) in the Cape Times, he brings up the point that this violence has tremendous potential of completely changing the way that South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki conducts foreign policy in the region. Interestingly enough, while the Nigerian foreign minister has said that South African apologies are not sufficient in making things right, the foreign nations whose citizens are being attacked have been surprisingly understanding of the violence. (With its strong words, Nigeria at this time has not requested compensation.)

Lastly, in a time when the world is suffering from tremendous humanitarian problems all at once, the way in which Mbeki handles the growing refugee problem in the country will determine how effectively South Africa can manage its own, as well as act as a leader in African humanitarian efforts in the time to come.