WUPR Issue 22.1: Markets & Power

political review | National

Washington University

political review 22.1 | March 2015 | wupr.org

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MARKETS & POWER

Soccer in Sialkot

18

Nahuel Fefer

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Towards Sustainable World Agriculture

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Catering to Cuba

21

Regulating the Race to the Bottom

22

11

Free Market Environmentalism

25

Privatizing Indonesian Healthcare

26

Beast Mode Cashes In

28

A Conversation with Xavier Briggs

Katie Rial

14

Top U.S. Trading Partners Grace Portelance and Simin Lim

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A Global Market for Organs Chloe Naguib

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The Stubborn Nails of China Katherine Surko

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Nigeria’s Nadir Reuben Siegman

Aitan Groener

12

Israeli Election Primer Aryeh Mellman

Sonya Schoenberger

NATIONAL

Reparations for Conservatives Gabriel Rubin

Bill Feng

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The Trials of Dzokhar Tsarnaev’s Jurors Rachel Butler

Max Hofmeister

INTERNATIONAL

Incentives for Quality Clinical Care Suhas Gondi

Ben Szanton

Victoria Sgarro

Editors-in-Chief: Gabriel Rubin Sonya Schoenberger

Executive Director: Nahuel Fefer

Staff Editors: Joe Lenoff Billie Mandelbaum Aryeh Mellman

Features Editor: Grace Portelance

Director of Design: Alex Chiu

Assistant Directors of Design: Simin Lim Andrew Kay

INTERNATIONAL

Director of New Media: Ari Moses

Managing Web Editors: Henry Kopesky Aaron Christensen

Programming Director: Hannah Waldman

Finance Director:

Front Cover: Alex Chiu

Theme Page: Andrew Kay

Back Cover: Alex Chiu

In 1776, Adam Smith famously wrote that an “Invisible Hand” guides markets to ensure an efficient allocation of resources. Many free marketeers today still argue that the unfettered market promotes prosperity on national and international levels. This argument may be true in the abstract, but economic forces do not exist in a vacuum.

The Invisible Hand is ultimately subordinate to the realities of geopolitics, as powers manipulate global markets to advance their agendas and interests. Even when left to their own efficient devices, market forces are hardly adequate arbiters of a just distribution of global resources. They intrinsically reflect historical inequalities and power dynamics.

Rachel Butler

Alex Beaulieu

Dear Reader,

In this issue, writers examine the relationship between Markets and Power through many lenses. Bill Feng argues that the Obama administration’s recent decision to normalize relations with Cuba will strengthen the Castro regime and its support for forces of terrorism—without helping the Cuban people. Suhas Gondi explores the ways that economic incentives shape our healthcare system, and Max Hofmeister analyzes the state of American industrial agriculture. Other writers address global trade, labor rights, and other topics of national and international import.

We welcome you to join our discussion of Markets and Power and other topics by submitting feedback and original article ideas to editor@wupr.org.

With best regards, Gabriel Rubin and Sonya Schoenberger Editors-in-Chief

political review | NATIONAL

political review | Markets & Power

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political review | Markets & power

soccer in sialkot Nahuel Fefer

Y

ou’ve never heard of Sialkot, Pakistan,

1970’s, as the diplomatic situation stabilized

national policies protecting child laborers and

but you’ve almost certainly seen their

and Pakistan began to open it’s economy,

disallowing abusive employment practices.

product – and maybe even kicked it a

capital finally began flooding in.

The Pakistani prime minister went so far as to

couple of times. Sialkot produces half of the world’s soccer balls, including those used in last year’s World Cup. The story of how the city has been shaped by markets serves as a testimony

Investors were drawn to Pakistan’s cheap labor, and Sialkoti businessmen were able to capitalize on their history with industry and

arrange a meeting with CEO of Nike in Davos to persuade him to resume Nike’s business in Sialkot. He was successful.

soccer ball production to convince companies

While child labor remains prevalent in small

like Nike and Adidas to shift production to

businesses that produce goods for domestic

their city. By 1982, all balls used in the World

consumption, labor standards have improved

Cup were produced in Sialkot. The success

significantly in larger companies that rely on

of soccer ball production in Sialkot led more

exports, demonstrating the potential power

surprising results.

manufacturing business to the city, and

of markets to, for better or worse, impose

today Sialkot remains the world leader in the

values. Unfortunately, Sialkot’s recent history

Local tradition holds that it all started in 1889,

production of leather gloves and surgical

also serves as a reminder of the fickle nature

when a British officer stationed in Sialkot

equipment.

of markets. That’s because, after 40 years

to their transformative power. More importantly, Sialkot serves as a reminder of how profoundly interconnected and interdependent we are, and of how history, politics, culture, and economics can combine in unexpected ways to produce

punctured his soccer ball. He took it to Syed Sahib, an enterprising cobbler who repaired the officer’s ball exceptionally well for exceptionally

These industries have transformed Sialkot and made it one of Pakistan’s safest and most

of global dominance, Sialkot’s soccer ball producing industry is dying.

prosperous cities. The average Sialkoti makes

Chinese manufacturers are systemically

twice as much as the average Pakistani and,

out-competing Sialkoti industry, and have

perhaps as a result, Sialkotis are particularly

wrested roughly a third of the market away

uninterested in radical Islam – though its

from Pakistan. Whereas most Pakistani balls

distance from Taliban controlled areas can’t

remain hand stitched, relying on the low cost

to repair their soccer balls.

hurt either.

of Pakistani labor, capital saturated China is

Instead, Sialkot’s predisposition for industry

What’s perhaps more surprising is how the

little, and was soon producing soccer balls for the local regiment. While it’s compelling, this apocryphal story wasn’t unique to Sialkot, and it’s easy to imagine British soldiers across central Asia relying on the local leather workers

investing in high tech manufacturing processes.

industries have changed local laws and

Forward, the Sialkoti company that produced

culture. Soccer balls are a product of particular

the 2014 World Cup ball, is a notable

cultural relevance to much of the world,

exception. It invested early in the thermal

and Sialkoti manufacturers have been exposed

bonding technology necessary to produce

to more intense scrutiny than the producers

World Cup-quality balls, and was thus able to

of almost any other item. In 1996 European

step in when Adidas’ Chinese supplier backed

journalists exposed the routine employment

out. It was, however, an investment born of

Kingdom had faded away.

of children as young as five years old by Sialkoti

passion, not market analysis – the company’s

soccer ball producers. Faced with the threat of

CEO, Khawaja Akhtar, had long dreamed of

For whatever reason, Sialkot remained the

its largest clients switching to their competitors

producing a World Cup ball – and it remains

local hub for soccer ball production long after

the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce signed

to be seen if his gamble will pay off in the

Sahib’s death, and as capital barriers came

the Atlanta Agreement with UNICEF and

long term.

down around the world in the wake of World

the International Labor Organization in

War II and advances in Pakistani infrastructure

1997, ensuring that children younger than 15

allowed land-locked Sialkot to export at

were never forced to miss school to produce

low costs, the industry seemed poised to

soccer balls.

Brazuca was roundly considered to be one of

This process repeated itself when Nike

Pakistan may not have been in the World Cup,

pulled out of a seven million-ball contract in

but in some ways, they were behind every goal

November 2006 amid rumors of violations of

scored.

may go back even further, to 326 BC, when Alexander the Great conquered Sialkot, then known as Sagala, and established it as the easternmost outpost of his empire. Sagala went on to serve as the capital of an Indo-Greek Kingdom that lasted until 10 AD, and thrived as a center for trade and industry long after the

take off. Two factors, however, held it back: protectionist Pakistani policies designed to insulate local industry from the global market, and wars between India and Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. The latter made Sialkot, which is only five miles away from Indian controlled Kashmir, an extremely risky investment. In the mid

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the Atlanta Agreement. Domestic pressure from Sialkoti businesses afraid of losing buyers forced the Pakistani government to draft

In the short term, however, the world’s soccer fans owe Sialkot a debt of gratitude – the the best World Cup balls in recent memory.

Nahuel Fefer is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at nahuelfefer@wustl.edu.

political review | Markets & Power

towards sustainable world agriculture Max Hofmeister

I

n 2008, author and activist Michael Pollan

nutrients in the soil. Farms have to make up

pollute our rivers and oceans, causing huge

wrote an open letter to President Obama,

for the harvest of plant material with fertilizers.

dead zones off our coasts—as seen in the

the new “Farmer in Chief,” advocating for a

Likewise, pests in the wild are balanced

Chesapeake Bay or the Mississippi River Delta.

sweeping agricultural reform. Pollan argued that

by a complex ecosystem of predators and

To extend available arable land and improve

reform would make our food healthier, less oil-

prey—competition restricts insect and weed

yields, farmers use approximately 92 percent of

dependent, and more environmentally friendly.

populations, and biodiversity limits the spread

the global water footprint for irrigation While

Seven years later, the Obama administration

of plant diseases and the domination of any

the atmosphere replenishes fresh water, many

has done little to address this issue. Though

particularly destructive species of insect or

areas already face water shortages where water usage exceeds its rate of replenishment.

typically far from the public spotlight, agriculture may become the most important issue of the twenty-first century. The industrial system of agriculture practiced by most countries today relies on chemical fertilizers, tractors, pesticides, and hybrid or genetically modified seeds.

Events in the next century will put great strain on this system. A growing world population, overreliance on scarce and diminishing resources, and global climate change threaten to upset the delicate mechanism that brings us food each day. Currently, analysts from the U.S. government expect the world to meet its food needs by farming more land, using technology to increase crop yields, and spreading modern, industrial farming methods from the U.S. to developing countries.

The U.N. estimates that the world’s population will increase to between 8.3 and 10.9 billion people by 2050, with a commensurate 70 percent increase in the demand for food.

Growing populations are also increasing in

Our system of agriculture is unsustainable due to a reliance on a diminishing stock of fossil fuels. weed. Insects and weeds typically exploit the weakness of a single type of plant; a field of cotton will be decimated by a boll weevil, but a boll weevil is harmless to a field of corn.

Farmers using industrial agricultural methods

food per capita and higher energy use foods,

apply oil-based chemical fertilizer, herbicide,

such as meat or processed food. Most of this

and insecticide to deal with these issues,

population and food demand increase will

basically sterilizing a field so only one species

take place in developing countries, so ideally

can survive there. According to Pollan’s

solutions would increase production in those

research, the use of chemicals and machinery

countries, rather than proposing that they rely

require that U.S. industrial farming expend

on Western agricultural surpluses.

“10 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce a

faces two key problems in the long run: loss of soil fertility and pest management. In nature, a previous year’s decayed plant matter fertilizes the next year’s growth, preserving the

predicted effects, but for agricultural concerns, it will drastically affect water availability. Some areas will receive far more water than before; others will receive far less. Needless to say events such as the ongoing extreme drought in California and severe floods across the world, notably last year’s massive flooding in Pakistan and India, will happen with increasing frequency. A warmer earth increases the amount of water vapor the atmosphere can hold, intensifying severe weather events and changing precipitation patterns. Adaptation to a new warmer climate will shift U.S. agriculture north, and will likely require new water storage techniques to deal with high variability in

affluence, demanding higher quantities of

In addition to population growth, farming

Global climate change has a wide variety of

single calorie of modern supermarket food.”

Fossil fuels exist in a finite quantity, meaning eventually we will have to use something else in their place. In the meantime, however, burning fossil fuels pollutes the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect, and farm chemicals

yearly rainfall. We lack the ability to accurately predict the effects of climate change, but we can be sure that climate change will complicate the other problems facing our fragile food system.

How can we adapt to these problems?

Presently the world produces enough food to feed everyone; the one billion that today suffer from food insecurity could be adequately fed with a more equitable distribution of our current resources. However, growth in demand in the next century will require increased production, not just better distribution. This production can be achieved by greater land usage or more intensification (growing more food on the same amount of land). Transferring the current technology of industrial intensification—i.e. the use of

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political review | Markets & power

chemicals, machinery, and modified seeds—

To repair this rift in the fertility cycle would

to developing countries could dramatically

simultaneously reduce our fossil fuel reliance

improve their yields, but at what cost?

and cut our air and water pollution.

Conversion to industrial agriculture is how we plan to meet future challenges to our food

The USDA has consistently worked to produce

system, but is the industrial food system

large quantities of cheap food for America.

the best system? If we want the rest of the

This has proven to be extremely successful—a

world to emulate U.S. farmers, we should

recent Bloomberg article showed that

first consider the merits and flaws of the U.S.

Americans pay a smaller percentage of their

agricultural system. Industrial agriculture

income for food than virtually those living in

produces huge quantities of food using

every other country in the world. This goal has

small amounts of labor at a low monetary

come at the costs outlined above, but what can

cost. But the price of food and its high

the USDA do to continue to provide

“efficiency” excludes the environmental cost of

lots of cheap food while mitigating

agriculture—fertilizer and pesticide pollution,

environmental costs?

depletion of soil fertility and soil erosion, and greenhouse gas emissions from clearing land, chemical production, machinery usage, and growing livestock. Some of this cost can be reduced through more efficient methods as most chemicals are overused, most crops are overwatered, and soils are overworked by plows. Smarter farming methods, could include the targeted application of fertilizer at specific

Consider the problem of soil fertility: the law could require that all waste be captured from cities and livestock operations and processed until it could be used on farms. Such a policy could perhaps be financed by giving producers the net profit or loss from processing and selling their manure and organic waste. This

Technology can save us from many problems, but eventually agriculture will have to return to a natural cycle of fertility instead of substituting oil for organic wastes.

suggestion sounds expensive, but actually even with today’s prices (not factoring in

field), such as intercropping (planting multiple

environmental costs) this could be profitable,

species of crops together) or permaculture

as it takes something we previously dumped as

(modeling crops after a natural ecosystem,

requirements.

waste and turns it into a product. Cities already

with perennial plant varieties, like an orchard).

Ultimately though, the U.S. system of

high enough quality that it could be reused, the

agriculture is unsustainable due to its

extra effort of which could be profitable given

reliance on a diminishing stock of fossil

the sunk cost of waste management. Charging

fuels. Technology can save us from many

livestock producers for processing their waste

problems, but eventually agriculture will have

would incentivize them to reduce the toxicity

to return to a natural cycle of fertility instead

of their waste—grass-fed, medicine-free cattle

of substituting oil for organic wastes. Food is

don’t produce toxic manure, instead they can

harvested from farms and shipped off to cities,

sell manure for a profit.

times and in specific quantities tailored to each plant. Plants can be genetically modified to reduce fertilizer, pesticide, and water

a one-way flow of fertility that we make up for with artificial fertilizers. To be sustainable, we need to restore the natural cycle; returning the “wastes” created by food consumption in cities and livestock production—specifically concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)—back to farms. Cities produce millions of gallons of toxic sewage and CAFOs produce huge lagoons of toxic manure (manure becomes toxic due to the use of hormones and antibiotics on livestock) all of which is eventually dumped into our rivers and oceans.

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process their waste, although usually not to a

A few more possible government solutions: we could tax chemical fertilizer pollution (not merely fertilizer usage) encouraging smarter, reduced chemical application. We could

Alternately, we can rely on consumers instead of government to reform the agriculture system. Consumers can vote with their dollars by changing purchases to organic food and chemical free meat. But this approach forces consumers to bear the cost of agricultural reform rather than producers.

However we decide to reform it, however, the U.S. industrial agriculture system cannot continue forever as is, nor can it be scaled up to meet the needs of the rest of the planet without adapting to the problems of the future.

reform agriculture subsidies to subsidize only those calories that are actually eaten; cutting out subsides for crop production that goes to ethanol or other nonfood uses. We could refocus government-funded agricultural science to study farming methods other than monoculture (planting a single species in a

Max Hofmeister is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at mhofmeister@wustl.edu.

political review | Markets & Power

catering to cuba

Bill Feng | Illustration by Alex Chiu

O

n December 17, 2014, President Obama

its allies in East Asia. Taking

announced that he would use executive

this danger into tconsideration,

action to normalize relations with Cuba.

Obama should have looked into

In addition, the President is pushing for the US

pressuring Cuba to cut trade ties

Department of State to take Cuba off the list of

with North Korea.

“State Sponsors of Terrorism.” Some major media outlets, such as NBC, showered Obama with praise for his part in the decision to normalize relations. This commendation is both undeserved and imprudent. Obama’s concession to Cuba was a monumental fumble from a strategic perspective. Obama conceded much of what Cuba wanted while asking for very little in exchange. This mishandled policy change will likely do little to improve the status quo within Cuba. Additionally, this decision could actually put

Finally, Cuba retains economic bilateral deals with other blacklisted “State Sponsor” countries such as Syria and Iran.

By trading with these terrorismcondoning nations, Cuba puts financial resources into the hands of governments that can potentially harm the United States and its allies. Obama

the security of the United States at greater risk.

should have pushed Cuba into

Obama should be more hesitant in having Cuba

loosening of trade restrictions

taken off the list of “State Sponsors.” Although

does significantly improve the

the Cuban government has recently taken steps

Cuban government treasury,

to cease funding and training militant groups, two

Obama would, in effect, be

Colombian paramilitary groups, FARC and ELN,

funding terrorists.

still maintain a considerable presence within the Cuban government. According to cables posted on the WikiLeaks website, Cuba grants these groups safe haven in the country to rest and receive medical treatment. These two groups are largely financed through the production and distribution of illegal drugs. As a result, these groups hold significant sway on illegal drugs trafficked through the United States and its allies.

Obama could have pushed Cuba into cutting ties with these groups for the sake of US interests in

eliminating these deals. If the

The opportunity to exert diplomatic pressure on Cuba came at no better time. Although the Cuban government has been requesting the end of trade restrictions and the US embargo for over half a century, a recent development has put the country’s economy into an even higher degree of jeopardy. Venezuela, Cuba’s biggest trade partner, is on the brink of economic collapse due to plunging oil prices. This supply

has reduced the amount of resources Cuba has at hand to harm US interests, it has done little to weaken the Castro regime itself. Fidel and Raul Castro still hold tight control of the Cuban government, as they have for the last fifty years.

It is likely that the Castros have prepared a successor to continue their reign. Political parties are still banned within the country and dissent is

exchange for the normalizing trade relations.

shock has sent Cuba into a deep recession that

In addition to the Colombian groups, Cuba has

its hold on public opinion. The Castro regime’s

Without any changes to the political structure

also partnered with North Korea in opposition to

desperation to maintain political stability could

of Cuba, Obama’s concessions will only work

US interests. On July 15, 2013, Cuba and North

have been the opportune window for Obama to

to strengthen the Cuban government, which

Korea were caught smuggling weapons by

push for advances that would mitigate Cuba’s risk

operates a tightly controlled command economy.

Panamanian customs. The North Korean-flagged

of harming US interests. Also, steering Cuba away

A growing Cuban GDP will do more to solidify the

ship Chong Chon Gang was seized for “undeclared

from its economic dependency on Venezuela

power of the Castro regime than to improve the

cargo” found aboard. Cuban-made missile

would significantly diminish the latter’s sphere of

quality of life for ordinary Cubans. In normalizing

launching systems, aircraft, and live ammunitions

influence in the Western hemisphere.

relations without stipulating firm conditions, the

were found tucked underneath several thousand tons of sugar. By supplying arms to North Korea, Cuba broke stipulations maintained by the UN Security Council, which prohibit the shipping of weapons to North Korea. North Korea poses a risk to the security of both the United States and

has diminished the government’s treasury and

To be sure, the normalization of relations with Cuba is overdue. The US embargo on Cuba, which

still heavily punished.

United States wasted its diplomatic leverage to reduce the terrorist threats that Cuba supports.

has now been in place for over half a century, has done little to achieve its primary goal: destabilize the anti-US Castro regime. Although the policy

Bill Feng is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at williamfeng@wustl.edu.

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political review | Markets & power

regulating the race to the bottom Sonya Schoenberger | Illustration by Savannah Bustillo

O

n November 24, 2012, a fire broke out in

garment worker wages in Bangladesh remain

Wal-Mart and Target. Julia Wang, a National

the Tazreen Fashions factory near Dhaka,

the lowest in the world, at around $37 a

Organizer with United Students against

Bangladesh. Managers who thought

month—about half those in China. Scott

Sweatshops (USAS), views the Accord as “a

the alarm was a drill ordered employees to

Nova, Executive director of the Workers

much more real contract,” because it is legally

stay in their seats. One hundred twenty-three

Rights Consortium, explains that wages have

binding, whereas the Alliance is not.

workers died as the fire spread throughout the

been kept down over the decades by a weak

building. Those trapped inside were incinerated;

regulatory environment within Bangladesh and

others jumped to their deaths from upper-story

pressure by Western retailers to produce at the

windows.

lowest possible cost.

of all factory-registered unions support the

Five months later, Bangladesh’s textile industry

“The more the Bangladeshis delivered lower

and labor organizers in Bangladesh in 2013.

sustained another high-casualty event about

and lower costs by leaving workers completely

Workers have denounced the Alliance, which

ten miles form the site of the Tazreen fire.

unprotected, the more business the factories

provides no role for organized workers.

On April 24, 2013 the Rana Plaza factory

got, and so the more incentive there was to

And while the Accord makes its reports

building collapsed, killing over 1,100 workers

keep doing more of the same. That’s probably

and recommendations publicly available,

and injuring thousands more. Most of those

the purest illustration of ‘The Race to the

the Alliance is much more opaque, with no

killed were young women working long hours

Bottom’ that you’re ever going to see,”

public information about whether funds

at meager hourly wages. The incident made

Nova said.

are truly being transferred to factories for

The Accord also has much more robust support from workers themselves: 90 percent Accord, said Wang, who met with survivors

international headlines and came to symbolize the human toll of the abusive—and largely unregulated—global garment industry.

The horror of the Tazreen and Rana Plaza disasters provoked global outrage and inspired calls for reform. European and American retailers established agreements to investigate and improve working conditions at their source factories. The U.S government suspended Bangladesh’s preferential trade benefits. The Bangladeshi

Ultimately, worker rights must be supported through active labor organizing, rule of law, and a political system that gives workers voice. The status quo in Bangladesh fails on all three counts.

government, despite its deeply entrenched anti-labor interests, permitted two hundred new unions to register. But while many of

In the wake of Rana Plaza, many brands have

these steps represent positive change, they

worked to address the abuses of the garment

are at best partial and superficial reforms.

supply chain. Companies have been divided,

The global garment industry—particularly in

though, about the level of commitment they

Bangladesh—presents immense regulatory

are willing to extend towards improving worker

challenges, and power to initiate reforms lies

conditions. The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and

largely in the hands of brands and consumers.

Building Safety, which has been signed by over

While pressuring brands to sign onto the

190 companies, only 19 of which are American,

Accord is a crucial step to addressing pressing

requires brands to fund factory inspections and

safety concerns in Bangladeshi factories that

structural improvements. Every inspection so

continue to imperil workers, both the Accord

far has revealed some safety violation—a total

and the Alliance are time-delimited and will

of about 80,000 safety violations across

expire in 2018. Without other institutions in

1,100 factories.

place, improvements in working conditions

Bangladesh, a country of 160 million with a GDP per capita of around $800, is the second largest producer of apparel globally, after China. Its garment exports account for 80 percent of export revenue and a full 17 percent of GDP. The industry’s growth over the past several decades has been explosive, with

An alternative agreement, the Alliance for

exports increasing from $12,000 in 1978 to

Bangladesh Worker Safety, does not require

$21.5 billion in 2012-13. But while revenues

contractual commitments from signatories.

from garment exports have played a key role

The Alliance is supported by a smaller group of

in the development of Bangladesh’s economy,

26 companies, including American retail giants

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improvements. USAS focuses its garment worker solidarity work on pressuring universities to cut ties with corporations that haven’t signed on to the Accord, even if they’ve signed onto the Alliance.

could be quickly reversed in the absence of a strong labor rights movement supported by political and regulatory reform. A November 2013 Senate report identified worker unions

political review | Markets & Power

from verbal harassment and intimidation to violent

conditions in Bangladesh would raise the retail

assault. The senate report

price consumers pay for garments produced

mentioned one case in which

in Bangladesh by a mere seven cents an item.

a female union leader was

But he doesn’t expect this to happen without

hospitalized after being

consumer activism.

attacked and knocked

unconscious with a pair of

cutting shears. In December

2014, the New York Times

reported on attacks on female

union leaders at factories

owned by the Azim Group.

The Bangladesh government

sanctions these crimes by failing to prosecute perpetrators. Even police forces are often controlled in part by factory owners.

The report of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations recommended that apparel brands work more closely with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to pressure factories to tolerate and support organized labor.

Ultimately, worker rights must be supported through active labor organizing, rule of law, and a political system that gives workers voice.

The status quo in Bangladesh fails on all three

and an active

labor movement as “the best bulwark against another tragic incident.”

Resistance to labor rights, though, is entrenched in

is far from democratic, and no political party with any clout represents worker interests.

While the Bangladesh government did register 160 garment unions in 2013 and the first half of 2014—compared to two between 2010 and 2012—they represent only a fraction of the 5,000 garment factories operating in Bangladesh. And unionized workers are

subjected to regular abuse,

than they have about protecting workers,” Nova said.

Ultimately, it is up to NGOs, universities, and consumers to serve as watchdogs and activists for worker rights by holding brands accountable for the working conditions in their source factories. As the horrific images of bodies being excavated from Rana Plaza’s ruins fade from public consciousness, so will pressure on brands to ensure safe working conditions. Instead of working in concert with the Bangladeshi government and factory owners to reinforce a production model built on hyper-exploitation, brands should work to ensure factory safety and to pressure the Bangladeshi government to support

actively show brands that they would indeed

authority over garment worker conditions.

be willing to pay an extra seven cents a

While the ILO launched a $24 million dollar

garment to protect basic labor rights overseas.

compatible with market forces—if consumers

initiative to improve working conditions in the ready-made garment sector, it has no enforcement capabilities. The United Nations member states have not exhibited the will to demand change. International pressure from Bangladesh’s top trading partners could force but neither the United States nor the European

someone in the industry. The political climate

greater concern about saving literally one cent

International institutions have virtually no

which caters to industry rather than

themselves, and nearly all have close ties to

and retailers that have always demonstrated

labor organization. These reforms could be

the Bangladesh government to support reform,

parliament members are factory owners

“We’re dealing with an industry with brands

counts.

Bangladesh’s political system, worker interests. Ten percent of

it. Nova estimates that ensuring safe working

Union—the two top importers of Bangladeshi garments—have imposed serious sanctions.

In the absence of foreseeable top-down legal or political reform, the onus of action is largely in the hands of consumers and clothing brands.

Pure market forces, in the absence of consumer preference for brands that ensure humane worker treatment, will keep garment worker wages depressed and conditions dangerous.

Improving the conditions of Bangladeshi garment workers, however, would not require a radical departure from fast-fashion as we know

Sonya Schoenberger is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at saschoenberger@gmail.com.

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political review | Markets & power

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political review | Markets & Power

free market environmentalism Aitan Groener

N

o challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change,” President Obama stated during his 2015 State of the Union address.

It would be easy to dismiss the President’s words as empty platitudes were it not for the landmark agreement he made in November with President Xi Jinping of China, which stipulated that both countries would commit to radically reducing fossil fuel emissions. A classic conservative argument for forestalling action against climate change says that domestic sacrifices are in vain because of the large percentage of carbon emissions that come from China. The November deal was evidence that President Xi is ready and willing to tackle climate change in partnership with the United States.

Climate change is a remarkably difficult problem to solve. Its scope is wide, its impact uncertain, its deniers plentiful, and its cost devastating. The number of adjustments that must be implemented across the globe to successfully address the problem make it a daunting and politically fraught issue in even the world’s strongest economies. It is difficult to ensure commitments to carbon abatement because every country is wary of being played the fool, cutting its emissions only to find other countries taking advantage of the market vacuum. Over the past few years, cap and trade has gone from the policy of choice for seriously addressing climate change to a pariah term referred to as “Cap and Tax.” Cap and trade is an emission-trading program that attempts to manage pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by creating a system of market-based incentives. A maximum limit or cap is set on the total amount of carbon to be released during a set period, and that amount is divided and allocated in the form of carbon credits or permits. These permits are distributed by a central government authority and are then eligible to be sold or traded on a secondary market. Corporations are required to obtain permits equal to the amount of carbon that they pollute, and market forces set the price of pollution permits at the efficient level for

production. The scheme attempts to internalize the costs of environment externalities and gives corporations an incentive to decrease their carbon output, effectively working with human nature instead of against it.

The European Union Emission Trading System was launched in 2005 and is the largest greenhouse gas permit trading scheme in the world today. It has had mixed levels of success and has been tainted by corruption and the influence of business interests. Initially, policymakers released too many permits and so it was easy for companies to reduce emission levels to the required rates without major abatement or structural change. It is understandably difficult for legislators to know what will be the proper levels of abatement, and governments tend to overestimate the economic cost and legislative difficulties of implementing abatement programs. Emission trading has been employed successfully in the United States in California, where the program raised over $1.4 billion in the first year of its implementation. The Acid Rain Program of the 1990 Clean Air Act was essentially a cap and trade scheme for sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution, which causes acid rain. The program was quite successful and by 2007 managed to cut SO2 emissions by 50% from their 1980 levels.

credits, create opportunities to cheat through the introduction of carbon offset credits, and stifle other innovative efforts to tackle climate change. Conservatives also dismiss cap and trade as simply another way to tax corporations and lower profits, referring to the scheme as Cap and Tax—an easy way to dismiss a useful program without addressing its actual qualities.

Nonetheless, there is still hope for global agreements to address climate change. This past December, officials representing over 200 nations met in Lima, Peru and committed to reducing fossil fuel emissions. This marked

The scheme attempts to internalize the costs of environment externalities and gives corporations an incentive to decrease their carbon output, effectively working with human nature instead of against it.

Environmental activists have been criticized for being too timid in their approach to a problem the size of climate change. Climate activist Larry Lohman argued in the New Scientist magazine that “nothing less than a reorganization of society and technology that will leave most remaining fossil fuels safely underground” can protect against the devastating impacts of climate change. The documentary film “The Story of Cap and Trade” argues that cap and trade systems give unfair advantages to firms that receive free

the first time that such a large number of both developed and developing nations met and agreed to cut back on emissions in concert. However, the negotiations at Lima did not produce a real treaty; nations are encouraged and “peer pressured” to uphold their commitments to reduction, but the Lima Accord is legally non-binding. The Accord is fairly representative of current climate activism around the world: inspirational, ambitious, important, and, ultimately, insufficient to tackle the enormous challenge of climate change.

Aitan Groener is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at aitangroener@ hotmail.com.

11

political review | Markets & power

Privatizing indonesian Healthcare Katie Rial | Photo from WikimediaCommons In countries such as Indonesia where the government is far too fragmented and underfinanced to implement meaningful health reforms, privatizing healthcare is an appealing option. For example, in 2012, the Indonesian government spent only $108 per capita on healthcare as compared with the United States, which spent $8,895. It would be both unrealistic and irresponsible to claim that Indonesia, a country where 16.2 percent of its population lived on less that $1.25 a day in 2011, is capable of independently implementing a strong national healthcare system. Proponents of private healthcare claim that non-public healthcare systems can be executed in a way that promotes equality rather than privileging those who can afford healthcare over those who cannot. Furthermore, they insist that private healthcare can actually be targeted to meet the needs of currently underserved populations.

In theory, privatizing healthcare is the answer many of Indonesia’s healthcare woes. However, in practice it may do more harm than good

I

especially considering Indonesia’s existing magine you are walking through the halls of

citizens. This challenge is particularly

structures and policies surrounding healthcare.

an old building. You find a large room, its

daunting for developing nations due to a

This is particularly true for hospitals, which

walls lined with rod-iron beds that support

lack of infrastructure, a shortage of medical

are in a unique position to further exacerbate

cardboard-thin mattresses. There are people

professionals, and insufficient tax revenue to

existing inequalities by choosing to provide care

lying in the beds, their bodies covered with

support government-funded health initiatives.

only to those who can afford it.

a thin sheet, if anything at all. There is no air

Currently, Indonesia has about nine hospital

conditioning and it is hot and humid. A handful

beds per 10,000 citizens. Even more troubling

of men and women in white uniforms rush in

is the fact that the majority of hospitals operate

and out of the room. One stops to instruct a

at 50% capacity despite the fact that thousands

young man who is pumping an intubation bag

of Indonesians die each year of treatable

that snakes down the throat of his father. The

diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.

chest of the figure on the bed rhythmically rises and falls. You might be surprised to hear that the place I just described is a hospital. While this scene may be very different from what comes to mind when you picture a hospital, it is relatively common for public hospitals in developing nations such as the Philippines,

providing adequate healthcare is a lack of basic infrastructure. The majority of Indonesians do not live within walking distance of hospitals or clinics, and as previously mentioned, there is an extremely low number of beds per capita.

In recent decades, Indonesia has moved towards

Siloam Hospitals’ plan to open 24 new facilities

a “mixed” healthcare system that is comprised

over the span of seven years is certainly a step

of both public and private entities. The majority

in the right direction, but it only addresses one

of the hospitals in Indonesia are public, but the

reason why the vast majority of Indonesians are

private sector is expanding rapidly, thanks to

left without access to care.

Siloam Hospitals, a major player in the for-profit

Vietnam, and Indonesia.

health business, which manages both public and

Nearly every country struggles to provide

hospitals, and is expected to have as many as

comprehensive, accessible healthcare to its

40 by 2020.

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A major obstacle that Indonesia faces in

private hospitals. In 2013, Siloam oversaw 16

In addition to a lack of infrastructure, is a dire shortage of medical professionals in Indonesia, which has some of the lowest numbers of medical professionals per capita in Asia. There are many contributing factors to this shortage.

political review | Markets & Power

fewer than 5 percent Indonesians earned a

patients that are covered by Jamsostek are far

the wayside. Indonesia’s economic and social

college degree in 2010, and of those who do

less restricted in the hospitals that they have

structure are particularly susceptible to this, as

go on to practice medicine, many search for

access to. However, for most Indonesians, the

evidenced by the fact that so many of its citizens

employment overseas. Additionally, importing

reality is that there is high likelihood that they will

already struggle to get the medical attention they need within the current “mixed”

doctors from other countries is not a solution because Indonesia has very strict laws against such practices. Importing doctors does not make for a self-sustained healthcare system.

Although it is logical to assume that an increase in the number of hospital beds will result in a larger volume of patients, without medical professionals, this increase in infrastructure will do little to improve access to healthcare.

Another benefit of privatizing hospitals is that for-profit companies are more willing and able to invest money in state-of-the-art technology.

Access to the best treatment options available is certainly a major incentive to privatize healthcare, but not without a cost. In fact, a major criticism of private hospitals is that they are quick to order expensive, unnecessary tests and procedures in the interest of making money.

This practice would be particularly problematic

Developing nations such as Indonesia are making the shift away from publicly funded healthcare to privately funded healthcare. This commodification of healthcare could leave many of Indonesia’s impoverished population without access to even basic medical care.

system.

The consequences of denying large sectors of the population healthcare extend beyond the health of individual citizens.

There are severe economic implications that accompany a population in poor health.

Without access to basic healthcare, citizens are unable to do their part to stimulate the economy and promote growth.

Children who should be in school are instead kept home due to illnesses that are easy to treat, such as ear infections. High maternal mortality rates leave families without a way to care for young children or provide for

in Indonesia, which has the highest rates of out have to personally finance their own healthcare.

their families in other ways. Malnutrition runs

in developing countries to refuse to discharge

The Indonesian government has implemented

between paying for a sick relative’s medication

patients who have unpaid medical bills.

certain policies in attempts to avoid

and putting food on the table each day. Young

discriminatory practices by private hospitals,

adults who could be out earning a living wage

which have been largely unenforced and

are instead seated at an aging parent’s bedside,

unsuccessful. For example, the government

pumping an intubation bag.

of pocket healthcare spending out of any country in Asia. In fact, it is not uncommon for hospitals

The health insurance system in Indonesia is comprised of four tiers that are assigned based on income: Jamkesmas, Jamkesda, Askes, and Jamsostek. The first three are either completely or partially funded by the government, and the benefits associated with them range from minimal to nonexistent. About 33% of the population is covered by Jamkesmas, which

requires private hospitals to reserve at least 10 percent of their beds for low-income patients at a discounted rate. However, when only 50 percent of hospital beds are filled and most low-income citizens cannot afford even the discounted rate, even this half-hearted attempt

rampant in families that are forced to choose

While it is clear that the government cannot realistically provide healthcare to all of its citizens, the shift towards private healthcare leaves us wondering about the fates of those whose pockets are not deep enough to land

at providing equal care falls completely flat.

them in a state-of-the-art private hospital. There

the population is covered by Jamsostek, which

Many worry that private companies do not have

healthcare; in many ways it goes beyond what

is given exclusively to employees of businesses

the best interest of the citizens in mind, because

publicly funded initiatives can offer, yet usually at

that meet certain size and financial criteria. It

their main goal is to make a profit. Despite claims

the expense of the most vulnerable members of

is the only plan that covers a comprehensive

to the contrary, privatized healthcare usually

the population. So the question is: can we find a

list of services, treatments, and prescriptions

means that the wealthy few will be granted

way to take the best of both systems?

without requiring participants to pay more than

access to the best care that money can buy, while

their premium on a regular basis. Additionally,

those who cannot afford to do so are pushed to

pays for clinic and visits to a very limited number of public hospitals. Only about 2% of

are some compelling points in favor of private

Katie Rial is a Sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences and can be reached at krial@wustl.edu

13

political review | Markets & power

TOP U.S. TRADING PARTNERS Grace Portelance | Infographic by Simin Lim

Canada 19%

14.5% BIGGEST IMPORTS Oil $113 billion Vehicles $56 billion

BIGGEST IMPORTS Vehicles $51.7 billion Machines, Engines, Pumps $45.3 billion

Mexico

12.1%

BIGGEST IMPORTS Vehicles $59.9 billion Electronics $57.6 billion

14.3% BIGGEST IMPORTS Machines, Engines, Pumps $38.5 billion Electronic Equipment $36.7 billion

US TRADE IN GOODS WITH WORLD, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED (2014) 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 -50,000 -100,000

14

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

4)

UN

political review | Markets & Power

China Japan 19.7%

7.7%

BIGGEST IMPORTS BIGGEST IMPORTS Electronics Oil Seed $120.4 billion $13.8 billion Machines, Engines, Aircrafts Pumps $103.3 billion $12.6 billion

6.1%

4.1%

BIGGEST IMPORTS Vehicles $51.1 billion Machines, Engines, Pumps $31.3 billion

BIGGEST IMPORTS Medical Equipment $8.1 billion Aircrafts $7.1 billion

Indonesia BIGGEST IMPORTS Crocheted/ knitted clothing $2.8 billion

Australia BIGGEST IMPORTS Meat $1.6 billion

EXPORTS

JUL

IMPORTS

AUG

BALANCE

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

Sources: www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c0004.html, https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/highlights/top/top1312yr.html

15

political review | Markets & power

A Global Market For Organs

Chloe Naguib | Illustration by Alicia Yang

A

ccording to the American Transplant

year. These large profits demonstrate exactly

organs who don’t have the money to pay

Foundation, an average of twenty-one

how much brokers for organs are managing

for them. Currently, patients are placed on

people die every day due to the global

to exploit patients by marking up prices

waiting lists for matching donations, making

drastically.

transplants occur on a first-come-first-

shortage of organs currently faces, powerless against their personal health challenges. The wait for available ones drags on, with most patients waiting years to rise higher on the list and approximately seven percent dying before ever receiving a transplant. It is currently illegal in almost every country to sell organs, though few people have ever been prosecuted despite the unrestrained black market. Though a controversial idea to some, perhaps the

Furthermore, the methods that many organ traffickers are using to get their supply of organs are far from legitimate. There have been multiple reports in Nepal of organ traffickers tricking the poor into donating their kidneys in exchange for sums of money, the compensation seemingly large to these individuals but relatively small in

serve basis. This creates equality among patients in need of organ transplants, as socioeconomic status of the patients has little influence on the availability of organs for transplant. Creating a market for organs would eliminate this system, as those of a higher socioeconomic status would more easily be able to afford and obtain organs. Those that didn’t have the financial means necessary

legalization of a market for organs

would be shut out of the market,

may be exactly what these patients

perhaps resulting in death for

in dire circumstances need to regain

some.

their power.

Perhaps some government

The main benefit of establishing

regulation of an organ market

a market for organ donation

could be used counteract these

would be, of course, solving the

disadvantages. The government

shortage that the world currently

could work to establish

faces. The monetary incentives

subsidies for the poor in need of

for individuals to provide organs to

transplants that enable them to

those in need would increase the

pay for organs, stopping those

supply, helping restore individuals’

who have the need but not the

power to solve the health

finances from being excluded

problems that they face.

from the market. Furthermore, limits on supplying organs could

Furthermore, it would help

be established to safeguard the

provide more equal access to

poor from selling too many of

organs. Many countries with

their organs, creating health

large populations that hold

problems for themselves in the

strong religious beliefs against

long run.

organ donation like Israel suffer

It is pretty clear that the current

disproportionately in their shortage due to a lack of donations. A global market would help solve this disparity by allowing individuals in countries like Israel the opportunity to more easily obtain organs from other places across the globe.

Lastly, the market for organ donation would solve the rampant problem of organ trafficking in the black market. The illegal organ trade is huge due to the large shortage of donors, allowing individuals to profit off of the powerless situation of patients. CNN reported that organ trafficking as a whole generates profits between $513 million and $1 billion a

16

comparison to the high prices at which the organ traffickers are then selling the organs.

Legalizing the organ trade would solve this problem as more individuals would be willing to donate due to the monetary incentives, disincentivizing organ traffickers from taking such extreme measures in order to supply

system we have for organ transplants is inefficient and in dire need of change. Perhaps establishing a market for organs is exactly the change we need to restore power to patients in need of transplants, enabling them to have greater control over their health needs. With the right restrictions placed on the market, the

their customers.

government could establish a system that not

However, there are some disadvantages

against many of the negative externalities that

to creating this market. Though a market

would be created by that system.

only helps the patients in need, but also prevents

for organs would stop the poor from being exploited by organ traffickers, it would also disproportionately harm those in need of

Chloe Naguib is a freshman in the Olin Business School.

She can be reached at chloe.naguib@wustl.edu.

political review | Markets & Power

The Stubborn Nails of China Katherine Surko | Illustration by Caroline Dierksheide

F

or over a year, Luo Baogen and his wife

of the city, away from

lived in a house in the middle of a major

their communities and

road in the Zhejiang province of eastern

their jobs, because they

China. The government asked them to move to

can’t afford housing in

make room for a highway but, unwilling to give

the area. In the cases

up their recently renovated home for inadequate

where the developers

compensation, they stayed put and watched as

guarantee housing for

a highway was paved around their house.

those evicted, the new

Luo Baogen and his wife are part of the “dingzihu,” or a class of “stubborn nails,” in China. The stubborn nails are people who refuse to leave their homes after being asked to relocate by the

homes are frequently smaller than the originals and poorly constructed.

government or large corporations in order to make

People have tried

room for developments. Many of the stubborn

to fight their forced

nails are in the remnants of hutongs, which are

relocation by organizing

the narrow streets that make up the tight-knit

protests and pursuing

communities of old cities like Beijing. Hutongs

litigation, but these

began to form in the 15th century during the Ming

efforts are rarely

dynasty in the alleys formed by more spacious

successful. Some

residences outside of the Forbidden City. By the

with money and

Qing dynasty in the 20th century, the creation of

connections, like Luo Baogen, are able to get

hutongs had taken a more haphazard approach and

better settlement deals, but most people are

the formerly neat appearance disappeared as the

already in the marginalized parts of society

communities began to rapidly expand. The hutongs

and are unable to instigate much change.

have been a crucial part of the identity of cities like

The occasional house in the middle of a

Beijing for over 600 years, and their destruction

shopping mall, or on the corner of a major

erases centuries-old communities.

metropolitan street, is certainly quite a sight,

In order to make room for new high rises and office buildings, the Chinese government buys

but development continues with or without the cooperation of individual homeowners.

hutong façades to stylize their storefronts.

The government released a plan last year to bring 85 million people from rural into urban areas by 2020, to reach the goal of having 60 percent of China’s population in cities. The move is being promoted as “human centered,” with an expansion of health insurance and other public welfare services. However, over 200 million Chinese lack a record in China’s household registration system, which enables

up land from homeowners and then resells it to

Mr. and Mrs. Baogen’s house was eventually

citizens to access these types of services. With

private developers at large profit margins. On

bulldozed after a higher settlement price

30 percent of the population already living

average, the government charges developers

was reached, and their family was one of the

below the poverty line, the concept of bringing

40 times the per acre price they paid to those

luckier ones. Most people are forcibly evicted

85 million people (ten times the population

dispossessed of their property. Guan Qingyou,

at a certain point, and receive even less

of New York City) into cities over the next five

of Tsinghua University, estimates that these

compensation than the small sum they were

years will likely have disastrous outcomes and

land sales accounted for about 74 percent of

originally promised. The best that many of

exacerbate problems related to urbanization,

local government income in 2010. The amount

these people and communities can hope for is

like semi-coerced land appropriation.

actually offered to the evicted as compensation

the “museumification” of their homes for the

is too low to make up for their forced relocation,

tourist industry—but even then the family would

much less give them the opportunity to move

still have to leave.

back into their old communities after their development. When a migrant worker from the Jianxi province came home from the Chinese New Year holidays to find that his ancestral home had been razed, he was only given $16,000 for compensation. Families who have been living in the same hutong for decades are forced to scatter farther away from the center

As the homes and the communities of the stubborn nails of China are bulldozed and razed, so are the livelihoods and the cultural heritage

The communities and cultures that have

of the region. The “stubborn nails” may be a

developed in these neighborhoods over hundreds

minority in Chinese society, but their vocal

of years are swiftly being destroyed to make room

struggle represents the plight of millions.

for more capitalistic enterprises, and this trend shows no sign of stopping. Starbucks and other transnational commercial enterprises are replacing the old family-run businesses, using traditional

Katherine Surko is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at surkokatherine@ gmail.com

17

political review | Markets & power

Incentives for quality clinical care Suhas Gondi | Photo taken by UMHealthSystem

T

here is very little that people agree

hundreds. However, this new direction, although

to incentivize good care in any way, but it also

on in healthcare reform. If you’ve

seemingly a more logical way of reimbursing

drives overutilization, or the ordering of more

paid any attention to the controversy

physicians, may not be as impactful as pundits

(and more expensive) services by physicians

surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA,

and scholars predict. In fact, a body of research

than is actually necessary for the patient.

also known as Obamacare), you know that

across a number of fields suggests it is precisely

Overutilization is often cited as a primary reason

the policies governing our healthcare system

the wrong direction of reform.

why the United States spends so much more on

are not only hopelessly complex, but also very contentious. Disagreements stem from fundamental ideological gaps, different theories of implementation, and competing

In our “fee-for-service” system, physicians are paid based on the quantity and type of services they provide. The more tests and scans your

healthcare per capita than any other country, and has the same or worse health outcomes than other developed nations.

doctor orders, the bigger the paycheck he or

One of the goals of recent healthcare reform

she takes home. From an economic standpoint,

efforts has been to replace this system of

this method of determining payments is

misaligned incentives with one that promotes

complicates matters further.

almost blasphemous. Professionals ought to be

accountability, efficiency, and quality. The ACA

compensated based on the value of the good or

has a number of provisions that attempt to

Despite these differences, there does seem

service they deliver to a consumer. Although in

do this. There has been bipartisan support for

to be something of a consensus on one

reality many other factors go into determining

this push away from the fee-for-service model

systemic problem in American healthcare: the

the size of the paycheck for any job, that simple

to a model that promotes value by rewarding

existing compensation scheme for physicians

economic principle generally holds in many

high quality, cost-effective care. In fact, this

encourages overuse of medical services,

industries. Healthcare is an exception. Doctors

restructuring of incentives was cited as a point

which contributes to the burgeoning costs of

can make a lot of money in the U.S. without

of agreement between President Obama and

healthcare in the United States. The ACA’s

providing high quality care; all they have to do is

Governor Romney during the 2012 election

solution is to shift away from the existing

order a lot of tests.

cycle, as both candidates agreed that this

financial interests. The fact that very few of the policymakers and advisors have any substantive experience in the healthcare industry only

method of paying providers to one that seems a whole lot more logical. Enthusiasm has exploded for these “pay-for-performance” programs over the past decade, with the number of programs growing from dozens to

18

Obviously, this reimbursement scheme encourages providers to order more services as a means of maximizing their income. Not only is this a flawed incentive structure that fails

was a necessary step to lowering costs and improving quality. These new schemes, which are becoming more and more popular, fall under the umbrella model of pay for performance, in which physicians are incentivized to

political review | Markets & Power

produce good health outcomes for patients by

It turns out that there are decades of research

demanding and intrinsically rewarding, higher

delivering quality care. Doctors will no longer be

from sociology and emerging evidence from

incentives often lead to worse performance.

reimbursed solely based on quantity of services.

behavioral economics that might explain why

Their paychecks will increasingly depend on the

pay-for-performance isn’t working as well as we

value they create for patients.

expected. To understand this, though, we have

On the surface, this seems great. In fact, it makes you question why it wasn’t always this way. Basic economic principles dictate that you’ll get more of what you incentivize. The fee-for-service system incentivized the use of medical services, which helped make American healthcare the mostly costly healthcare system in the world. The new pay for performance model incentivizes physicians to deliver costeffective care that helps patients to recover as quickly as possible. It follows that we should start to receive better quality care at lower costs. But will we?

No one knows for sure if these models will prove effective in the long run, although recent studies have shown mixed evidence, most of which does not bode well for the new schemes. It may be too early to tell, but multiple recent studies, which find that health outcomes didn’t improve very much and costs didn’t go down very much after implementing pay for performance models, give us reason to worry. A recent metaanalysis of all the published literature evaluating pay-for-performance programs in hospitals reported bleak results, concluding that most of these programs have little to no effect on clinical care quality, patient outcomes, or cost.

A number of other recent reviews have also found insufficient evidence to prove that these new programs benefit patients. The biggest support for pay for performance models in the United States came from an oft-cited joint public-private study investigating how effective this incentive structure could be in controlling costs and improving patient outcomes over six years. Although early results were very promising, helping to fuel the hype around payfor-performance, many studies have since found that any improvements in patient outcomes were short-lived, and largely evaporated by the fifth year. It certainly seems that these new payment schemes may not be as great as we thought.

to briefly digress to a famous social science experiment concerning the “candle problem.”

The psychologist Karl Duncker designed the “candle problem” in the 1940s, and it continues to be one of the most popular cognitive performance tasks. The test asks the participant to affix a candle to a wall (so the candle wax doesn’t drop on the table below), and provides participants a book of matches and a box of thumbtacks with which to do this. Many people first try to use a thumbtack to tack the candle on the wall while others try to melt part of the candle and adhere it to the wall. Neither strategy works. The solution requires that participants overcome “functional fixedness” to realize that the box the thumbtacks are in can also be used to hold the candle, and that box can be tacked to the wall. It’s not a very difficult problem to solve, but it does take some time

The connection to pay-for-performance incentives in healthcare is clear. Most physicians would probably agree that diagnosing and treating a patient is not an easy thing to do and is often mentally challenging, and I certainly hope that the vast majority of doctors find caring for patients to be personally rewarding.

In these ways, the practice of medicine is analogous to the candle problem. And the provision of incentives for clinical care may have similar results as well. Because clinical medicine is a difficult yet satisfying engagement, pay-forperformance incentives might simply not work in healthcare. According to researchers, this is a consequence of human nature. Insights from social science and behavioral economics have been largely missing from the healthcare reform controversy, although they may be among the most relevant pieces of evidence, providing part of the explanation for why studies have consistently reported mixed results about the

and a little creativity.

effectiveness of pay-for-performance incentives.

Why is this relevant to how we pay doctors?

There’s a larger takeaway here beyond worries

The candle problem has been used to conduct some of the most rigorous and insightful studies into the power of incentives. Several studies have shown that when you offer monetary incentives based on how quickly a participant can solve the candle problem, the participants take longer to solve the problem than do participants who are not offered any incentives.

This counterintuitive result goes against our basic understanding of economic principles and human behavior. However, when you take the thumbtacks out of the box and provide them as separate objects to the participant, eliminating the need to break functional fixedness to solve the problem, then the incentivized group solves

about pay for performance. The fact that one of the few proposals that garnered bipartisan support in the healthcare reform controversy is also one of the least evidenced ones is deeply troubling. We trust our policymakers to listen to the research and make educated decisions about our futures, but the only issue on which they can agree and be decisive is also one where research provides only tenuous support at best.

Until we can ensure that a political consensus among policymakers arises from a wellsubstantiated consensus among researchers about relevant evidence, it will be difficult to trust our political institutions to make the right decisions regarding our healthcare system.

the task much faster than the control group.

These results are very robust, and have been replicated dozens of times. Social scientists conclude that incentives, although very effective for simple, straightforward tasks, do not help and can even do harm for tasks that require creative thinking and problem-solving skills.

Particularly for tasks that are both mentally

Suhas Gondi is a sophomore in the College of Arts &Sciences. He can be contacted at suhasgondi@ wustl.edu.

19

political review | NATIONAL

The Trials of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Jurors Rachel Butler | Photo by WikiMedia Commons

T

he Sixth Amendment guarantees a criminal defendant with U.S. citizenship the right to be tried before an “impartial

jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.” By this amendment, a jury is meant to be representative of a cross-section of the community in which the crime in question occurred. But what happens when the community itself cannot be deemed impartial? Especially when that jury has the power to decide whether someone lives or dies? The trial of the presumed Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a U.S. citizen, exemplifies what happens at the confluence of these two questions.

The judge, prosecutors, and defense team slated to preside over Tsarnaev’s trial are currently in the final stages of selecting jurors for the case. The trial will take place in Boston, despite multiple requests by Tsarnaev’s defense team to relocate the proceedings elsewhere. His lawyers insist that he cannot get a fair trial in Massachusetts because many in the state were personally affected by the bombings and already presume his guilt. In their most recent change-of-venue request, the defense presented its analysis of over 1,350 juror questionnaires, which showed that 69 percent of potential jurors have a personal connection or allegiance to the marathon or people injured in the bombings. Among them, 68 percent already believe that Tsarnaev is guilty.

These percentages are most likely accurate representations of the Eastern Massachusetts community from which the jurors will be drawn.

20

The Boston Marathon

major tactic of the prosecution throughout the

is an event with a huge

trial. The jurors will have to face the conflict

public profile around the

of upholding their duty to the community as

country, but particularly

unbiased jurors while at the same time feeling

in Massachusetts. It’s

a sense of duty they may feel to assuage

New England’s most

that communal injury, perhaps through the

widely viewed sporting

vengeance and closure that a death sentence

event, and second in

for Tsarnaev would impart. The jurors could

the U.S. only to the

be made to feel as though they are letting

Super Bowl. More than

down their own community, the state and even

500,000 spectators

America by not handing down a death sentence

line the course every

for Tsarnaev.

year, mostly from around Boston. Over 21,000 runners participated in the marathon in 2012 when the bombings occurred, many of them from the Massachusetts area. Nearly everyone in the Boston area seems to know, or at least know of, a runner or a spectator who was there.

These percentages would not be overly troubling if the jury was only ruling on Tsarnaev’s guilt. There is a preponderance of evidence to support his culpability, and it is virtually assured that he will be found guilty.

When that happens, however, that same Massachusetts jury has another task before it: to decide whether or not Tsarnaev will receive the death penalty.

This jury is more likely to hand down such a sentence than a jury in another state might be due to the empathy that many Massachusetts residents feel with victims of the bombing. The Boston Marathon is not just the most highly viewed, but also arguably the most well-known and loved event in the state, based upon its long history and location in the center of the city. The marathon finish line on Boylston Street has become a symbol of Boston’s damaged psyche and its resilience, and though no jurors who have personal connections to victims will be allowed to serve, the feelings of hurt and sympathy have transcended the personal to become communal for many in the area.

In addition to the possibility of the jurors being

Though no jurors who have personal connections to victims will be allowed to serve, the feelings of hurt and sympathy have transcended the personal to become communal for many in the area.

It’s likely that the jury that will decide Tsarnaev’s fate will be a more or less accurate crosssection of Eastern Massachusetts. And yet, this jury can almost certainly not be deemed impartial at the outset. The duty that many of them will feel to their community, conscious or not, has the potential to offset or even outweigh their attempts to impartially decide on a sentence. In a case such as this, the Sixth Amendment no longer holds, but rather contradicts itself. A case that would be difficult to try impartially anywhere in the country has been made even more difficult by the judge’s decision not to move the trial. Like the conviction, a death sentence for Tsarnaev is virtually assured.

swayed by this sense of communal injury based on their own experience, bringing it up and emphasizing its power will undoubtedly be a

Rachel Butler is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at rachelkbutler@wustl. edu.

political review | National

Reparations for Conservatives Gabriel Rubin

I

f conservative Americans and their elected

positioning the United States to become the

to be a conservative-approved way to pay off

representatives thought of their history

wealthiest nation on earth. They have never

longstanding financial debts. What programs

of racism as a financial debt that must

been compensated for that labor (if you recall,

should be cut in order to pay reparations?

be repaid to their creditors, would they be

Reconstruction didn’t quite make it)—add

more likely to support reparations for African-

that to the debt. Slavery and Reconstruction

Americans? Paying off the national debt, though

were followed by Jim Crow, convict leasing,

not headline news at the moment, has been the

and federal mortgage programs, all of which

conservative rallying cry since the twilight of the

are blatant violations of the Constitution, in

Bush administration. America has a duty to its

particular the Equal Protection clause of the

creditors, they say. It’s about fiscal responsibility

Fourteenth Amendment.

answer of increasing taxation on the wealthy

If conservatives prefer a more market-oriented

historically profited the most from racially

analysis, Jim Crow and racially discriminatory

discriminatory policies) unfortunately does not

laws represent an inefficient and un-capitalist

apply. But there is a difference between raising

intrusion into the free market. The law imposes

taxes and eliminating loopholes and corporate

different costs on different parties, giving a

welfare. Though there is not sufficient space

comparative advantage to those unburdened

here for a line-by-line budget analysis, the funds

by the weight of racism. Conservatives have

for reparations should come from eliminating

railed against the government “picking winners

subsidies to banks, energy companies, and

and losers,” which is exactly what racial

other large corporations. If welfare reform was

discrimination in the marketplace does (spoiler

the conservative cause of the ‘90s, corporate

alert: whites win). A perfect market functions

welfare reform can be the cause of the 2010s.

best when there is equal access to means of

And the governmental savings can then be

production, no barriers to entry, and full access

reallocated to pay for reparations in the form of

to information by all participants in the market.

investments in education, infrastructure, and

The United States has historically violated each

home ownership for African-Americans, all of

of those provisions with respect to African-

which positively affect economic growth.

and being accountable for your actions, they scold. By that standard, has the United States not incurred a great debt from its years of unequal treatment of African-Americans, from slavery to housing discrimination? Should they and their descendants be able to, in the words of Dr. King, “come to our nation’s capital to cash a check?”

Has the United States not incurred a great debt from its years of unequal treatment of African-Americans, from slavery to housing discrimination?

On February 18th, Atlantic national correspondent Ta-Nehisi Coates spoke at Washington University at the invitation of WUPR. The focus of his lecture came from his blockbuster cover story, “The Case for Reparations”, which reframed the centuries of racial discrimination towards African-Americans in terms that should be more palatable to the “colorblind” types whose throats constrict when they hear the word “racism.”

Without delving into Coates’ extensive analysis, it is worth pointing out some of the more obvious “debts” this country has racked up in its relationship with its African-American citizens. For roughly 250 years, enslaved African-Americans worked for no payment, to say nothing of the brutality of slavery, while

Americans, and financial reparations are the

If an individual is indebted to another, a court may order the garnishment of wages to finance restitution. Since this article attempts to imagine a case for reparations that would be palatable to conservatives, the fairly obvious and on corporations (both of which have

only way to level that playing field.

While this has been an attempt to craft a case

To answer the practical question of, “what

it is worth noting that, ideally, a reparations

would reparations look like?” the example of the

program should go far beyond the conservative

national debt can be illuminating. The 2011-2013

comfort zone. Reparations for African-

Tea Party temper tantrum over the debt ceiling

Americans, along with a larger effort to lessen

resulted in the imposition of a budget sequester

inequality and poverty in this country (the

that indiscriminately cut government programs

two are related but in no way synonymous),

in order to lower the deficit and pay the national

must include an entirely new tax regime

debt. Those cuts had the harshest impact on

rooted in redistribution that recognizes the

already disadvantaged groups like food stamp

predatory nature of extreme wealth and the

recipients, the elderly, and the unemployed.

exploitative reality of living in poverty. In the

However, conservatives praised the cuts as

United States, equality of opportunity has only

the only way to reign in out-of-control federal

ever existed as a chimerical ideal, especially

spending (some, like John McCain, lamented

for African-Americans. To achieve that ideal,

their impact on military spending). Crucially

radically progressive policies will always be

though, a crusade against debt implies that

far more effective than reactionary, resistant

we as taxpayers are responsible for the fiscal

conservatism.

for reparations acceptable to conservatives,

decisions of previous generations. It is not enough to balance the budget; we must actively pay down the debts incurred over the country’s history. Cutting spending, therefore, has proven

Gabriel Rubin is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at grubin@wustl.edu.

21

political review | international

Israeli Election Primer Aryeh Mellman

Why is Israel having elections this March?

Naftali Bennett heads another right-wing party,

Unlike the United States’ rigid system, the

apologizing for Israel,” proposes annexing Area

Knesset (Israeli Parliament) is elected for a term

C (the section of the West Bank administrated

of up to four years. At any point, the Knesset

by Israel), and seeks to allow an “autonomous”

can vote to dissolve the government and hold

Palestinian region (not quite a state) to operate

new elections. Following a spat with his centrist

in the remainder of the region. Jewish Home

coalition partners in December, Netanyahu

is primarily attractive to settlers and religious

opted to call early elections himself, coming only

Jews. Projection: ~15 seats.

the national-religious Jewish Home Party. The party has centered their campaign on “not

a year and a half after the previous elections.

How will the election work?

Israel’s 120 seat Knesset is elected by a system of proportional representation, where parties gain a number of seats proportional to the amount of votes they received. Unlike most PR systems though, the entire country is contained within a single district. Additionally, a 3.25 percent electoral threshold exists, which means a party must win four seats to sit in the Knesset.

This is to prevent small parties from wielding disproportionate power on the government.

Once the votes are in, the party with the most votes is tasked with forming a coalition comprised of a set of parties whose seats are greater than or equal to 61.

Also on the left is Meretz. Economically, Meretz is social democratic. It supports territorial compromise with the Palestinians and the immediate establishment of a Palestinian state.

Projection: ~5 seats In the center are two parties, Yair Lapid’s center-left Yesh Atid (“There is a Future”), and Moshe Kahlon’s new center-right Kulanu (“All of Us”). Lapid’s new populist party, won 19 seats

If economic issues come to the fore, Herzog and Livni have a chance, but as long as security is king, so is Netanyahu.

in 2013, becoming the second largest party in the Knesset. However, Lapid’s popularity has dropped since then despite legislative accomplishments on education and political reform. Projection: ~11 seats.

Kahlon is a former member of Likud whose recognition comes from implementing a government plan to break up the cell phone monopoly in Israel. Kahlon has (purposefully) kept his platform vague. This restricts the general public, which has generally favorable impressions of him, from disagreeing with him on anything in principle. Projection: ~10 seats.

The ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah

Yisrael Beiteinu (“Israel is our home”) is a

Judaism and Shas (a nickname for the

Who’s running in these elections?

center-right party headed by Avigdor Lieberman

Talmud), are niche parties. Their raison d’etre

and secular Russian immigrants. (Due to

is acquiring funding for men to study Torah full

There are 11 parties likely to get seats in the

massive immigration from the oppressive

time (without contributing to the workforce),

election, split into five blocs: right, left, center,

former Soviet Union, Israel, a country of 8

and exemptions for all ultra-Orthodox men to

ultra-Orthodox, and Arab.

million, has 1 million Russian Jews and almost 2

the otherwise compulsory draft. Due to their

million total immigrants from the former Soviet

flexibility on most other issues, they have joined

Union.) Beiteinu ran on a joint list with Likud in

left and right coalitions in the past. Projection:

the 2013 elections, but will go it alone this time.

~8 seats each.

On the right, we have the incumbent Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu (As Israelis do not hold the same reverence for political leaders as Americans do, many

Projection: ~5 seats.

The four Arab parties, (“the socialist

senior Israeli politicians go by their childhood

The major player on the left is “The Zionist

Hadash[“New”], Islamic Ra’am-Ta’al [acronyms

nicknames. Netanyahu is Bibi, and his primary

Camp”, a joint list between the traditional Labor

for United Arab List and Arab Movement for

challenger in this election is Yitzhak “Buji”

Party, led by Isaac Herzog, and Ha’tnuah (“The

Renewal], and Arab-nationalist Balad [acronym

Herzog— not to be confused with current

Movement”), headed by Tzipi Livni. Herzog

for National Democractic Assembly]”) recently

Defense Minister Moshe “Boogie” Ya’alon).

has called for a reconstructed, demilitarized

combined to form a joint Arab list due to

Likud prides itself on strong national defense

Gaza, and restoring positive relations with the

concerns that none of the parties would cross

and free-market economics, as well as support

moderate Arab Gulf states, and the party has

the new electoral threshold individually. Though

for settlements and opposition to Palestinian

also focused on improving economic conditions

the parties’ religious and economic stances

statehood. However, Netanyahu has broken

for the middle class and ousting Netanyahu

differ, they tend to support increased rights and

with party lines to voice tepid support for a

after his sixth year in office. Projection:

opportunities for Arab citizens of Israel and a

“demilitarized Palestinian state.”

~25 seats.

Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip,

Projection: ~25 seats.

22

and East Jerusalem. Projection: ~12 seats.

political review | international

The race seems to be a tossup. What about that coalition process you mentioned earlier?

ideological preferences. Livni has criticized

due to a monopoly on the Israeli staple by the

Netanyahu for “hurting relations with the US,”

T’nuva dairy company. The protests quickly

and the Zionist Camp would strive to further

gained steam as general protests of the high

strengthen US ties, and is more in line with

cost of living, and 460,000 Israelis (in a country

Here’s where things get really interesting. If

Obama on his policy of diplomacy vis a vis the

of eight million) marched in support. While a

Likud wins, they should have an easy time

Iranian nuclear program.

few years have gone by since the protests, their

forming a coalition comprised of the three rightwing parties, Kulanu, and at least one of the ultra-Orthodox parties, easily putting them over the 61 seat threshold.

But even if the Zionist Camp manages to beat Likud in overall seats, they would have a hard time making the coalition math work out in their

What will happen to Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians?

Again, a Netanyahu victory would mean maintenance of the status quo: increased settlement building (mostly in areas that would become Israeli in a future settlement, though a

impact is still felt; the left and center parties are running hard on socioeconomic issues, Stav Shaffir, one of the protests’ leaders, is fourth on the Zionist Camp list, and in one poll, 48 percent of Israelis marked economic issues as their biggest concern, while a total of 34 percent said that their top priorities were relations with the Palestinians, Iran, and regional instability.

favor. If they brought Meretz and the two center parties aboard, they would find themselves at 50 seats with nowhere really to go. The left would be loath to bring on the ultra-Orthodox, and Lapid specifically would object to their inclusion. The joint Arab list would put them over the edge, but Masud Ganaim, the party’s number two, has said that his party would “certainly not be part of any government, no matter how left-wing.” As he objects to the all of the proposed governments, he would rather his party work in the opposition instead.

Following the collapse of the Kerry-led peace talks this summer, a senior Israeli official commented that ‘I have no doubt that, if you put Tzipi and Saeb [Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator] in a room alone, you will have a deal in two weeks.

Unless something changes, the only apparent solution would be for the left to form a unity

settlement is unlikely while Netanyahu is PM),

However, security issues still dominate Israeli

government with Netanyahu’s Likud, the man

essentially zero momentum for peace talks, and

political discourse, and here Netanyahu has a

and party they have invested so much time in

little more than a token interest in improving the

significant advantage over Herzog. In a country

trying to defeat, though Netanyahu has said

conditions of Arabs living within Israel.

where nearly everyone’s 18-year old child joins

he would not join a coalition with what he termed the “radical leftist and anti-Zionist”

Herzog and Livni have said little about the

Labor/T’nuah list.

peace process during this campaign, though

What are the implications of this election on American foreign policy?

talks this summer, a senior Israeli official

If Netanyahu wins, his infamously frosty

deal in two weeks”. Even if the Zionist Camp

relationship with President Obama will continue

won, they might find an unwilling partner for a

until one or both of them leave office. While the

peace deal on the other side, as the Palestinian

United States still gives over $3 billion in aid to

Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas,

Israel every year and the two nations maintain

has made the decision to pursue a strategy of

strong economic and military ties, Netanyahu

“internationalizing the conflict”, bringing the

and Obama frequently butt heads over

Palestinian case to the UN and the ICC, instead

settlement building and Iranian nuclear policy.

of leaving it to Israel and the United States.

There have been a number of tense personal

following the collapse of the Kerry-led peace commented that “I have no doubt that, if you put Tzipi and Saeb [Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator] in a room alone, you will have a

will each holds toward the other.

When Israelis go to the polls, what will they be voting on?

Obama would likely be personally relieved if

Like most people, Israelis will vote on guns

Herzog and Livni won, and Israelis installed a

and butter. In 2011, popular protests erupted,

government more amenable to his personal

precipitated by the high cost of cottage cheese,

moments between the two that betray the ill

the military and wars are often fought on their own soil, many Israelis feel that above all, they need a strong leader who they can be sure will protect them. Despite three wars against Hamas in Gaza during his tenure, the majority of them feel that Netanyahu is the strong military leader they need, regardless of whether they want him.

If economic issues come to the fore, Herzog and Livni have a chance, but as long as security is king, so is Netanyahu.

Aryeh Mellman is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at aryeh.mellman@wustl.edu.

23

political review | NATIONAL

your ideas here wupr is always accepting submissions from washington university undergraduates Send your ideas to editor@wupr.org

24

political review | international

Nigeria’s Nadir N Reuben Siegman

igerians presently face a huge decision

from their position in the industry receive

dollars in potential revenue from 2009 to 2011

regarding their upcoming presidential

petrodollars, which are dollars gained from the

due oil theft, largely due to militants stealing oil

election. The incumbent, President

sale of petroleum. Nigerian politicians then buy

in the South. This is a growing issue because of

Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic

these from the oil elites in order to hide and

the drop in oil prices, as the people exceedingly

Party (PDP) will try to maintain his party’s

sometimes launder their own money. Once

need every last ounce of oil.

dominance which dates back when the

campaign season starts, however, politicians

nation resumed democratic elections in 1999.

turn to anonymous “street changers” who

However, he faces Muhammadu Buhari, a

swap the dollars back to naira, the currency

former Nigerian military dictator in the 1980s,

of Nigeria. They do this in order to be able to

whose popularity has been growing. Buhari

advertise, campaign, and bribe people. Because

is running with the Congress for Progressive

of how large scale this kind of corruption has

Change (CPC), a party that surprisingly won

become, there have been shakes of instability

almost 32 percent of the vote last election,

in the currency.

The presidential battle will determine the next step for Nigeria—whether the country and its potentially new leader decide to battle the corruption that has been plaguing the country from within, and whether the elected winner decides to focus on defeating Boko Haram and the other militants who plague the country from

while the PDP dropped from 69 percent to 58 percent during the same election. A topic that has made the election even more heated is the cascading price of oil, which as the largest sector of the Nigerian economy constitutes approximately 80 percent of the government’s revenue. This has thrown an already chaotic country into more trouble.

According to an analysis by the BBC, Nigeria

Because the government partakes in heavily invested joint-ventures with oil companies, a fall in the price of oil drastically changes the way the government functions.

needs oil to cost at least $123 per barrel in order to balance its budget. This is due to their large population, and how heavily the country

Buhari has blamed Jonathan and his

the outside. Whoever the president will be, it is

relies on the industry to provide revenue for

administration for some of this corruption.

crucial that he solve these problems as Nigeria

the government. Because the government

In addition, the former general has criticized

is the eighth most populous country in the world

partakes in heavily invested joint-ventures with

Jonathan for a lack of strength against Boko

with the largest population and fastest growing

oil companies, a fall in the price of oil drastically

Haram and other militant groups. Boko Haram

economy in Africa. Nigeria has the potential to

changes the way the government functions. The

has been rampaging through the northern

be a powerful country, but these dreams will

government has already responded by cutting

Muslim part of the country, and the Nigerian

not simply come to fruition with 62 percent of

its budget by six percent and adding new taxes.

army has been unable to stop them.

the nation living in extreme poverty in a country

In contrast, many Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait whose economies are also dependent on oil have not had to do this or felt such desperation. These countries have reserves of foreign currency stored from all the money they have saved from years of excess sales. Nigeria, on the other hand, does not have these kinds of reserve funds for the government to run on. As a result the country faces a serious crisis that not only affects their economy, but

The army has been largely ineffective against fighting Boko Haram because the soldiers don’t listen to their commanders, who take money from the soldiers’ salaries. Furthermore, the soldiers aren’t supplied with materials like boots

facing problems of corruption, militant fighting, and economic instability due to falling oil prices.

The next president must be able to stand strong against these issues and help turn the country around.

and jackets because of corruption, as army officials pocket the money that is supposed to purchase these items. Such corruption and disorganization within the military has allowed

their upcoming political election.

Buhari to gain tremendous support in the

For years, Nigeria has been one of the most

who could bring back discipline to the country

corrupt countries in the world, ranking 121st

and army, allowing for the expulsion of Boko

in the Corruption Perception index. Part of

Haram. He has also seen growing popularity in

this is due to the heavy influence of the oil

the southern Nigeria because of chaos there. It

industry. The elite who have garnered wealth

is estimated that the country lost 10.9 billion

North, where the people see him as someone

Reuben Siegman is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at reuben.siegman@wustl.edu.

25

political review | NATIONAL

Beast Mode Cashes In I Benjamin Szanton | Photograph from WikiMedia Commons

“

’m just here so I won’t get fined,” Marshawn Lynch told the horde of reporters gathered

around him on Super Bowl Media Day. True

to his word, Lynch refused to answer a single question thrown at him, repeating that same

phrase 28 more times in the mandatory five-

“All I care about is getting a win.”

“We put it all on the line.”

“We didn’t make excuses.”

“I give all the credit to my teammates.”

adopted a uniquely awkward and defiant stance with the media. Although he has rarely skipped his contractually mandated media appearances (all NFL players must be available to reporters as little as ten minutes after a game), Lynch has often refused to give a straight answer to any question, or to even say more than a single phrase.

“Yeah,” he responded to every question after the Seahawks beat the Cardinals on November 23.

“Thanks for asking,” he said again and again after a win on December 22.

Skittles, which Lynch often does on the sidelines during games, including the Super Bowl. A villain might make a show of hating interactions with the press, but he would not do so with a

“So and so really stepped it up tonight. I’m

come across as being persecuted by the league,

proud of him/her.”

a corporation which itself has unwittingly

else. For the past few years, Lynch, a star running back for the Seattle Seahawks, has

a villain would not gain strength by gulping

smile on his face. Most of all, a villain would not

minute press conference.

The reporters could not have expected much

But he has never been cast as a villain, because

“We just played within ourselves.”

“We had our backs against the wall.”

“We’re just taking it one game at a time.”

snatched the villain role over the past few years.

Any time Commissioner Goodell tries to force Lynch to conform on or off the field, such as when he threatened to have Lynch ejected from the NFC Championship game if he wore

Whatever his original intentions were, Lynch’s performance before the media has become an act of shrewd self-marketing.

These one-liners serve several purposes.

his preferred cleats, which were painted with

After the Seahawks’ first playoffs win, he

They provide a bevy of appropriate responses,

24-karat gold leaf, it only reminds people more

repeated “I’m thankful.”

allowing the most sought after or the most

serious crimes of other NFL players. Multiple

anonymous athletes to satisfy their media re-

players have been arrested in recent years for

Lynch’s behavior has divided media opinion

quirements. The media exposure gives the fans

crimes ranging from spousal and child abuse

while infuriating the NFL league office.

the illusion of being closer to their sports heroes

to murder, and several of them went totally

Commissioner Roger Goodell fined him

than they really are. Perhaps most importantly,

unpunished, or were only lightly disciplined, by

$131,050 this season alone for skipping media

these clichés are so tame and familiar that they

the league. It rings hollow when Goodell speaks

appearances, and for repeatedly grabbing his

could not possibly incite controversy. A clichéd

of Lynch’s obligations to the fans, seeing as the

crotch after scoring touchdowns. Shirking the

press conference is a non-story.

fans love him, while the NFL has been publicly

Media Day interview would allegedly have cost

accused of failing in its obligations to former

him $500,000 more. It seems patently unfair

But for Lynch, every press conference is a

players suffering long-term health problems

for a private person like Lynch to have to endure

story, and regardless of what he might lead

related to their football careers. Statistically

painfully uncomfortable media sessions week

people to believe. And he’s just fine with that.

speaking, Lynch has at least twice the risk of

after week. After all, it is likely that his behavior

Whatever his original intentions were, Lynch’s

developing Alzheimer’s disease or ALS before

with the media initially stemmed from shyness,

performance before the media has become an

the age of 60 than he would have if he had not

anxiety, or a genuine fear that his words would

act of shrewd self-marketing.

devoted his career to improving the TV ratings

be twisted.

Lynch’s invented persona is not limited to his

and memorabilia sales of a multibillion-dollar, tax-exempt corporation.

There is an easy way that most professional

press conferences. Many fans know Lynch by

athletes choose to handle the media — picking

his nickname, Beast Mode. The moniker arose

However, by using his Beast Mode persona

from a set of universally acceptable answers to

from his powerful running style, but has grown

for his own profit, Lynch is far from being an

common press conference questions. Nearly

to incorporate all the facets of a cartoon hero.

exploited victim. Many athletes have nicknames,

every athlete, from the most personable to the

On the field, Lynch hides his face behind a black

but Lynch has been particularly masterful in

most introverted, learns the routine early on:

visor and celebrates touchdowns with the most

capitalizing off his. Beast Mode is a registered

infamous crotch grab since Michael Jackson.

trademark, as well as a growing clothing brand.

26

political review | National

Lynch is certainly a complicated person.

Although he has both a hit-and-run and a DUI in his past, he seems to have a genuine interest in being a role model in his hometown of Oakland, where he does extensive charitable work. Although he is a frustration for the league, he is almost universally liked and supported by his teammates and coaches. After the Super Bowl ended on a controversial decision to pass rather than hand the ball to Beast Mode, Lynch showed nothing but class, as well as uncharacteristic eloquence, saying, “football is a team sport.”

“I’m just here,” Marshawn Lynch reiterated for anyone who might have misunderstood, “so I won’t get fined.” But, as he is surely aware, disobeying the NFL’s restrictive rules and getting fined may be the best thing that could happen to him. Punishing him will look silly, and Beast Mode will continue to stand out from less interesting players. Seeking to give a hand to their hero, multiple fundraising campaigns to pay his fines have been started or pledged over the past few years. The most recent, from MeUndies.com, pledged to match any fine for a Super Bowl crotch grab with a donation to Lynch’s charity.

The crotch grab didn’t happen, but even if it had, Lynch wouldn’t have had too much trouble Unsurprisingly, when Lynch told everyone that

Bowl Media Week, he did accept an appearance

he was there so he wouldn’t get fined, he was

on Conan O’Brien’s show, where, in his Beast

wearing a Beast Mode hat. (Perhaps wising up

Mode shirt and hat, he joked around with

a bit about how its fines look to fans, the NFL

Conan and Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.

declined to penalize him for advertising a non-

The week also saw the debut of two new

league partner brand). After a performance in

ad campaigns, for Skittles and Progressive

the interview that was soon referenced by Katy

Insurance, both with plots centering on an

Perry and Tiger Woods, business was booming

awkward press conference.

at the small, temporary store selling Beast Mode apparel at the site of the Super Bowl.

Lynch has made awkwardness and defiance

When the Seahawks came up short against

tried Lynch’s media strategy in the past, such as

the New England Patriots, Lynch lost both the

NBA star Allen Iverson, who infamously went

Super Bowl and another chance to reinforce

on a rant in 2002 about the unimportance of

his persona. Winning means an invite to a

practice, have been made into punch lines or

ceremony at the White House, which Lynch

villains. While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what

chose to skip last year; as always, he quickly

has allowed Beast Mode to be seen differently,

became the story of the trip, as President

his consistency might be the most important

Obama joked that he’d love to tell Lynch “how

factor. In seven years of Beast Mode in the

much I admire his approach to the press. I want

NFL, virtually never have we seen the real

to get some tips from him.” Of course, Lynch

Marshawn Lynch.

is not opposed to all invitations. During Super

paying the resulting fine. Rumor has it that he is considering retiring from football at the age of 28, but a reporter to have a grip on Lynch’s true thoughts would be the first. After receiving an offer for a huge contract extension, he will likely stay in Seattle for the foreseeable future.

With a little luck and Lynch’s continued media antics, the Beast Mode brand alone should be worth millions.

seem endearing. The few athletes that have

Benjamin Szanton is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at benjamin.szanton@wustl.edu.

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political review | NATIONAL

A Conversation with Xavier Briggs Victoria Sgarro

X

avier Briggs is a self-described generalist.

Budget, where he supervised policy, budget, and

Ferguson, Briggs takes the same balanced

Currently on public service leave from

management issues for about half the cabinet

approach to look for solutions.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology to

agencies until 2011.

serve as vice president of the Ford Foundation’s

“There has to be civilian oversight. ‘We the

Along the way, Briggs published his research on

People’ need to have a say. That has to be

economic opportunity, democracy, and racial

reconciled with an understanding that policing

and ethnic diversity in cities in three award-

is a tough function, a tough job. And ultimately

his career.

winning books: The Geography of Opportunity:

we need police commanders and beat cops

Race and Housing Choice in Metropolitan

and detectives and so on, all the people that

“The real question for me has always been how

America (2005), Democracy as Problem-

work with them, to be an active part of the

to make a difference…[When] you’re early in

Solving: Civic Capacity in Communities across

conversation, and not to hunker down and to

a process of figuring out the range of things

the Globe (2008), and most recently, Moving

feel that they’re universally being demonized.”

you might do in the world, it just takes time

to Opportunity: The Story of an American

to explore,” said Briggs in an interview with

Experiment to Fight Ghetto Poverty (2010).

Briggs believes that the factors that produce and

January 22, 2015.

Today, Briggs credits his success to his

poverty in America are no mystery. But solving

comprehensive approach to problem-solving

these kinds of pervasive social issues requires

As Briggs began his own process of exploration,

and the advantage which overlapping

creative thinking and a multidisciplinary outlook.

teachers encouraged him to pursue his

knowledge in multiple fields offers: “[I realized]

So, his advice for aspiring future leaders?

inclination towards math and science.

at some point in my career, probably 20

Captivated by the United States’ energy crisis

years back, that in a world of more and more

at the time, Briggs followed his teachers’

specialists and specialization, generalists are

advice, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in

correspondingly more valuable. Because they

engineering at Stanford University in 1989.

can be lateral thinkers, because they spot

Economic Opportunity and Assets Program, the sociologist and urban planner’s varying interests have led him down a winding path throughout

the Washington University Political Review on

perpetuate segregation and concentration of

“I do think if you discover that you’re a curious person, you have a range of interests, you like to spot connections — the arts and technological innovation and community organizing, or

uncommon connections.”

housing and health and community, or

that stood out to Briggs during his time at

Briggs has applied this interdisciplinary method

most exciting breakthroughs and a whole lot

Stanford. Rather, it was a class on infrastructure

to create social change throughout his career.

of leadership in this country have always been

planning in developing countries that managed

While he has held prominent and influential

about working the bleeding edge and working at

to pull together Briggs’ seemingly divergent

positions in government, top-tier universities

the intersections. And I think it’s very important

interests in engineering, social development,

and national and international organizations,

that young people in particular have that

and political economy.

he refuses to rely on one institution to promote

courage and take those risks.”

But it was not the traditional engineering classes

“I sort of bumped into [urban] planning. It gave

social justice, preferring the balanced solution.

me a set of tools and a lens for looking at the

“There’s been a tendency sometimes among

world right around me,” said Briggs.

movement builders in social change to expect

The infrastructure class would influence Briggs’ career trajectory after graduation, introducing him to the interdisciplinary field of urban planning. After leaving Stanford, Briggs collected a Master in Public Administration at Harvard University in 1993, and then a Ph.D. in Sociology and Education at Columbia University in 1996.

His knowledge of multiple fields brought him from community planning in the South Bronx in the 1990s to academia, and eventually to the White House. In 2009, President Barack

that government alone can rewrite history, rewrite destiny. And that’s a bit naive…you’ve got to have the kid, the parent, community leadership, teachers who care. It is a village, there’s no two ways about it, and government can’t legislate that. It can’t legislate what people should commit to in their everyday lives…I don’t think we can afford to fall into this binary of either you believe in government action or you don’t, or if you believe in it, you believe it’s the be all and end all. That doesn’t make sense.”

Obama appointed him to Associate Director of

When confronted by pressing contemporary

the White House Office of Management and

social issues such as the recent tragedy in

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something else — go with it. Many of the

For Briggs, that bleeding edge is the site of social change.

Xavier Briggs is currently vice president of the Ford Foundation’s Economic Opportunity and Assets program, where he “leads the foundation’s work promoting economic fairness, advancing sustainable development, and building just and inclusive cities in the United States, Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He also oversees the foundation’s regional programming in China, Indonesia, and India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.” To listen to the full exclusive interview, visit www.wupr.org.

Victoria Sgarro is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at vrsgarro@wustl.edu.

political review | National

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