The next installment of UNF Insights explores some problems associated with using what economists call "Purchasing Power Parity" (PPP) to assess what each member state must pay in dues to the United Nations. Readers of The Economist might recognize the term from the magazine's periodic "Big Mac Index," which uses the price of a McDonalds hamburger to compare economies around the world. In short, PPP is a way to measure comparative standards of living by comparing the price of a "basket of goods" in one place (i.e. a Big Mac in Bengal) to the same "basket of goods" elsewhere (i.e. a Big Mac in Bologna.)
When applied to the price of a hamburger, PPP gives harmless anecdotal evidence about the relative strength of economies. But if used to calculate UN dues - as some key member states have argued - it would have debilitating consequences for UN operations. To find out why, click here for my short essay on the topic.
It seems that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's theatrics at the General Assembly have backfired. After 36 rounds of voting, Venezuela still cannot garner the support of 2/3rds of member states necessary to win a seat on the Security Council. In the New York Times today, Warren Hoge explains that member states -- particularly in Latin America -- were none too happy with Chavez's anti-U.S. diatribe.
A little over one month ago, the pollster Frank Luntz released survey data suggesting that members of Congress could profit from making the United Nations into a "wedge issue" in the coming election. At the time, some pollsters questioned his conclusions, calling the work more of a PR driven poll designed to highlight negative sentiment than an objective research exercise.
Writing in the National Review Online, Mario Loyala suggests that South Korea's policy toward the North means that the new Secretary General will be an agent of Chinese interests at the UN. His argument is basically this: because Beijing and Seoul have strategies for confronting North Korea that are more similar to each other than to America's own strategy for dealing with the regime, South Korea's foreign minister-turned-next Secretary General will stand up for Chinese interests as a whole at the UN. This is a quite a sweeping assertion, particularly as it is based on an extrapolation from precisely one circumstance in which the foreign policy interests of these two countries temporarily align.
After taking issue with Ted Turner's positive take on the UN's handling of the North Korea crisis, Schraged at Redstate asks, "Can anyone Provide any evidence that the UN has ever actually accomplished anything beyond spending US Tax Dollars, providing a platform for Terrorists and Tinpot dictators to spew the Anti-American filth, and provide a retirement for corrupt burocrats [sic] like Kofi Anan [sic]?"
I can.
UNF board member Mohammed Yunus and his Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize today. In the 1970's Yunus pioneered the use of micro-loans to give rural entrepreneurs in the developing world start-up capitol needed for their small businesses. These loans typically range around $200, and are overwhelmingly directed toward women in the developing world who need funds to buy basic equipment or materials to get their small business off the ground. Fascinatingly, the Grameen Bank, which was founded in Bangladesh, claims a rate of return of over 90%.
In 1998 Ted Turner pledged $1 billion to United Nations causes. The United Nations Foundation that Turner established has now hit that mark.
As the UNF's press release says, "The Foundation (and its sister organization, the Better World Fund) has donated over $600 million from founder Ted Turner and over $400 million from individuals, corporations, governments, and NGOs to programs that address key global challenges in four areas: children's health, environment, women and population, and peace, security and human rights."
The Washington Post's Colum Lynch is reporting that China has indicated that it is willing to consider an economic sanctions regime for North Korea that references Article 41, Chapter 7 of the UN charter. This is big news.