Sunday
I would love to open a current account with the World Bank. Imagine having those portentious words printed all over your cheques. I wonder what rate of interest they would give me on my savings? Do they do mortgages? How about financial planning?
I would truly be tempted to make such enquiries were it not the fact that the 'World Bank' seem to regard themselves as being way above all that kind of vulgar, selfish, money-grubbing. Much better to channel their energies into pious waffle:
The real curse of world poverty is the lack of access to crucial services such as education and healthcare, the World Bank has warned.
Poverty is indeed a curse but it is a curse that can be so easily banished by the application of capitalism and property rights. Embrace those two pillars of civilisation and good education and healthcare will follow as naturally as night follows day.
One would have thought that, being 'bankers' and all, the paladins of the World Bank would know that. If they do, they are keeping it very quiet. I wonder why?
And I also wonder why they appear to be so obsessed with tradeable services such as education and healthcare? Is that because their true constituents are the Western bureaucrats who hold a monopoly control over just those services? I don't suppose they would be at all interested in expanding their empires? No, of course not. Heaven forfend.
I don't think that the World Bank is interested in offering me a savings account. Nor are they interested in ending world poverty. Not when the wealth and status of the privileged class they belong to is sustained on the back of it.
"Poverty is indeed a curse but it is a curse that can be so easily banished by the application of capitalism and property rights."
well said! unfortunately too many people see education and healthcare as a "right", not as tradeable services, and as we all know, if someone has a right to education or healthcare, then someone else is obliged to provide them. property rights cannot be upheld in a society that views education and healthcare as human rights.
Posted by tony at September 21, 2003 11:14 AM
I worked with a few Borld Wankers. Every time they organised a meeting the first call they made was to the four (red) start hotel nearby. If it was fully booked, then the meeting would be re-planned.
I hear that a few are now working for the Labour Party. Apparently they have been well trained in spending other people's money.
Posted by Anonymouse at September 21, 2003 09:22 PM
I would love to open a current account with the World Bank. Imagine having those portentious words printed all over your cheques.
I once got unsolicited mail from the IMF which was quite thrilling, until I realised that they were trying to sell me year planners. Still, nice to know my Visa bill does not threaten an avalanche of cross-cascading defaults.
Posted by Anonymous Coward at September 22, 2003 01:05 AM
Nor are they interested in ending world poverty. Not when the wealth and status of the privileged class they belong to is sustained on the back of it.
And then libertarians wonder why people percieve them as a bowl full of fruits, nuts and flakes.
Yeah, The World Bank and the entire western world (primary opressor: U.S.) get all their cash from the arse-end of Africa. Uh-huh.
You were doing great till you hit that note... try to not assume everyone here lives in the same echo chamber where idiocies like that go unchallenged because 'everybody knows it'.
Posted by Ryan Waxx at September 22, 2003 01:19 PM
Ryan,
"Yeah, The World Bank and the entire western world (primary opressor: U.S.) get all their cash from the arse-end of Africa. Uh-huh."
Is that your assertion or are your trying to suggest it was mine?
Posted by David Carr at September 22, 2003 01:36 PM
Did you or did you not say that the wealth and status of the priveleged classes is sustained on the back of world poverty?
Posted by Ryan Waxx at September 22, 2003 01:53 PM
Ryan, erm, couldn't it be more to do with fear of the competition that might come from a rich, productive Africa, rather than getting, "all their cash from the arse-end of Africa"?
Posted by Rob at September 22, 2003 02:21 PM
Ryan,
No, what I said that is the wealth and status of the 'privileged class' to which the World Bankers belong is sustained on the back on poverty. That 'privileged class' consists of the Tranzi bureaucrats who get paid by the Western taxpayers to cluck about third-world poverty.
In future, Ryan, may I suggest that you actually read what is written before flying off the handle.
Posted by David Carr at September 22, 2003 04:40 PM
I see my error now (just got back from work, explaining the delay). Your boorish sarcasm aside, I see I did indeed make a mistake. Consider those remarks taken back.
And I agree with your reasoning. When 'helping the poor' becomes insitutionalized, it attracts petty functionaries whose main job is keeping their job and status.
Power doesn't corrupt, rather it attracts the corruptable...
Posted by Ryan Waxx at September 22, 2003 11:39 PM
