suburbanmusings

The economic theory of comparative advantage was neatly illustrated in the Olympic Games closing ceremony this week. Comparative advantage, as I understand it, holds that an economy should concentrate on producing what will make it the most money.

Britain whose manufacturing base was decimated in the 1970s by competition with the low labour costs and high productivity of the Asian Tiger economies has transformed itself into a 'knowledge economy'. The source of its economic success is now banking, investment, legal services, innovation and creativity. Be it hedge funds or Harry Potter; Britain's economic prowess now relies on brain power rather than brawn.

China, on the other hand, has an abundance of cheap labour which has attracted investment by foreign companies. This has helped China to lift 400 million out of poverty and build a modern, industrialised economy.

Britain will not be able to spend the amount of money that China has thrown at the olympics, nor does it need to do. An 'intimate', innovative games is far more suited to Britain's place in the world. A grand, regimented, landmark games allowed China to formally announce its much delayed arrival on the world stage. Neither approach is wrong it's just what suits each country best.

The problem with the whole 'blood for oil/imperialist west Vs noble-savage east' narrative is that pesky little facts keep getting in the way. Today, for example, the democratically elected Iraqi Government discussed its first major international oil deal with the Zionist, neo-con state of, er, China. Iraq also announced that it would send cut price oil to its neighbours, Jordan and Lebanon. In the meantime the United States Government Accountability Office, (Explanation that’s an impartial, investigative body which is wholly independent of the Presidency and party politics), has found that American taxpayers have spent $48 billion on the reconstruction of Iraq since 2003. In the same period the Iraqi Government has spent just $3.9 billion on similar services despite the fact that the Iraqi Government will post a $79 billion budget surplus this year.

In fact Western countries have waived Iraq’s debts whilst Iraq’s Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian ‘brothers’ continue to pressure it to pay back billions of dollars in loans and reparations. The fight to depose Saddam Hussein, defend a democratic Government from terrorists and stop a civil war has cost the American economy $3 trillion, I’m not a professional economist but if America fought this war for profit then something doesn’t quite add up.

The Government Accountability Office Report found that American taxpayers have spent $48 billion on reconstructing Iraq whilst Iraq has earned $156 billion in oil exports since 2005, money that would previously have gone straight into the pockets of a really evil privatised company, Saddam Hussein’s Family PLC. Now I appreciate that it may well be difficult for the Iraqi Government to spend the $79 billion budget surplus on reconstruction at the moment but why do people denigrate America when it is virtually the only country in the world which is paying for Iraq’s reconstruction?

And how much has America actually made from the whole Iraq thing, assuming for sake of argument that that was the point of the whole exercise?
Well this independent and impartial report details all oil revenues and exports from Iraq since 2003 and it doesn’t list a single cent as going to the U.S. Government. Nothing, nada, zero, zilch, rien.

For the first time in Iraq’s history a democratic and reasonably accountable Government controls the country’s oil wealth. At the moment American taxpayers are funding the vast majority of Iraq’s reconstruction, this won’t continue forever and American combat forces will be out of Iraq by 2010. The two biggest threats to Iraq’s future are sectarian strife and Government corruption but still there is room to hope that the worst periods of Iraq’s history are in the past. Let us all work together to secure a future for a prosperous, democratic and free Iraq.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-08-19-voa59.cfm?rss=middleeast

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/world/middleeast/06surplus.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp

http://www.slate.com/id/2197007/

http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/featured/oif.html

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1013658.html

Shimmering, propulsive instrumentation and lyrics that speak of love, hope and redemption; ‘Tunnels’ is, perhaps, the epitome of what Arcade Fire are all about. It is a song set in the fierce Canadian winter in which two young lovers plan to escape their suffocating home life and dream of a future together as free adults. Like all the songs in Funeral it is empowering, uplifting and optimistic. More importantly it is a sincere and honest tribute to the power of human emotion. Also it features the lovely Regine Chassagne on drums. My favourite song of all-time (so far).

The performance says it all; this song is all about seizing the moment and maybe we all need a little help with that from time to time. Also this clip includes 'Rebellion (Lies)' as a kind of Arcade Fire bonus. The seamless transition from 'Power Out' into 'Rebellion (Lies)' that Arcade Fire often perform at gigs has to be one of the all-time great moments in live rock music.

'Since I Left You' is greater than the sum of its parts. Anitpodean group The Avalanches used dozens of samples from obscure and forgotten records to produce a song so chockfull of joy and optimism that it makes you want to dance without the aid of alcohol. And that's got to be a good thing.

Incidentally the album is probably one of the best of the decade and the video for 'Frontier Psychiatrist is pretty nifty too.

There are 9 songs on Arcade Fire’s debut album, Funeral, that could easily make it into my top ten and another two or three songs from their sophomore effort; Neon Bible, that could claim tenth spot. In the event, however, only three songs from Funeral made the final cut.

When I first started to listen to Funeral it felt like listening to a new genre of music; I can think of few other bands that have produced a comparable style of music before or since. Despite its title, Funeral is actually one of the most beautiful and uplifting albums ever written which is actually rather apt because when you think about it, a funeral is not a only a celebration of a person’s life but also a reminder of how precious our own lives are. Many of the lyrics on Funeral allude to existential angst and our collective failure to grab hold of life (‘Sleeping Is giving In’, ‘The Power’s Out In The Hearts Of Men’); ‘Wake Up’ is a clarion call to take control of your life and do things you always wanted to do; fittingly it then breaks out into ecstatic and euphoric Motown coda.

I will use live videos for all the Arcade Fire songs in this list because you really have to see them live to understand the passion and the intensity of their performances. The sound on this video is pretty bad and a lot of detail from the song is lost, however I chose this video because I felt it best summed up what Arcade Fire are all about. This was one of those rare moments when the band and the crowd were at one and both became performers. It came as no surprise when I learned that lead singer Win Butler studied Religious Studies at university as the band has a definite Messianic quality; certainly when three thousand people are singing in unison it’s impossible not to give in to their manifesto and follow their lead.

‘I backed my car into a cop car the other day’. Shit happens, as the saying goes; but next time it happens to you try listening to 'Float On' which has to be one of the best feel-good songs of the decade. It’s by far the most popular and accessible Modest Mouse song but so what? No man of woman born that can resist the fist-pumping, euphoric climax to this song. Apologies for the crappy video but it appears that Sony have blocked the use of the official video.

I haven't got much to say about 'The Funeral', except that it's epic, loud and a lot of fun. I don't know what the lyrics mean, if they mean anything at all, so interpret them however you wish. Oh and make sure you have the volume turned up as a high as it will go.

This song makes into the list for 3 reasons. Musically it’s full of understated chords, repressed emotions and pithy lyrics that are profoundly moving. Secondly the video itself is a work of art; an abstract and a literal history of Cash’s life. Thirdly and most importantly ‘Hurt’ cannot be removed from its context; it was a cathartic epitaph to Cash’s life of past regrets. And who hasn’t felt regret in their life? Any man who claims to have lived a life without regret is a liar. Recorded shortly before the loss of his beloved wife and indeed his own passing, it was a fitting end to a legendary career. Trent Reznor may get the writing credits but ‘Hurt’ was made and owned by Johnny Cash.

I bought two albums by The New Pornographers on the back of ‘Letter From An Occupant’, the albums were a trifle disappointing (although ‘Bleeding Hearts Show’ narrowly missed my top ten), yet this song seems to get better with each listen. Okay, so the video looks like it was done by an A-Level Media Studies student, with a budget to match, but close your eyes and concentrate on the song. It’s all in the muscular riffs, the driving, uplifting tempo and above all Neko Case’s fantastic voice. I usually can’t stand anything with the whiff of a Britpop influence but I love this song. I also find it rather amusing that a bunch of Canadians wrote the best Britpop song of all time.

This song is, perhaps, a little lucky to grab the #9 spot in my rundown. It makes it into this prestigious list by the virtue of the fact that it’s near the top of my current playlists but it is still at the point where it sounds fresh and raw. Whether I will still be listening to it next year is difficult to know. It is, however, an unquestionably great song; raw and indignant, propulsive and emotional, it is, to coin a phrase, an alt-anthem. Maybe StWC will make it their anthem; then again subtlety has never been their thing.

Yeah I know it's more premature than Obama's Berlin victory speech but, hey, I like making gratuitous lists. I'm not entirely sure that this is my definitive list and with another Arcade Fire album hopefully due before 2010 it could all change very quickly.

Anyway here's the provisional run down starting with #10.

She was the victim of a tragic plane crash in that innocent pre-9/11 summer of 2001, but as a result Aaliyah's legacy remains untarnished by the self-opinionated and vulgar antics that befall many a pop star. In her short life she produced several great records but this one is possibly the greatest R'n'B record of the decade. A deceptively simple melody transformed by a heavenly voice, a gloriously funky beat and some very clever production; it's R'n'B at it's best.

Since 1997 an extra three million jobs have been created in the British economy, more than 1.8 million of these jobs have been taken by immigrants. At the same time there are still 3.5 million claimants on the benefits system and 2.4 million claims for the job seekers allowance each year. The welfare systems of the Western capitalist economies began has a noble attempt to provide a safety net for the disposed but it is becoming increasingly clear that the Byzantine social security systems have engendered a culture of dependency and irresponsibility amongst the West’s underclass.

The problem is not a lack of employment opportunities. Eastern European workers have come to do jobs that were shunned by Britain’s unemployed. The Eastern Europeans have managed to find employment even though many don’t speak the language and are sometimes overqualified. Many are middle-aged and support families back home or in the UK. They don’t ‘undercut’ British workers because Britain has a generous minimum wage and in any case the wages are higher than any state benefits. Similarly if you go to your local supermarket you will see cashiers who are over retirement age; they continue to work because they want to. If retirees and foreigners can find employment in Britain then there is no excuse for Britons of working age to be out of employment and living on benefits.

For some it is simply a case that they would simply rather pick up their benefits than work a 35 hour week. Others are trapped by the vicious cycle of depression, despondency, dependency and a lack of confidence. A few are addicted to alcohol or hard drugs. All cases represent untold tales of wasted talent and potential. A system that offers no way to break out and maintains the status quo is one that harms both the unemployed and the society that supports them.

The general consensus is that Tony Blair bottled the chance to implement radical reform of the welfare system in 1997 and instead opted for the safer but ultimately ineffective New Deal at a cost of over £60 billion over ten years. At the same time in America Bill Clinton pursued a more radical reform of America’s welfare system including the hiring private companies to help train and educate the long term unemployed. Public-private partnerships have helped to radically reduce long term unemployment in the parts of America where they have been trialed.

Today there are entire estates in British cities where welfare dependency has become a way of life and for too many there is no incentive to work. For example for some single mothers it is more profitable to earn a living from benefits than it is in the work place. The key principles of the Beveridge report were that welfare systems should not stifle incentives to work, opportunity and a sense of responsibility amongst the poorest sectors of society. It is clear that far from providing a safety net for the dispossesed, the benefits system has actually helped to create a glass ceiling that has trapped the poorest people in Britain. There are at least 60 neighbourhoods in Britain where more than 50% of adults are on benefits and not in employment; in some areas over 75% of adults claim unemployment benefit. More than 80% of families on unemployment benefit do not have a single family member that is actively searching for work. There are also over 100,000 drug addicts and alcoholics on full incapacity benefits as a result of their addictions. This means that the Government is handing them taxpayers’ money to fund their drug abuse. Where is the sense in that?

For some drugs addiction and mental illness prevent employment, for the vast majority though there is no excuse. If an 80 year old man can find work stacking shelves or a middle-aged Polish woman without a word of English can find a job then so can any able-bodied British man or woman. All the major parties have recently announced plans to radically reform the welfare system; this will benefit both society as a whole and those that are caught in the welfare trap. In my view they don’t go far enough.

As well as training the unemployable and the skill-less and curing the addicts we should also be promoting responsibility, opportunity and the incentive to work. At the moment there is too much incentive not to work. I don’t claim to fully understand Milton Friedman’s ideas about negative income tax for the poor but why doesn’t the Government provide extra benefits for those poor families that do find employment rather than throwing all its cash at those that contribute nothing to the state? At least that way there is a financial incentive to bet back to (or start) work. Why not also make community service mandatory for the long term unemployed? Not only will this provide an incentive to work, (claimants are no longer getting something for nothing) but it may also engender a sense of social responsibility. We can but live in hope.

Oh and finally on the subject, I highly recommend this programme. Watch the preview clip; it says it all!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/white/poles.shtml