September 2009

Bernard Kouchner, the French minister for Foreign and European affairs, has proposed to tax certain financial transactions to raise money to better help African countries. It’s a modest sum, something like 5 euros for a 1000 euros transaction, or 0.005%, but according to him it could generate $44 billion and would go a long way to fill the need and make up for the problems ran into by the Millennium Developments Goals which were meant to half poverty by 2015. When we read that World Food Aid is at a 20 year low, and the recession has hit the less fortunate the hardest and that there are one billion hungry people in the world, Mr. Kouchner’s idea gives hope and is worth thinking about if not implementing. The chairman of Unitaid, Philippe Douste-Blazy, for one endorsed the idea in a NYT editorial. No one likes taxes but when they are meant as a way to share, we ought to open our hearts and acquiesce.

Sometimes the foreign press is a better source of information for certain type of news about the US. Reading Germany’s Der Spiegel I learned that the US senate had passed a bill—not yet the whole Congress, please note—mandating a $10 entry fee for each person coming to the US from a country where a visa is not required, countries like Germany, France, the UK. Germany’s interior minister called the fee “not logical” and a high-ranking member of the German government is asking Washington to abandon any such plan. The money thus raised is meant to be used to pay for an advertising campaign to promote tourism. Wouldn’t an open door policy be a better message to visit the US? Why place obstacles in the way of a free flow of people? At a time when the US’ image still needs tweaking, why make the task that much harder? Is the loss of goodwill worth the projected monetary gain?

The Swiss government is considering amending its laws allowing assisted suicide. One of its clinics, Dignitas has been much in the news for allowing non Swiss citizens to come to Switzerland, pay their money (about $6000) and end their life. They apparently have no permanent space and rent apartments when they need them. In one building the tenants complained too many coffins were being taken out. In another instance the suicide occurred in a parking lot. There is also a question as to where the money goes particularly since Dignitas is a non profit organization and as such is not meant to operate for the financial gain of its principals.
How assisted suicide clinics work ought to be transparent. The current questions are well placed. Hopefully, Swiss lawmakers will act to ensure that the practice of Dignitas and other such clinics reflect the necessary transparency.