How the power of ideas can transform a country

José Piñera ^

[ddtorque]

Whenever I explain the Chilean Social Security Reform in my travels around the world, invariably the first questions I am asked are: How could such a pioneering reform happen in an emerging country like Chile? How was it done?

It all began in 1956 when the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the Catholic University of Chile signed a three-year agreement of cooperation with the Department of Economics of the University of Chicago. The agreement was strongly promoted by Albion Patterson, the visionary representative in Chile of the US aid program, and was renewed twice, for a total of nine years.

The two deans, Julio Chana of the Catholic University and Theodore W. Shultz of Chicago University, showed remarkable courage, and professor Arnold Harberger devoted his life to bring about this so-called "Chile Project". The extraordinary transfer of ideas that took then place created the best economics faculty in Latin America. In the 1960s hundreds of students such as myself were learning rigorous economics and discovering public policy ideas based on individual freedom and private enterprise.

Soon there was a critical mass of free market economists, with a common diagnosis of the country's economic problems and similar views on the needed solutions. Since ideas have consequences, this group began to influence the public debate and began to be referred to as the "Chicago Boys."

[Kitten Festival]

Good post, this guy is really good.

[The Teen Conservative]

Ditto. I believe Bush is following after something like this.

[B4Ranch]

By including Mexican citizens in our SSI Program? I don't follow you.

[ClaireSolt]

I have a neighbor who is an American who came from Mexico and worked in NY and raised a family. He is now aout 80. He wanted to retire to Mexico on his Social Security, but current rules cut his benefits in half, if he lkived in Mexico. So he lives in Florida. I suspect people exaggerate what Social Security would pay workes whoi return to Mexico, and I think the point is to have them go back.

[B4Ranch]

>>. He wanted to retire to Mexico on his Social Security, but current rules cut his benefits in half, if he lived in Mexico.<<

If your neighbor returned to Mexico with his SSI payments, when he spent them the cities, couinties, states and the IRS would not be able to collect any taxes.

Your friend could do what the Mexican citizens do. Use a Visa Card in Mexico and withdraw the money from a bank account in the US.

But then he probably has too much of an ethics problem with that idea. Principles and moral values can be a real pain in the neck sometimes. He needs to learn that trick about leaving his family values at the Rio Grande, the same way the illegals do.

You see, it's okay to break the law. Really, it is. The same way the President refuses to enforce the laws in the US Code regarding immigration, thereby violating his Oath of Office.

Each president recites the following oath, in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

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TITLE 8 > CHAPTER 12 > SUBCHAPTER II > Part II > § 1181	Prev | Next
§ 1181. Admission of immigrants into the United States
Release date: 2004-02-11
(a) Documents required; admission under quotas before June 30, 1968 Except as provided in subsection (b) and subsection (c) of this section no immigrant shall be admitted into the United States unless at the time of application for admission he (1) has a valid unexpired immigrant visa or was born subsequent to the issuance of such visa of the accompanying parent, and (2) presents a valid unexpired passport or other suitable travel document or document of identity and nationality, if such document is required under the regulations issued by the Attorney General. With respect to immigrants to be admitted under quotas of quota areas prior to June 30, 1968, no immigrant visa shall be deemed valid unless the immigrant is properly chargeable to the quota area under the quota of which the visa is issued. (b) Readmission without required documents; Attorney General’s discretion Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1182 (a)(7)(A) of this title in such cases or in such classes of cases and under such conditions as may be by regulations prescribed, returning resident immigrants, defined in section 1101 (a)(27)(A) of this title, who are otherwise admissible may be readmitted to the United States by the Attorney General in his discretion without being required to obtain a passport, immigrant visa, reentry permit or other documentation. (c) Nonapplicability to aliens admitted as refugees The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to an alien whom the Attorney General admits to the United States under section 1157 of this title.	Search this title: Notes Updates Parallel authorities (CFR) Your comments
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http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode08/usc_sup_01_8_10_12_20_II_30_II.html

Rather than being examples we would want our children to follow, our political leaders have become examples of who not to emulate.

I get angry having to use the words leader and representative because these sorry examples are not people I want to lead or represent me.

Being a law breaker is not something my wife and I have never advised to our children.

America is becoming a ghetto because of these people in our legislative offices.

I noticed that you are a historian. Can you give us some history on where this all started?

[meadsjn]

You see, it's okay to break the law. Really, it is. The same way the President refuses to enforce the laws in the US Code regarding immigration, thereby violating his Oath of Office.

The sooner our law-abiding, tax-paying citizens catch on to this, the sooner they will rid themselves of the anti-American communist liberals and socialist neo-cons who are destroying our economy and our sovereignty.

Productive Americans should not be paying taxes to a government that represents only the non-productive here and competitors abroad.

It's probably going to get real unpleasant in the next couple of years, as tax-paying citizens increasingly become downwardly mobile, bankrupt, homeless, and seriously unhappy with their trusted servants.

[B4Ranch]

Anyone who thinks they have trusted servants is ignorant of the facts.

[JustAnotherSavage]

I have no credentials as a historian. I did like one line in the article,

" My motto was that we needed a “radical reform with a conservative execution”


The Chili form of SSA sounds alot like what Pres. Bush is proposing with the privatization part. It's the "conservative execution" part that worries me. He has noble ideas, but seems to flounder in the execution end and with the current SSA (totally dysfunctional) in charge of Mexican totalization of SS benefits, and reform all at once...I smell disaster. The only reform of the SSA in the past four years has been to throw yet more money at it to hire more attorneys. A Sept. GAO report describes the waste and dysfunction of that bureaucracy.

[lucysmom]

Ditto. I believe Bush is following after something like this.

There is a lot of evidence indicating that Chile's economic reforms were anything but successful. While unemployment is low, the poverty rate is over 50% compared to 28% before implementing the policies promoted by the Chicago Boys.

Before signing on to the "economic miracle", a closer examination of the considerable dark side is recommended.