What Can We Learn From The Rest Of The World's Leaders

In our last post we briefly discussed a recent article from Newsweek magazine that rated the best countries in the world to live. Unfortunately, the United States finished behind ten other countries relative to the Newsweek rating criteria. In that post we listed out several key actions that America, via its political class, needs to undertake in order to move us up that list of most desirable places to live.

Also in that article were a number of examples of what world leaders are doing in their respective countries that is resulting in improved living standards for their citizens. Some of these noteworthy efforts include the following:

• The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, is credited with moving India to the forefront of growth and power by getting rid of his country's stagnant socialism ways of doing things and embracing market driven capitalism. The Newsweek article depicts him, however, as being modest, humble, and incorruptible. Compare this to the current American political class that seems hell bent on jamming socialism down our throats and words like modest, humble, and certainly incorruptible (especially given the unethical and/or criminal behavior of Walters (alleged), Rangel (alleged), Blagojevich, Traficant, Cunningham, Jefferson., etc.) certainly do not apply to the prima donnas that currently reside in our political system.
• The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is the youngest prime minister in over a century but his aggressive attacking of the country's budget deficit has been credited with calming the financial markets relative to the British economy. Compare this to the American political class that continues to rack up record Federal budget deficits every month with no end in sight.
• As with England, the economy if Ireland is expected to rebound strongly due to the necessary but painful austerity moves that Irish Prime Minster Brian Cowen implemented to get his country's deficit spending under control. He had the courage to take a short term popularity hit while doing the right long term strategy, a feat of courage not present in our politicians today.
• Brazil's outgoing president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva took Brazil from a second rate economic power to an economic dynamo in the eight years of his rule, primarily because he understood that business was critical to growing the economy, not an enemy to the economy. Compare this attitude with the current White House attitude that feels that more business taxes and more regulations on business is the right thing to do, resulting in chronically high unemployment in the United States for the past year or so, a high unemployment rate that is not expected to decline any time soon.
• The President of South Korea, Lee Myung-Bak, is credited with using his business background to understand the financial crisis and then acting decisively to guide his nation to safety through the economic upheaval. As a result, South Korea recovered very quickly from the recession and the South Korean economy is expected to grow almost 6% in 2010. Compare this to the anemic 2-3% that the United States may grow in 2010 and the fact that our leadership still has not figured out how to get the economy fully out of the ditch.
• According to the article, the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabo "has earned a reputation as a leader with a heart." Compare that compassion to the lack of compassion shown by the Bush and Obama administrations regarding the Gulf disasters of Katrina and the BP oil spill, Senator Harry Reid who things American tourists to Washington DC in the summer physically smell, Nancy Pelosi who accused Americans who were against Obama's health care reform legislation as being un-American, the Congressman who physically assaulted a college student on the streets of DC after the student asked a question of the Congressman, or the two members of Congress who likened opponents of Obama Care to the racists who fought the Civil Rights movement. Not compassionate at all, downright disrespectful.
• Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is credited with uniting her country after decades of civil war and creating the economic environment for two major industries, timber and diamonds, to thrive and grow significantly. She also increase school enrollment by 40% and slashed its debt. Compare that to our politicians who look forward to demonizing those that dare to have differing views, who cannot get our public schools to be successful, and whose management of the economy has been less than stellar.
• King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is credited with modernizing schools, appointing women to high office, and investing in science and technology. Compare him to our politicians that have place virtually no emphasis on education process improvement, continue to be dominated by older white males in Congress, and who waste our tax money in building bike trails, building farmers markets, and other wasteful Federal earmarks rather than expanding the research and development efforts needed in science and technology.

Just consider some of the words above that describe some of the more dynamic and success leaders throughout the world: humble, modest, incorruptible, attacking budget deficits, sacrificing short term popularity for long term gains, modernizing schools, uniting her country, understanding business and capitalism, a leader with a heart, etc. How refreshing it must be to have leaders such as these. There is much to be learned from people who are actually focused on improving the lives of their citizens and not just on how get elected or where to find re-election campaign financing support. These people actually govern once in office, getting elected is a means to an end. Our politicians see getting elected as the end game.

That is why November is so critical to getting the nation out of every ditch that our current political class has driven us into. It is truly time to dump the incumbents and elect people that fulfill some of the ideals discussed above. Yes, we can learn a lot from the rest of the world's leaders. Whether we do anything about it is up to us.


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http://www.cato.org/
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http://www.robertringer.com/
http://www.realpolichick.blogspot.com/
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/