When the Chinese government is the sole source of information, how much of it should be believed? In terms of economic performance, not that much. The Wall Street Journal’s Tom Orlik, author of a book on the subject, challenges those skeptical of Chinese numbers to make a better case. Challenge accepted. To be clear, it is not true that Chinese numbers are wrong all the time. Also, China does not always overstate its economic performance. GDP growth was slower in 2011 than Beijing claims, but it was faster in 2010. …
Last week, in Merída, Mexico, the leaders of Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia met to affirm their shared commitment to economic integration, growth, and competitiveness. You may not have heard of the summit. In fact, a Google search of recent U.S. news articles covering the meeting of the “Pacific Alliance” turns up only nine results. It seems that while the United States’ key partners in Latin America were meeting to discuss critical economic and trade issues, America failed to pay much attention. America’s disregard, however, makes little sense. With a …
Maintaining and modernizing our armed forces doesn’t just protect America, it fulfills the Constitution’s mandate to “provide for the common defense.” Yet the defense budget appears to be one place where President Barack Obama and Congress are looking to offset massive new spending elsewhere – “stimulating” or otherwise. “The Pentagon faces a $100 billion annual shortfall in its procurement and modernization accounts,” warns Kim Holmes, Heritage’s vice president for defense and foreign policy studies. “The question facing Mr. Obama is not whether to trim a few expensive and unnecessary weapons …
