Economic growth cycles behave in a way similar to the changing of the seasons: An economic boom is always followed by recession, just as no flower lives forever, while during the coldest winter, the green shoots of spring are never far away.
The nation’s economy is in negative growth. In times such as this, when an icy chill has enveloped the economy, it is difficult not to think about the teachings of John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek and Karl Marx.
Keynes said that during periods of economic downturn, state intervention is necessary to turn a nation’s economy around. However, Hayek, along with Charles Darwin and Adam Smith, believed economic fluctuations are caused by an “invisible hand,” and instead of intervening in the markets, Hayek said governments should protect their independence and the flow of information.
The markets, he argued, would then be able to look after themselves.
In contrast, Marx’s star appears to be waning, since the collapse of capitalism, which he predicted, has not come to pass. Instead, capitalism is riding high on a wave of globalization and technological advances, but the social inequality, as well as the pillaging and polluting of the environment, brought about by capitalism is becoming ever more serious.
The statements are not intended to poke fun at the right-wing Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Marx-worshiping Chinese Communist Party’s continuation of a 70-year-long political game. When leaving for Singapore, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) looked like an excited child heading off on a school trip. After the banquet, the red-faced Ma took on the appearance of a tipsy businessman exchanging toasts at a corporate dinner.
In May, Ma, who has failed to deliver on his promises and thus achieved little while in government, is to relinquish the reins of power. The treatment of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) after he stepped down from office is surely to be used as a blueprint for Ma: The accumulation of power is often a double-edged sword.
However, what Taiwanese should be getting angry about is the damage done to their health and the environment during the KMT administration. However, the Democratic Progressive Party has also been in government, during which time no real progress was made in these areas.
Regardless of whether Taiwan remains an independent nation or becomes a part of China, Taiwanese politics will always be concerned with geopolitical struggles: The so-called “1992 consensus,” “one China, same interpretation,” “one China, different interpretations” and “special state-to-state relations” are only political labels. The nation’s unique political situation should not be used as an excuse by politicians and the public to overlook the issues concerning health and the environment.
It is because insincerity is rife within Taiwanese politics that the public is more disgusted by environmental pollution than by a downturn in the economy.
For the past half-century, successive governments have supported the industrial sector at the expense of agriculture — and the disastrous effects of this neglect are beginning to unfold.
In the past few years, western Taiwan has been experiencing unhealthy levels of air pollution, which has more than likely been caused by the domestic petrochemical industry, power plants and factories. Instead of blaming the pollution on China, officials should get a grip on the culprits at home.
The top causes of death in the nation are cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. Taiwan should be more pragmatic — stop being buffeted about by the latest political labels attached to cross-strait relations and instead worry about air pollution, tainted rivers and the growing problem of obesity.
Last year, the Mexican government started levying an extra 10 percent tax on foods and beverages that contain sugar, which caused a 9 percent reduction in the purchase of sugar-containing foodstuffs by low income families over a period of more than one year.
Within the past few months, there has been an additional reduction of 8 percent in the consumption of sugar-rich foods.
According to a report published in the British Medical Journal by the University of Oxford’s School of Public Health, if a 20 percent tax were placed on sugar-containing foods and drinks — equivalent to NT$10 of tax per liter — then Britain would be able to prevent or delay about 200,000 cases of obesity.
Public health professionals across the world generally acknowledge that the development of green energy, and the taxation of sugar-containing foods and drinks, are the most effective ways of combating the problems of air pollution and obesity.
Achieving progress on these issues relies heavily on politicians’ ability to deliver concrete results. Unfortunately, few candidates are advocating such policies ahead of the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, and too many Taiwanese are still addicted to the staged political games with China, so much so that they fail to notice the real social and political revolution that is unfolding.
Chiang Sheng is an attending physician in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mackay Memorial Hospital.
Translated by Edward Jones
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