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Books on Third World Economics
(Sep 2007)
Over the years, I have collected some Economics books that
are relevant to current and past happenings in Belize. If I have enough
interest, I will start a discussion group here to talk about these ideas. Write
me if you're interested.
Everyone in the Third World should
read this book. It describes how the "Corporatocracy"
(comprised of large corporations, banks, and government) corrupts virtually
every small, poor country. Belize, the most recent target, is not
mentioned, but the story
of the dams on the Macal River is typical.
Friedman has some good ideas about
globalization but it's gone awry. The idea was to move the labor off
shore, and keep the management in the US. But...everything is
moving off shore, creating a crisis in the US. Unemployment, and the end
of the American Nuclear Family, eh?
Francis Gegg, third party candidate
for PM in 2004, turned me on to this book. It describes, in detail, how
Lee transformed Singapore rom "the cesspool" of the Orient"
into the number one economic power in the world. For one thing, he hung
a bunch of drug dealers -- something that will never happen in Belize!
Cruise ship tourism has destroyed the
basic nature of the Caribbean, and Belize is the latest victim. Read all
about it here.
 De
Soto explains that most countries don't have the infostructure to make
capital real. Trillions of dollars are owned but unregistered --
so that they can't be used as collateral for loans. An amazing
book! e.g. it takes 20 years to register a piece of property in
Peru! De Soto also discusses the difficulties of starting a business
south of the border. Look here
for a comparison of Belize and other Central American coutnries.
The river is the Rio Grande, and
Bowden focuses on the traffic around El Paso, but you will learn how Drugs and
Money have shaped Mexico, and some differences between MX and BZ.
Jeffrey Robinson...has a trilogy of
books about money, drugs and the people who traffick them. Belize is not
mentioned until the Third book, which focuses on the Caribbean, but even then,
the mention is incidental.
And a movie! An enjoyable way to learn the truth
about Cocaine and Narco-bux.
Blow. the
story of George Jung, the man who established the American cocaine market in the
1970's. You will see a house overflowing with money, and understand the real
economics of narco-bux.
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