tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post5754164213855455569..comments2024-03-27T18:15:59.096+08:00Comments on Economics Malaysia: The Bumi Agenda: The Importance Of Evidence Based Policyhishamhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-75975169616321989502013-09-25T15:28:22.724+08:002013-09-25T15:28:22.724+08:00Kenny,
This isn't the road to serfdom :)
1. ...Kenny,<br /><br />This isn't the road to serfdom :)<br /><br />1. I don't think imposing capital gains tax or raising income tax rates turns an economy into a socialist one. I don't think you can call either Japan or Korea socialist economies, despite the fact that they both impose capital gains tax, and have comprehensive tax and transfer systems. In the US, short term capital gains hishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-21298314680888405162013-09-25T12:58:53.714+08:002013-09-25T12:58:53.714+08:00HI Hishamh,
Read the blog posts. I still think t...HI Hishamh,<br /><br /><br />Read the blog posts. I still think that having a high personal income tax / capital gains tax will reduce incentives for people to work hard / stay in the country. <br /><br />How will a high income tax / capital gains tax translate to economic growth? With a high income tax (eg: 83% as suggested), we will be leaving the distribution of wealth, consumption and Kennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08707073119562886887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-23696285430228783732013-09-24T15:41:50.751+08:002013-09-24T15:41:50.751+08:00@Jeremiah,
I don't think we live in the age m...@Jeremiah,<br /><br />I don't think we live in the age miracles.If we have grown "despite" social and productivity handicaps, I want to know the whys and wherefores.<br /><br /><i>"But with world commodity demand slowing and capital going back to the developed world, we will start to reap what we have sown."</i><br /><br />Commodity markets (for Malaysian exports) slowed hishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-65815040946207242902013-09-24T14:45:04.099+08:002013-09-24T14:45:04.099+08:00As I said, the Malaysian social experiment has no ...As I said, the Malaysian social experiment has no precedents. <br /><br />It is a miracle that we could have grown despite the social and productivity handicaps of the nation. <br /><br />But with world commodity demand slowing and capital going back to the developed world, we will start to reap what we have sown. Maybe no disaster but a slowdown to global irrelevance just as our markets are no Jonas Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10786108344875757153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-72755774637022652332013-09-23T10:22:11.895+08:002013-09-23T10:22:11.895+08:00@Kenny
Apologies, I missed your comment until tod...@Kenny<br /><br />Apologies, I missed your comment until today. Please refer to <a href="http://econsmalaysia.blogspot.com/2011/12/taxing-1.html" rel="nofollow">this blog post</a>. It explains quite a bit. <a href="http://econsmalaysia.blogspot.com/2012/03/social-and-economic-equality-its-not.html" rel="nofollow">This paper on the other hand</a>, shows the impact of non-intervention in capital hishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-67818364939425768742013-09-23T10:17:38.982+08:002013-09-23T10:17:38.982+08:00@Jeremiah,
1. Only so much can be done within the...@Jeremiah,<br /><br />1. Only so much can be done within the context of a blog post (in fact, this one's longer than usual).<br /><br />2. I'm unsure of the mechanism in your claim that money to support the poor reduces incentives for the middle income group to invest in their children. I would have thought the opposite would be true - the greater implied competition between children hishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-63622203130004935332013-09-23T09:33:36.162+08:002013-09-23T09:33:36.162+08:00Hisham
There are many political and social issues...Hisham<br /><br />There are many political and social issues that are not as clear cut as your article suggests. e.g. socialism vs capitalism and you have conveniently side stepped the issue of institutional racism and the power of incentives.<br /><br />The more money we provide the poor to have a so called "level playing field" the less the incentives there are for the middle-class toJonas Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10786108344875757153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-42129782923081083502013-09-19T23:28:32.019+08:002013-09-19T23:28:32.019+08:00Thanks you.Thanks you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-31464292425195262712013-09-19T17:49:51.471+08:002013-09-19T17:49:51.471+08:00Hi Hishamh,
I agree that having lesser inequalit...Hi Hishamh,<br /><br /><br />I agree that having lesser inequality is a good thing. However, it should be colour-blind and targeted. The distribution channel must also be transparent. As tax payer, I would like to know that we are really helping the poor, instead of some corrupt individuals. <br /><br />Furthermore, I'm all-in for a consumption based tax (GST) and an inheritance tax.<br /><Kennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08707073119562886887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-87677347216039556912013-09-19T15:08:02.080+08:002013-09-19T15:08:02.080+08:00Zuo De,
Found a new one for you.Zuo De,<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gini-research.org/articles/home" rel="nofollow">Found a new one</a> for you.hishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-84499648459030260642013-09-19T12:10:52.760+08:002013-09-19T12:10:52.760+08:00Yes i have the book "The Spirit Level" a...Yes i have the book "The Spirit Level" and also "The Selfish Society". I have similar conclusion as you. BUT, a big BUT, it is always the implementation that fails. I can buy bringing up all the poors rather than just concentrating on just bumi in general and Malay in particular. The devil is in the details... HOW TO SPREAD WEALTH EVENLY, that i believe you are also trying to Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-91242574759234174002013-09-19T11:53:25.150+08:002013-09-19T11:53:25.150+08:00@anon 7.19
BTW, you'll note that the policy m...@anon 7.19<br /><br />BTW, you'll note that the policy measures I'm advocating in this blog post are largely race-neutral.hishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-49953979674608847142013-09-19T11:50:05.968+08:002013-09-19T11:50:05.968+08:00But you're right, it's indeed a culture ch...But you're right, it's indeed a culture change that is needed.hishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-51721003550189622732013-09-19T11:49:36.121+08:002013-09-19T11:49:36.121+08:00Izuddin,
Education is certainly one part of the s...Izuddin,<br /><br />Education is certainly one part of the strategy, but I'm focusing here not on what the government has done or is doing, but have missed out on.<br /><br />You might want to read through <a href="http://econsmalaysia.blogspot.com/2013/09/talking-to-your-kids-inequality-and.html" rel="nofollow">the follow up post to this one</a>. <br /><br />A lot of the factors that predicthishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-53669616565608187782013-09-19T11:45:03.011+08:002013-09-19T11:45:03.011+08:00Zuo De,
You might be interested in this.Zuo De,<br /><br />You might be interested in <a href="http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/research" rel="nofollow">this</a>.hishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-66514392736243920262013-09-19T11:43:38.076+08:002013-09-19T11:43:38.076+08:00@anon 8.37
The logic is that since they have been...@anon 8.37<br /><br />The logic is that since they have been given every opportunity to succeed (since birth), they are most likely to do so. But as I said in the following paragraph, that isn't and shouldn't be our goal.<br /><br />That's why things like quotas and quantitative "targets" can be misleading. We could be mistaking the means (increasing the number of successfulhishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-54776558320437747402013-09-19T11:36:00.981+08:002013-09-19T11:36:00.981+08:00@anon 7.58
How did you get from what I wrote to p...@anon 7.58<br /><br />How did you get from what I wrote to presuming that it meant that all Bumiputeras are poor?hishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-72567841150499837572013-09-19T11:33:43.551+08:002013-09-19T11:33:43.551+08:00@anon 7.19
1. Yep, an anti-discrimination policy ...@anon 7.19<br /><br />1. Yep, an anti-discrimination policy would benefit all, not just Bumis.<br /><br />2. On taxation, been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. Higher income taxes would limit income inequality, but not wealth inequality. I'll have more to say about that soon.<br /><br />3. The disincentives concern me too, but education and business opportunities are insufficient. See hishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-8330591642455242022013-09-18T23:24:23.391+08:002013-09-18T23:24:23.391+08:00The only thing that I can agree with you is on the...The only thing that I can agree with you is on the education part although I sounded too details for the policy makers to address I.e BRIM based on completion of homework. Nevertheless, the question on education is still on the basis of "education for what"? The future of our labour forces must really depends on the type of knowledge and skills. Malays with adequate level of science andAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03570118780608490039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-26230105559189964802013-09-18T22:32:33.369+08:002013-09-18T22:32:33.369+08:00Hmmmm, so we let the lower income (poor) to rot th...Hmmmm, so we let the lower income (poor) to rot then, become thieves, join gangs, etc....<br /><br />And we start to stay in gated community???<br /><br />Zuo DeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-68698291385611281522013-09-18T20:37:18.792+08:002013-09-18T20:37:18.792+08:00You lost me here:
"If on average scions from...You lost me here:<br /><br />"If on average scions from higher income families are more likely to succeed, it is more economically efficient to concentrate efforts on assisting them rather than entrepreneurs coming from the broader population."<br /><br />Given what you have said previously:<br /><br />"high income individuals tend to come from higher income and stable (two-parent)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-40049440313284903762013-09-18T19:58:56.201+08:002013-09-18T19:58:56.201+08:00Poor people make up the majority of the country’s ...Poor people make up the majority of the country’s poor and hardcore poor, NOT BUMIPUTERAS<br /><br />There are rich Bumiputeras and poor Bumiputeras, lets not assume them ALL to be poor! sigh.. Why is everyone ignoring this simple logic???Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-41543580665214553672013-09-18T19:19:17.424+08:002013-09-18T19:19:17.424+08:00Isn't the Bumi agenda part of the national age...Isn't the Bumi agenda part of the national agenda? The non-Bumis are also part of the national agenda, no?<br /><br />If needs-based policy is constricting the kind out middle or upper SES level outcomes desired for Bumiputras, shouldn't the solution be found in anti-discrimination solutions?<br /><br />Since Bumis are being discriminated in the private sector (or non-Bumis in the public Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-72502401744798790152013-09-18T15:42:26.578+08:002013-09-18T15:42:26.578+08:00@anon
Yes they can. The question though is, will ...@anon<br /><br />Yes they can. The question though is, will they be willing to?<br /><br />As for foreign labour, I'm in two minds whether barring immigration is a good idea or not.hishamhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265308095732759923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297413898275266606.post-49047939656553996292013-09-18T12:48:37.771+08:002013-09-18T12:48:37.771+08:00Agreed. How can the poor invest in ASB2. I like th...Agreed. How can the poor invest in ASB2. I like this statement"Turning to labour market discrimination, the obvious answer is an Equal Opportunities Board or Commission, with broad legal powers to investigate and prosecute. This would be helpful not only to address Bumi employment, but also women or the disabled, in fact any marginalised group. This is one area that should be color-blind andAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com