Toma nota.../Take note...

Latvia is still one of the poorest countries of Europe and one with large income inequalities. That is the legacy of the Soviet era. But even when Latvia is a land of extremes where 42% of children live at risk of poverty and social exclusion, the state is still able to afford paying 142,000 euros in paternity benefits for one child, and up to 200,000 euros in unemployment benefits. Changes to the law adopted in September will provide a 50% real estate tax discount to large families, but critics argue that Latvian benefits system overall works largely in favor of the wealthy, allowing them to receive huge benefits, while people on small incomes receive minimum benefits. Therefore, they expect their government to emulate some of President Obrama's policies of "taxing the rich"

Latvians hope to join the euro zone in 2014

Nov. 19.─ With the clock ticking until Latvia gets a green light to join the euro zone in 2014, the Baltic state's leaders are pulling out all the stops to demonstrate just how ready it is. But while officialdom is gung-ho, away from the corridors of power the mood is unenthusiastic in this nation of two million, which has emerged from the world's deepest recession and remains locked in an austerity drive.

Peoples who have enjoyed undeserved and artificial prosperity based on the irresponsible growth of public debt, now reject the austerity measures needed to balance its current accounts. There are many economists who are preaching greater budget expenditures to generate more wealth, overcome the recession and reduce unemployment, without taking into account that the rising debt sooner or later we all have to pay for it.

Monetary policy is the secret ingredient to bringing down public debt

Goals: Restore competitiveness only through domestic deflation, not devaluation, and reduce debt only through austerity

Sept. 30.─ Politicians across the rich world are quarrelling over how to deal with public debt. Yet the most important actors in the drama may be unelected central bankers, according to a study by the International Monetary Fund, published in its latest economic outlook. The IMF looked at 26 episodes since 1875 when debt topped 100% of GDP, to determine how those ratios got back down.

Growth, spending cuts and tax increases did their bit, but the make-or-break factor was monetary policy.

• Análisis comparativo de los servicios microfinancieros en el mundo
• La justicia social depende de la creación de oportunidades de iniciativa privada en igualdad de oportunidades

Credit Suisse se ha sumado a las empresas bancarias interesadas en promover el microcrédito y a estos efectos ha anunciado su respaldo financiero a las actividades caritativas de Accion International, una ONG descrita como "institución sin fines de lucro dedicada a crear oportunidades económicas conectando a las personas con las herramientas financieras que necesitan para mejorar su calidad de vida".

Accion International se ha dedicado a promover las microfinanzas desde el primer microcrédito otorgado en 1973 y ha formado durante los siguientes 40 años 62 instituciones microfinancieras en 31 países de África, Asia, América Latina y también Estados Unidos, otorgando créditos por un valor total de más de 300 millones de dólares.

Los microcréditos son cantidades pequeñas, frecuentemente de menos de US$1000, otorgadas a personas que intentan abrir o ampliar pequeños o nacientes negocios y se concenden a un interés muy bajo. Puede ser un puesto de frutas y verduras o una pequeña tienda de reparar zapatos o de costura, entre muchas otras iniciativas cuyos créditos suelen aprobarse en estos casos.

La metodología del microcrédito comprende una multitud de actividades involucradas en el crédito que incluyen las ventas, la selección y el estudio del cliente, el proceso la solicitud y aprobación, la supervisión del pago, y la administración de la mora y la cartera.

Muhammad Yunus, un bengalí de 72 años, fue el primero que se atrevió a poner en práctica el concepto del microcrédito en 1976, ideado por el pakistaní Dr. Akhter Hameed Khan, concentrando su actividad en aquellas personas humildes que no pueden solicitar un préstamo bancario tradicional y basado en la teoría conocida como "Círculo Vicioso de la pobreza" del economista sueco Ragnar Nurkse (1907-1959), explicada por primera vez en su libro "Problemas de formación de capital en los países en vías de desarrollo". Con el propósito de aplicar la idea del Dr. Khan y la teoría de Nurkse, Yunis fundó el Banco Grameen, que hoy día cuenta con más de 2,200 sucursales y más de 20,000 empleados.

  Although the issue of health care is a very controversial topic that stands out in the US Presidential campaign, very few people know the main points of the debate.  Therefore, we offer below the main points of the Republican proposal (including Paul Ryan's legislative initiative) as an alternative to the Health Care Reform known as "Obamacare", and then we copy the main elements of the law that is already in force, taken from an official website of the White House.  Finally, we copy from an independent source a perspective of the PROS and CONS of the Health Care reform already in force. What is your opinion on this issue?  Open the full text of this report (click on "leer más") and let the World know your views in the space at the foot of the text.

Republican Party Health Care proposals ("A Pledge to America")

Enact Medical Liability Reform

Skyrocketing medical liability insurance rates have distorted the practice of medicine, routinely forcing doctors to order costly and often unnecessary tests to protect themselves from lawsuits, often referred to as "defensive medicine." We will enact common-sense medical liability reforms to lower costs, rein in junk lawsuits and curb defensive medicine.

Purchase Health Insurance across State Lines

Americans residing in a state with expensive health insurance plans are locked into those plans and do not currently have an opportunity to choose a lower cost option that best meets their needs. We will allow individuals to buy health care coverage outside of the state in which they live.

Expand Health Savings Accounts

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are popular savings accounts that provide costeffective health insurance to those who might otherwise go uninsured. We will improve HSAs by making it easier for patients with high-deductible health plans to use them to obtain access to quality care. We will repeal the new health care law, which prevents the use of these savings accounts to purchase over-the-counter medicine.

Ensure Access for Patients with Pre-Existing Conditions

Health care should be accessible for all, regardless of pre-existing conditions or past illnesses. We will expand state high-risk pools, reinsurance programs and reduce the cost of coverage.

The problem of banking arises from governments granting them the right to use our money –the money we deposit in savings and other similar accounts– for risky investing ventures.  They trade and speculate with our money.  Investment bankers buy and sell securities, whether equity or debt.  They also engage in financial engineering.  Financial instruments have quite an upside potential, but buyers of these instruments should be aware of behavior characteristics that affect the marketing of these instruments. When markets drop, they are the losers, not bankers. Strict regulation is required to balance this equation.  Banking executives playing this game at leisure are immune under the present system where they never risk being on the losing side, while they collect multimillionaire salaries and bonuses.  Therefore, they will continue to take exorbitant amounts of risk.  And governments keep bailing them out with more of our money.

They make the rules, and get the gold

July 14.─ The crisis has taught people a lot about the banking industry and the thought processes of its leaders. These lessons can be distilled into four golden rules.

1. The laws of supply and demand do not apply. When food producers compete to supply a supermarket, the retailer has the luxury of selecting the lowest bidder. But when it comes to investment banking, wages are very high even though the number of applicants is vastly greater than the number of posts. If the same was true of, say, hospital cleaning, wages would be slashed.

An investment bank, like a supermarket, demands a certain quality standard: it will not hire just anybody. But whereas it may be easy to identify a rotten banana, it is harder to be sure which trainee will be the next Nick Leeson and which the potential George Soros. That gives executives an excuse when things go wrong.

2. Success is down to my genius; failure is caused by someone else. When banks do well, and profits soar, the bosses are responsible for it all with their strategic cunning and inspiring leadership. Huge bonuses are therefore due.