14049: Durban Comment on Ives Analysis of U.S. Policy (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Lance Durban <lpdurban@yahoo.com>

In his Progressive article (Corbett #14039) Kim Ives twists a
few facts to write a story that corresponds with his
pre-conceived viewpoint.  Specifically, he writes...

  "Raise more cash crops" like coffee, sugar and cocoa,
  [Washington] told Haiti. But there is a worldwide
  glut of such products since the IMF and the World Bank
  gave the same advice to many exporters. A boon to U.S.
  and European food multinationals, this spelled ruin for
  millions of peasants who have had to leave the land,...

Sorry, but investment in Haitian coffee growing has been
negative for years and Haitian sugar production has all but
ceased so it is hard to see how this has been a boon for U.S.
and European food multinationals.  On the contrary, if Haiti was
still producing  sugar it would be importing less and saving
precious foreign exchange.   As for cacao, the prime ingredient
for cocoa, world supplies are tight, world prices are up, and
USAID-funded projects assisting farmers in this crop are
generally seen as a big success (albeit after several years of
disappointment when world cacao prices were down).

Ives continues:

  (millions of peasants)...flooding into cities in search
  of survival.  There, U.S. businesses set up assembly
  factories to capitalize on the cheap labor.

Where exactly are these factories, Kim?  To my knowledge there
have been NO new U.S. assembly factories in recent years.  Of
course to those of the opinion that factory work is exploitative
by definition, the fact that there has been no job creation in
this sector is probably cause for cheer.

My question to Mr. Ives is simple:  If you are critical of
policy recommendations to increase agricultural production (and
employment) but don't want to see those nasty old factories set
up to employ Haitians either, what do you want Haitian people to
do for a living?  Are you suggesting that maybe everyone should
simply go down to the port and wait until the foreign aid ship
docks with surplus American farm products?

I am not familiar with the journal in which the Ives article
appears, but is certainly can't be too "Progressive" with this
kind of faulty reasoning.

Lance Durban

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