: THE LIGHTHOUSE "Enlightening Ideas for Public Policy..." Vol. 8, Issue 28; July 10, 2006
------------------------------------------------------------ - IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE: 1. U.S. Immigration Policy Debated: Benjamin Powell vs. Victor Davis Hanson 2. Mexico's Struggle for Reform 3. Worst President of the Postwar Era? 4. Liberty, Economy & Society Seminar for Students -- August 7-11 Session Still Open ------------------------------------------------------------ - Welcome to THE LIGHTHOUSE, the weekly e-mail newsletter of the Independent Institute, the non-politicized public-policy research organization. Edited by Carl P. Close, THE LIGHTHOUSE provides you with updates of the Institute's current research, publications, events and media programs, plus commentary on current affairs. ------------------------------------------------------------ - U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY DEBATED: Benjamin Powell vs. Victor Davis Hanson Debate is a necessary and healthy ingredient to a free society -- on that one issue virtually all Americans agree. Hence, we Americans debate -- endlessly and passionately -- about defense and foreign policy, about health care and the environment, about criminal justice and legal reform, and much more. Debates about immigration seem especially passionate -- not only because so many foreigners wish to come to the United States to partake of the American dream, but also because the question of who is entitled to enjoy the American dream is intimately tied to the question of what it means for an individual to possess the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. On March 6, the Independent Institute's Benjamin Powell (director, Center on Entrepreneurial Innovation) debated U.S. immigration policy with classicist and noted writer Victor Davis Hanson (California State University, Fresno) as part of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's Cicero's Podium Debate Series. We are pleased to announce that a recording of this debate is now available online in video and audio. Like the Independent Institute's Open Letter on Immigration, we hope LIGHTHOUSE readers will find that the Powell-Hanson debate advances our mission to "improve the quality of public debate." "Should a Free Society Limit Immigration?" -- Benjamin Powell vs. Victor Davis Hanson http://www.isi.org/lectures/lectures.aspx?SBy=lecture&SFor=375afd9e-6ebb-4b89-a086-996a79db43ab Open Letter on Immigration: http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1727 For more on immigration, see http://www.independent.org/issues/search.asp?subID=26 ------------------------------------------------------------ - MEXICO'S STRUGGLE FOR REFORM Lawyers for Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador hope to spur a vote recount that will lead to a reversal of his slim loss against Felipe Calderon in last week's Mexican presidential election. In two op-eds he wrote last week Alvaro Vargas Llosa, director of the Independent Institute's Center on Global Prosperity, illuminated the stakes in Mexico's election. In the first, "A Tale of Two Mexicos" (7/5/06), Vargas Llosa discusses the fundamental challenges that outgoing President Vicente Fox found insurmountable: "Although Fox needs to be commended for continuing to open up the political system and guaranteeing freedom of the press, he failed to push through the types of reforms that might have helped his country leap forward and build a constituency for the acceleration of structural change," Vagas Llosa writes. "Because he couldn't untie the many knots that keep productivity low, the big divide between the small segment of society that is fully globalized and the masses who gravitate toward the informal economy or toward the border with the U.S. has not been bridged. With an average annual growth of 2 percent, the economy has failed to pull people out of poverty. The only reduction in poverty Fox can point to has to do with cash transfers that provide temporary relief." Vargas Llosa continues this theme in "Will Mexico 'Jump to the Top'?" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/6/06): "Mexican voters would have shunned Mr. Lopez Obrador altogether were it not for the shortcomings of the reforms of the last two decades. What those reforms left untouched is as important as what they modified. Yes, financial stability was achieved and has been maintained -- Mexican bonds had a maximum maturity of only one year in 1985; the figure today is 20 years. And, yes, hundreds of inefficient companies were privatized and trade was liberalized to a significant extent. But the economy continued to suffocate under heavy taxation, government-protected monopolies, labor legislation whose rigidity is surpassed only by sub-Saharan Africa, and, above all, the absence of the rule of law." "A Tale of Two Mexicos," by Alvaro Vargas Llosa (7/5/06) http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1761 "Los Dos Mexicos" http://www.elindependent.org/articulos/article.asp?id=1761 "Will Mexico 'Jump to the Top'?" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/6/06) http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1762 http://www.elindependent.org/articulos/article.asp?id=1762 Center on Global Prosperity (Alvaro Vargas Llosa, director) http://www.independent.org/research/cogp/ LIBERTY FOR LATIN AMERICA: How to Undo Five Hundred Years of State Oppression http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=55 THE CHE GUEVARA MYTH http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=61 El Independent: El Blog del Centro Para la Prosperidad Global de The Independent Institute http://independent.typepad.com ------------------------------------------------------------ - THE WORST PRESIDENT OF THE POSTWAR ERA? The media often ask historians who they think was the best president and why. In his latest op-ed, Ivan Eland, director of the Center on Peace & Liberty, makes his case for the worst president since the end of the Second World War. Regular readers of THE LIGHTHOUSE probably won't be surprised by Eland's pick for Number One. President George W. Bush, Eland argues, holds that distinction for his claim to unlimited power during wartime: "Bush's arrogant power grab, which attempts to eviscerate the checks and balances that are at the heart of the U.S. Constitution, probably makes him the most dangerous -- and therefore the worst -- president in the post-World War II era." Eland's discussion of (dis)honorable mentions -- Nixon, Johnson, and Kennedy -- is also sure to prompt discussion. John F. Kennedy, he notes, considered an invasion of Cuba after the Bay of Pigs failure, "[b]ut unbeknownst to him and his advisors, the Soviets had installed short-range tactical nuclear weapons to deter or defend against any invasion aimed at taking out the long-range nuclear missiles being installed," writes Eland. "If the United States had invaded, the crisis could have quickly escalated into a nuclear conflagration. Although the favorable U.S.-Soviet nuclear balance was not in danger of being compromised, JFK's competitive nature caused him to risk incineration of the world in order to best Khrushchev." See "George W. Bush: The Worst Post-World War II President?" by Ivan Eland (7/10/06) http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1763 George W. Bush: ¿El peor presidente desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial? http://www.elindependent.org/articulos/article.asp?id=1763 THE EMPIRE HAS NO CLOTHES: U.S. Foreign Policy Exposed, by Ivan Eland http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=54 RESURGENCE OF THE WARFARE STATE: The Crisis Since 9/11, by Robert Higgs http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=60 Center on Peace & Liberty (Ivan Eland, director) http://www.independent.org/research/copal/ ------------------------------------------------------------ - LIBERTY, ECONOMY & SOCIETY SEMINAR FOR STUDENTS -- August 7-11 Session Still Open Space is still available for students wishing to enroll in the 2006 "Liberty, Economy, and Society" Summer Seminars, to be held August 7-11, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, at the Independent Institute in Oakland, California. As one attendee of the June Seminar wrote on the anonymous evaluation, "It is extremely interesting and informative, as well as exciting!" Led by economist Brian Gothberg, each session includes a stimulating and fun lecture on economic principles, their applications in history and current affairs, and plenty of classroom discussion to help you become more confident in communicating your social ideas and values. Guest lecturers include James Ahiakpor (Cal State East Bay), Fred Foldvary (Santa Clara University), Ed Stringham (San Jose State University), Ben Powell (San Jose State University & The Independent Institute), and Carl Close (The Independent Institute). In this informal but information-packed seminar, students will learn: * How the price system creates order out of "chaos" * About the causes and effects of the ongoing battle between competition and monopoly * The root causes of unemployment, inflation, homelessness, environmental decline, crime, failed schools, and much more * Solutions for making the world a better place in which to live! For more information, visit http://www.independent.org/students/seminars/ ------------------------------------------------------------ - THE LIGHTHOUSE, edited by Carl P. Close, is made possible by the generous contributions of supporters of the Independent Institute. If you enjoy THE LIGHTHOUSE, please consider making a donation to the Independent Institute. For details on the Independent Associate Membership program, see http://www.independent.org/membership/ or contact us by phone at 510-632-1366, e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED], or snail mail to: The Independent Institute, 100 Swan Way, Oakland, CA 94621-1428. All contributions are tax-deductible. 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Enter your email address, select "Subscribe" or "Unsubscribe", and click "Submit". ------------------------------------------------------------ - THE LIGHTHOUSE ISSN 1526-173X Copyright © 2006 The Independent Institute 100 Swan Way Oakland, CA 94621-1428 (510) 632-1366 phone (510) 568-6040 fax ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Check out the new improvements in Yahoo! Groups email. http://us.click.yahoo.com/6pRQfA/fOaOAA/yQLSAA/KlSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
