World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The German Council of Economic Experts, an advisory committee to Chancellor Merkel, is proposing a “wealth tax” on the rich as a way to raise money to support bank bailouts.  Correctly, the Council believes that the rich simply avoid paying income taxes, and a tax on assets is the only way to get enough money to avoid default.  Needless to say, the proposal is highly controversial, but it does go to the heart of the problem.  We’ll see how far the proposal goes.

Nicolas Maduro and Henrique Capriles are running for the presidency of Venezuela, six weeks after the death of Hugo Chavez.  Maduro wishes to carry on the Chavista legacy, whereas Capriles wants to change direction radically.  The race is close and the results will be known tomorrow.  But the election will make a huge difference, not only for Venezuela but also for much of Latin America.

For the first time 1998, global military spending has declined.  The decline is significant for two reasons.  First, it is largely due to the effects of the economic downturn in Europe and the US and both try to balance their budgets.  Second, military spending increased in many other areas of the world, signaling the shift in the world balance of power.  It seems as if the military balance will slwoly become more equal globally if the trend continues.