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	Taxing the Speculators by Paul Krugman New York Times   Should we use taxes to deter financial speculation? Yes, say top British officials, who oversee the City of London, one of the world''s two great banking centers. Other European governments agree - and they''re right.   Unfortunately, United States officials - especially Timothy Geithner, the Treasury secretary - are dead set against the proposal. Let''s hope they reconsider: a financial transactions tax is an idea whose time has come.   The dispute began back in August, when Adair Turner, Britain''s top financial regulator, called for a tax on financial transactions as a way to discourage "socially useless" activities. Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, picked up on his proposal, which he presented at the Group of 20 meeting of leading economies this month.   Why is this a good idea? The Turner-Brown proposal is a modern version of an idea originally floated in 1972 by the late James Tobin, the Nobel-winning Yale economist. Tobin argued that currency speculation - money moving internationally to bet on fluctuations in exchange rates - was having a disruptive effect on the world economy. To reduce these disruptions, he called for a small tax on every exchange of currencies.   Such a tax would be a trivial expense for people engaged in foreign trade or long-term investment; but it would be a major disincentive for people trying to make a fast buck (or euro, or yen) by outguessing the markets over the course of a few days or weeks. It would, as Tobin said, "throw some sand in the well-greased wheels" of speculation.   Tobin''s idea went nowhere at the time. Later, much to his dismay, it became a favorite hobbyhorse of the anti-globalization left. But the Turner-Brown proposal, which would apply a "Tobin tax" to all financial transactions - not just those involving foreign currency - is very much in Tobin''s spirit. It would be a trivial expense for long-term investors, but it would deter much of the churning that now takes place in our hyperactive financial markets.   This would be a bad thing if financial hyperactivity were productive. But after the debacle of the past two years, there''s broad agreement - I''m tempted to say, agreement on the part of almost everyone not on the financial industry''s payroll - with Mr. Turner''s assertion that a lot of what Wall Street and the City do is "socially useless." And a transactions tax could generate substantial revenue, helping alleviate fears about government deficits. What''s not to like?   The main argument made by opponents of a financial transactions tax is that it would be unworkable, because traders would find ways to avoid it. Some also argue that it wouldn''t do anything to deter the socially damaging behavior that caused our current crisis. But neither claim stands up to scrutiny.   On the claim that financial transactions can''t be taxed: modern trading is a highly centralized affair. Take, for example, Tobin''s original proposal to tax foreign exchange trades. How can you do this, when currency traders are located all over the world? The answer is, while traders are all over the place, a majority of their transactions are settled - i.e., payment is made - at a single London-based institution. This centralization keeps the cost of transactions low, which is what makes the huge volume of wheeling and dealing possible. It also, however, makes these transactions relatively easy to identify and tax.   What about the claim that a financial transactions tax doesn''t address the real problem? It''s true that a transactions tax wouldn''t have stopped lenders from making bad loans, or gullible investors from buying toxic waste backed by those loans.   But bad investments aren''t the whole story of the crisis. What turned those bad investments into catastrophe was the financial system''s excessive reliance on short-term money.   As Gary Gorton and Andrew Metrick of Yale have shown, by 2007 the United States banking system had become crucially dependent on "repo" transactions, in which financial institutions sell assets to investors while promising to buy them back after a short period - often a single day. Losses in subprime and other assets triggered a banking crisis because they undermined this system - there was a "run on repo."   And a financial transactions tax, by discouraging reliance on ultra-short-run financing, would have made such a run much less likely. So contrary to what the skeptics say, such a tax would have helped prevent the current crisis - and could help us avoid a future replay.   Would a Tobin tax solve all our problems? Of course not. But it could be part of the process of shrinking our bloated financial sector. On this, as on other issues, the Obama administration needs to free its mind from Wall Street''s thrall.   * Paul Krugman is professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University and a regular columnist for The New York Times. Krugman was the 2008 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics.
	World food agency mourns death of father of the Green Revolution by World Food Prize / FAO / WFP & agencies USA   Sept 2009   UN food agency pays tribute to ‘father’ of Green Revolution.   The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today paid tribute to Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning scientist who the agency credits with having helped to avert mass famine during the population explosion in recent decades.   As the father of the Green Revolution which produced enough food to feed the global population – which doubled between 1960 and 2000 – Mr. Borlaug, who died over the weekend, “was a towering scientist whose work rivals that of the 20th century"s other great scientific benefactors of humankind,” FAO said in a statement.   The scientist, the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, “will be doubly missed today, as we face the new challenge of feeding a world population set to increase from six billion in 2000 to more than nine billion in 2050, a task made that much harder by climate change and competition from the bioenergy sector.”   His work with FAO dates back decades, and most recently, the agency worked with the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative, which he founded in 2005 to fight a highly virulent strain of wheat stem rust in East Africa which has the potential to devastate wheat production.   Today’s statement highlighted Mr. Borlaug’s preference to field work over office work, having received the news about his Nobel honour while toiling in the wheat fields of Toluca, Mexico.   “He trained thousands of scientists from all over the world in wheat breeding and production, always emphasizing the use of sound science to solve problems of hunger and malnutrition,” it added.   The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today mourned the passing of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman E. Borlaug, thanking him for being the agency"s “great champion in the battle against hunger.”   Mr. Borlaug, who died yesterday, “saved more lives than any man in human history,” WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said in a statement.   Called the father of the Green Revolution, “his total devotion to ending famine and hunger revolutionized food security for millions of people and for many nations,” she noted.   The agronomist and humanitarian from the United States won the 1970 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. “His heart was as big as his brilliant mind, but it was his passion and compassion that moved the world,” Ms. Sheeran said.   Norman Borlaug, was an agricultural scientist who helped develop disease-resistant wheat used to fight famine in poor countries.   Mr Borlaug was known as a champion of high-yield crop varieties, and other science and agricultural innovations to help fight hunger in developing nations. Until recently, he traveled worldwide working for improvements in agricultural science and food policy.   "We all eat at least three times a day in privileged nations, and yet we take food for granted," Borlaug said recently. "There has been great progress, and food is more equitably distributed. But hunger is a commonplace, and famine appears all too often."   Borlaug also created the World Food Prize, which recognizes the work of scientists and humanitarians who have helped fight world hunger through advanced agriculture.   * Below is a link to The World Food Prize an international award recognizing -- without regard to race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs -- the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.   The Prize recognizes contributions in any field involved in the world food supply -- food and agriculture science and technology, manufacturing, marketing, nutrition, economics, poverty alleviation, political leadership and the social sciences. The World Food Prize emphasizes the importance of a nutritious and sustainable food supply for all people.   Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work in world agriculture, envisioned a prize that would honor those who have made significant and measurable contributions to improving the world''''s food supply. His vision was realized when The World Food Prize was created in 1986.   Since then, The World Food Prize has honored outstanding individuals who have made vital contributions to improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food throughout the world. Laureates have been recognized from countries around the world, including Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Cuba, Denmark, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and the United States. Visit the related web page
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