"No country is immune"

In anticipation of the 2008 Annual Boards of Governors Meetings, popularly known as the ‘G-7’, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said “the economic crisis we’re in is very serious, but we can solve our problems if we act swiftly and coordinately.” Both the IMF director and World Bank President Robert Zoellick agree that this is a global crisis, and ‘no country is immune’. The leaders claim confidence and cuts in interest rates are the swiftest solutions to the crisis. Confidence is the first tool to be used in response to the economy, and Strauss-Kahn said “if you have the scope for fiscal stimulus, use it.”

The IMF predicts the global economy will have a slow recovery, but will come back starting in the second half of 2009. In order to initiate this growth, the IMF advises action to rejuvenate economic growth. This is why the IMF activated a ‘high access financial program’ yesterday, which will allow the management board to give fast and easily accessible up front payments, while also defining a long-term macroeconomic plan.

The IMF forecasts that the growth rate of developing countries will decline from 6.6% next year to around 4%. They say this is still an acceptable rate of growth, but the deceleration would be so sharp as to feel like a recession. Zoellick said “with the rising economic powers, the G7 countries can work through this crisis by dealing with bad assets, recapitalizing banks, and providing much needed liquidity.” Strauss-Kahn said that, “you can’t say a crisis affects all parts of the world and then develop economic policies that don’t consider the global economy”.

Madeleine Albright advocates against domestic violence at the World Bank

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright addressed the World Bank to mark the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund are starting abuse prevention programs within their own organizations by providing training for managers to be able to deal with domestic abuse that may be occurring between employees and employers.

Albright spoke about the criminal act of domestic violence as a "violation of fundamental human rights", especially within one's own home. Due to many countries treatment of women as objects within a marriage left at home to care for the children, women have become "undervalued" and "underdeveloped resources", Albright said. The belief that every life counts, Albright concluded, is what will lead to a positive change against domestic violence.

Billions from Bush to Bank

A Bush administration proposal aimed at expanding cleaner technology in developing countries was discussed by the Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology Subcommittee. Speakers agreed that developing states are inclined to turn to inexpensive, polluting forms of technology in an effort to increase GDP and improve the national standard of living.

President Bush’s plan calls for a two billion dollar contribution from the United States to the World Bank. An additional eight billion dollars would come from other developed countries. Funding would then be distributed through the World Bank, a decision met with skepticism by Brent Blackwelder of Friends of the Earth. Blackwelder said that the World Bank has a history of allocating funds for damaging projects and that there is “no confidence” that the bank has changes its policies.

Jacob Wersman, , program director of the World Resources Institute's Institutions and Governance Program, said that the United States was at last taking the lead in issues pertaining to global climate control, adding that the Clean Technology Fund has potential to also reform the United States’s energy sector.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) expressed discomfort with the monetary price of instituting the program, a discomfort that Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) pointed out challenges a policy formed by Paul’s own party. In reference to government spending, Paul said that the United States “will have to wake up and be responsible.” Frank said that, though he supports the initiative, the Clean Technology Fund would likely be cut ahead of other government projects.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke to World Bank Employees about how to use New York's positive example in other cities

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg addressed the World Bank Employees on “Building Better Cities: New York's Experience in Urban Transformation” at World Bank's Urban Sector Day. He said they should be proud of the difference they were making to society. For the first time in human history, he said, most of the world's population is in cities as opposed to urban areas.

There are major responsibilities, he said, because of the economic, social, and environmental consequences of “explosive urban growth.” He said that now we are faced with the challenges of providing people with the health and social services that they need. He said he would explain his formula used with New York City as an example of how to effect changes on a larger scale in the world.

He brought the audience's attention back to 9/11, saying that many people believed that New York's “days of greatness were numbered.” He said that there had been predictions that residents and businesses would leave, the economy would never recover, crime would take over, and that they were on an “irreversible downward spiral of decline.” However, he said, there are four values that are universal and can (and should) be transferred to other parts of the world. First, there is using the forces of immigration and globalization, second, tapping the “power of innovation,” third, instituting accountable governance, and fourth to have the independence to take on 'entrenched interests' when they stand in the way of progress.

Bloomberg said that he believed that some of our national leaders are turning their backs on what he calls his “formula for success.” He says that if they insist on turning away the best and the brightest by protecting jobs instead of promoting them, then the economic problems we are facing in the United States will be here for a long time.

He asked a question to the world: “Do we reap the benefits of globalization and address its difficulties honestly or do we scapegoat globalization and turn away its benefits?” He went on to say that he believed that we should be working to bring the benefits of globalization not only in the United States but in cities around the world.

New York City, Bloomberg said, holds the title of 'America's safest big city.' New York holds the that title because they have been mapping crime trends and then sending police officers to where the crime is specifically based. In New York, he said, many would say that more money is the solution to any problem, but, it is possible to do more with less.

Bloomberg said is it important to make decisions based on the merits of the decision, not based on polls or partisanship. A good example, he said, is how New York City has been very pro-active against smoking. They raised cigarette taxes, made public information campaigns, increased smoking cessation programs, and outlawed smoking in all public places. An area of political independence, and a willingness to fight the 'vested interest,' has really paid off by the results they've seen with reduced smoking and better health for New York City's citizens.

“Globalization, innovation, accountable governance, independent leadership,” he said again, are the four values that should be fostered in cities around the world. “Every generation, in its own way,” he said, “faces the challenge of enlarging the realm of human happiness and opening up new vistas of human possibility.”

At the press conference immediately following the presentation, Mayor Bloomberg answered questions. In response to a question about how to translate crime reduction successes in New York City to other parts of the world, Bloomberg said to take the policies and allocate resources to “problem places” with “problem people.” The politics is usually to put them “where people scream the loudest.” The police represent the community, he said, so the makeup of the police department should match the demographics of the population. You want to make sure that the person feels that the police officer understands you because of who you are, he said.