Government detention camps cover up deaths-does America have a human rights problem? Congress passes unprecedented $3.6 trillion budget with $1.2 trillion deficit, official unemployment rates his 8.5%-some economists claiming they are really upwards of 20%, government mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie to pay $159 billion in new bonuses, Obama calls end to ‘Pax Americana’, world leaders pledge $1.1 trillion to IMF, Russia refuses to remove troops from Georgia, NY protesters call for government to ‘Bail out the People’, Hugo Chavez declares that ‘Capitalism must end,’ and Treasuries drop with announcement of next week’s $59 billion note issue and Goldman Sachs estimate that government will need to borrow another $3.25 trillion this year…

Immigrant Deaths Buried In Bureaucracy In Government Camps. A patchwork of over 500 camps, detention centers, and prisons have sprung up across the U.S. that currently hold more than 500,000 people. The stated purpose of the camps is to detain immigrants in process of deportation, but critics claim that secrecy and lack of legal accountability shield the system from independent oversight. One recent case, the death of a Pakistani New Yorker, highlights the insidious nature of the system. Ahmad Tanveer, 43, died on Sept. 9th, 2005 from untreated chest pains while in custody in New Jersey. Inquiries into the death were rebuffed by jail officials, and complaints to the Department of Homeland Security were forgotten. Even when Congressional and media pressure on Immigration and Customs Enforcement led government to release a list of those who had died in custody, the man’s name was not included. This raises serious concerns about human rights violations within our own borders, and the growing power and lack of accountability of the governing class.

Congress Passes Budget Plans, No Republican Support. In a spirit of anything but bipartisanship, Congressional Democrats approved an ‘Obama-friendly’ budget that calls for $3.6 trillion in spending for 2009, with a $1.2 trillion deficit, the largest in history. Not a single Republican supported in either the House or Senate. The bill points the way forward for major legislation later this year on health care, energy, and education, all priorities outlined by President Obama. Blaming the country’s problems on the Bush administration, Senate majority leader Harry Reid justified the unprecedented spending by saying “It’s going to take a lot of work to clean up the mess we inherited, and passing this budget is a critical step in the right direction.” Ironically, the inherited ‘mess’ of which Sen. Reid speaks involved too much deficit spending by Republicans in the past.

U.S. Unemployment Rate Hits 8.5%. The U.S. economy shed another 663,000 jobs in March, bringing the tally up to 5.1 million jobs lost since the start of the recession. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that unemployment has risen to 8.5% from 8.1% in February, its highest levels in a quarter-century. There is controversy over the accuracy of government unemployment statistics, particularly with the method in which they are calculated. Alternative economic analysis suggests real unemployment rates may be as high as 20%:

Fannie and Freddie To Pay $159 Million In Bonuses. Just a few weeks after retention bonuses at American International Group (AIG) became a national scandal, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-owned mortgage giants, released plans to pay an additional $159 million in bonuses to retain key employees. This comes on top of nearly $51 million already paid out last year for the same purpose. The bonus plans were disclosed to the Senate by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. This is a slap in the face to private businesses that are being harassed by government for fulfilling contractual employment obligations.

Obama Calls End to American Empire. Speaking at the G20 Summit in London this week, President Obama called for an end of the ‘Pax Americana’ and heralded a Global New Deal. The chief objectives of the President were come to an agreement on more global financial regulations, and to gain commitments by national governments for concerted stimulus spending.

World Leaders Pledge $1.1 Trillion To IMF. Concluding the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in London this week, world leaders announced a staggering $1.1 trillion funding commitment-$750 billion in funding, and $250 billion in trade credits-to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to assuage damage of the economic downturn. Speaking without Congressional approval, the President pledged $100 billion from the U.S. It is not yet clear exactly how the IMF will use these funds. NYU economist and author, William Easterly, is an outspoken critic of international aid organizations like the IMF, pointing out that they are costly, bureaucratic, wasteful, and ineffective. Here’s a quick article Easterly wrote called “Why Doesn’t Aid Work?”

Two books Easterly wrote on the subject:

In The White Man’s Burden: Why The West’s Efforts To Aid The Rest Have Done So Much Ill And So Little Good Easterly contends that the West has failed, and continues to fail, to enact its ill-formed, Utopian aid plans because, like the colonialists of old, it assumes it knows what is best for everyone.

Existing aid strategies, Easterly argues, provide neither accountability nor feedback. Without accountability for failures, he says, broken economic systems are never fixed. And without feedback from the poor who need the aid, no one in charge really understands exactly what trouble spots need fixing.

Economists have long tried to figure out how poor countries could attain higher living standards. Attempted remedies have included providing foreign aid, investing in machines, fostering education, controlling population growth, and making aid loans as well as forgiving those loans on condition of reforms. None of these solutions has delivered as promised. The problem is not the failure of economics, William Easterly argues, but the failure to apply economic principles to practical policy work. In The Elusive Quest For Growth: Economists’ Adventures And Misadventures In The Tropics William Easterly shows how these solutions all violate the basic principle of economics, that people–private individuals and businesses, government officials, even aid donors–respond to incentives. Easterly first discusses the importance of growth. He then analyzes the development solutions that have failed. Finally, he suggests alternative approaches to the problem.

Russia Defies Intentional Calls For Troop Withdrawals From Georgia. Nearly eight months after the war between Russia and Georgia, Russian troops continue to hold large swaths of Georgian territory they previously committed to cede. Under conditions of the cease-fire, the militaries of both sides were to return to positions they held before the start of the conflict, which erupted on Aug. 7th, 2008.

New York Protesters Want Government to ‘Bail Out The People.” Protesters asking the government to ‘bail out the People’ are holding a rally on Wall Street today. They say they should get some of the billions of dollars being spent to save big businesses. They plan to repeat the protest on Saturday with chanting and drumming.

Venezuela’s Chavez Says ‘Capitalism Must End.’ Venezeulan President Hugo Chavez on Friday criticized the G20 summit, saying that Capitalism is in crisis and must end. He took aim at pledges of more than $1.1 trillion for lending to struggling countries, calling it “the same medicine that’s killing the patient-a trillion dollars…more money for a bottomless pit.”

Treasuries Drop As Traders Focus On Record Debt Supply. Treasuries fell on Friday as the U.S. Treasury prepared to sell an estimated $59 billion in notes and inflation-indexed securities next week, part of a record amount of debt the government is likely to issue this year. Analysts estimate that the U.S. will need to borrow $3.25 trillion for the 2009 fiscal year ending Sept. 30th.

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