Higher oil taxes help to pave road to democracy

Analysis:

This story is based upon a lecture by Michael Mandelbaum, who was the opening speaker at the annual Calvin College January Series. This very short article only includes a response to questions that came after the talk, according to the Press reporter and little information on Mandelbaum’s credentials. Accroding to the Calvin College online content “Mandelbaum writes a regular column for Newsday. His analyses of global challenges are informed by his experience with the U.S. government. He served in the Office of the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, working on national security issues. For 22 years he has served as Associate Director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Project, working with leaders of Congress and exposing them to the latest thinking on American foreign policy.” The Aspen Institute is made up of a who’s who list in the foreign policy field, with board of trustee members like Madaline Albright, Brent Scowcroft, William Perry and Dennis Ross.

There is no information or summary of what the speaker’s talk consisted of, but the title of his talk was “Democracy’s Good Name.” Mandelbaum is saying that one way to pressure undemocratic governments, especially those with oil wealthy, is to raise taxes to force the price up so that they will not make as much money. The speaker was referencing Iran and Venezuela as undemocratic governments, yet the Press reporter provides no information that would support the claims of the speaker and the only quote fromMandelbaum is “That would certainly shut up Mr. (Venezuelan President Hugo) Chavez.” The end of the article states that “The comments came in response to audience questions following his lecture, “Democracy’s Good Name,” which focused on increasing democratic governments in the world despite the failure of the U.S. to foster democracies abroad. However, there is nothing in the story that provides readers with what Mandelbaum means when he says that the US has failed to foster democracies abroad.

Story:

Foreign policy guru Michael Mandelbaum said he believes there’s one thing the U.S. government could do to help foster democracy among oil-rich governments with authoritarian tendencies: impose European-like, sky-high oil taxes.

The hike would lead to a decline in demand and in oil prices, leaving those leaders with less wealth to attain.

“That would certainly shut up Mr. (Venezuelan President Hugo) Chavez,” Mandelbaum told this year’s inaugural January Series lecture at Calvin College. Mandelbaum is professor of American foreign policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and has written extensively about foreign policy in 10 books and is a columnist for the Long Island, N.Y., newspaper Newsday.

While economic liberty is essential for democracy, he said, leading a country rich in natural resources also can be tempting for leaders willing to stuff their own pockets.

Reducing oil revenues to countries such as Iran and Venezuela would help foster democracies there, he said.

The comments came in response to audience questions following his lecture, “Democracy’s Good Name,” which focused on increasing democratic governments in the world despite the failure of the U.S. to foster democracies abroad.