Shouldn't Someone Take Responsibility?

Shouldn't Someone Take Responsibility?
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
September 12, 2008

Despite opposition from the public and former finance ministers, the Ma administration nevertheless decided to lower stock transaction taxes this Wednesday. Although it says the reduction will be in effect for only half a year, no one from either the ruling or opposition parties believes the rates can be restored half a year from now. Therefore, the reduction in the stock transaction tax means a 50 billion NT loss in revenue per annum, in exchange for short-term rally. The stock market may fluctuate. But a few days later, once all the news is out, Taiwan's stock market will simply return to the fundamentals. It will continue to be buffeted by global economic turbulence. The public on Taiwan, meanwhile, will have to make up the 50 billion NT shortfall each year, every year, ad infinitum.

Fate is fickle. Foreign investors dumped their shares. The global outlook remains gloomy. Yesterday the Taiwan stock market fell 200 points, underscoring the stupidity of the reduction in the transaction tax. An recent editorial in this newspaper pointed out that policies intended benefit Taiwan's economy that collide with global economic factors will be in vain. Our warning couldn't have been clearer. Yet the Ministry of Finance and the Executive Yuan continued on their merry way. Ma Ying-jeou, Vincent Siew, and Liu Chao-hsuan, is the 50 billion NT annual price worth it? Is the public on Taiwan really going to swallow such a stupid policy?

The most baffling part of the decision to reduce stock transaction taxes, was how the Premier led a team of finance and economics cabinet officials to the Presidential Palace. President Ma and Vice President Siew then gave the team's proposal their seal of approval. Since then, our stay at home president has been kidnapped. He has been taken from the rear echelon to the front lines, and forced to shoulder responsibility for this controversial economic policy. According to media reports, Ma and Siew met with two Academia Sinica financial experts on July 5, at which time they urged the administration not to intervene in the stock market. According to newspaper reports, the president and vice president agreed with their assessment. But two months later, the administration openly intervened in the stock market. Ma and Siew personally intervened, incurring a cost of 50 billion NT per annum, giving the Academia Sinica experts a solid slap in the face. These experts, a former Minister of Finance, media pundits, and the general public, are apparently no match for a bunch of desperate and cloistered cabinet members bent on poormouthing others. Now that the cabinet is in hot water, shouldn't somebody take a little responsibility?

Yesterday this newspaper's editorial clearly pointed out that Taiwan's open, small scale economy will never be immune to international shocks. If international markets sneeze, Taiwan is going to catch a cold. That is why the administration needs to be extra cautious, cool, and objective. That is why it must think first and act second.

To draw an analogy, if a flu epidemic is raging, no one can escape its impact. A fever, runny nose, coughing, and headaches are all unavoidable symptoms. Since no one can avoid catching the flu, all one can do is get plenty of rest, drink plenty of water, avoid public spaces, avoid overwork, and look after oneself. Only then can one recover when the epidemic has passed. The last thing one ought to do when a minor symptom such as a runny nose occurs, is wolf down all kinds of medicines, in a frantic effort to fix one's kidneys in the morning, and one's liver in the afternoon, taking stomach medicines before bed, giving oneself injections in the middle of the night, drinking one nutritional supplement after the other. If one over-medicates one's body in this manner, one will not avoid the flu. One will merely destroy one's health. One's heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys will fail. One's systems will fail. Anyone with a lick of common sense knows that one must never haphazardly medicate oneself. The Executive Yuan has many Old Hands with decades of experience. How could they be so muddle-headed? How could they propose a policy as stupid as a reduction n stock transaction taxes?

Frankly, if the purpose of the reduction in stock transaction taxes really was to save the stock market, and the policy was merely an honest mistake, we could accept that. But we believe the purpose of the reduction in stock transaction taxes was not to save the stock market. Its purpose was to save cabinet members' jobs. Over the past two months, in its eagerness to produce results, the Liu cabinet has shown a lack of tolerance. On the surface it wants to produce results in order to rescue the Ma/Siew administration's poll numbers. But we think it really wants wants to produce results so that certain officials won't have to step down. Officials are promoting these policies merely to save their jobs. We believe this explanation is more plausible, and better explains the Ma administration and the Liu cabinet's slapdash proposals. Our readers know that political achievements depend on medium and long-term results. The media has never set a timetable for Ma and Siew to produce results. Cabinet officials are seeking remedies pills because they are afraid of losing their jobs.

Cabinet members say that investors who committed suicide because they bought the wrong stocks, must take responsibility for their own choices. True enough. Individual investors must indeed bear responsibility for their own mistakes. But when officials implement mistaken policies, losing tens of billions in tax revenue each year, forcing ordinary people to suffer the consequences, is that fair? Is that just? Investors bearing the burden of their own losses, acknowledging their own responsibility, has been the norm since time immemorial. But when incompetent officials harm Taiwan's economy, and make the wrong policy recommendations, shouldn't they assume responsibility too? The Liu cabinet can pass the buck to President Ma, who made the decision. President Ma can continue to stand behind incompetent officials. But if the problems continue to spread, who knows where they might lead to? No matter. Taiwan's economy is still healthy. It can survive a few more assaults by this bunch of buffoons. How will it all end? We're watching you. The entire nation is watching you.

中時電子報
中國時報 　2008.09.12
總該有人負政策責任吧？
中時社論

在社會、輿論、多位前財政部長的反對之下，本周三政府仍舊決定要調降證交稅。雖說降稅聲稱只降半年，但朝野幾乎沒有人相信半年之後證交稅率還有可能調升。因此，此次的證交稅率調降，說穿了就是以每年五百億的稅收減少，去換取短暫的股市上漲。不論股市如何變動，數天之後，消息面出盡，台灣股市又還是回歸基本面，重新受國際經濟情勢的影響。但是，台灣人民還是要每年付出五百億稅收的代價，源源不絕。

然而人算不如天算，在外資大舉倒貨、國際情勢不佳之下，昨天台灣股市還是硬生生地下跌了兩百多點，全面凸顯出證交稅降稅政策的愚蠢。本報在日前社論中指出，任何台灣的利多政策碰上國際因素，就一切功夫白費。我們的警告明白若此，但財政部與行政院還是一意孤行。請問九萬兆三位政府領導人，這樣每年五百億的代價值得嗎？台灣人民會接受此種莫名其妙的愚蠢政策嗎？

調降證交稅決策最懸疑之處，就是由閣揆率領財經閣員赴總統府，由馬總統與蕭副總統親自拍板決定。自此，宅男總統正式被挾持由二線前進一線，擔負了這個有爭議經濟政策的責任。媒體報導七月五日也是由馬蕭二人接見中研院財經院士，而當時眾多院士建議政府不要太介入股市，而據報載正副總統也頗為贊同。可是兩個月後，政府不但再一次赤裸裸地介入股市，更是由馬蕭本人以每年五百億的代價介入，結結實實地打了財經院士一巴掌。唉，現在的學界菁英、以前的財政部長、媒體輿論、社會大眾的各種諍言都抵不上若干閣員孤注一擲的府中讒言。然而大局悲慘至此，內閣中難道還不該有人負起責任嗎？

本報日前社論即已明白指出，台灣一個小型開放淺碟經濟，無論如何無法豁免國際衝擊，故國際大盤若有風吹草動，台灣斷無置身事外的可能。這也就是政府需要格外審慎、冷靜、客觀、謀定而後動的原因。

打個比方，如果整個大環境有流行性感冒，則任何人都躲不過感冒的衝擊；發燒、流鼻涕、咳嗽、頭疼等都是少不了的症狀。既知難逃一病，個人就只能多休息、多喝水、少去公共場所，不要過度勞累，保重身體，才能在流感過去之後再起。個人最不該做的，就是在一次次流鼻水的小症狀出現時，就亂吃成藥。早上補腎、下午強肝、睡前吃胃散、半夜打補針、起床再各喝一瓶蠻牛與保力達B。一個人若是這樣惡整身體，最後不僅還是免不了感冒，更是把身體給搞壞了，心肝脾肺腎五臟俱衰，奇經八脈齊敗。任何人只要稍通事理，都知道絕不該如此濫服成藥。行政院團隊中也有不少是老江湖、老經驗，怎麼會糊塗到這步田地，提出「降證交稅」這種笨到極點的政策建議！

憑良心講，如果降證交稅真的是為了救股市，那麼政策錯誤也就罷了，但是我們認為，這次的降稅之議並不真的要挽救股市，而是若干閣員想要挽救自己的官位。近一兩個月，劉內閣經常表現出急促不耐，好像非常急切地做出結果，提出成績。表面上看交出成績是為了馬蕭政府的民調，但實質上，也許在「做不好就有人得負責下台」的共識下，官員們其實是為了自己的官位在亂推政策。我們認為，這樣的推理其實更合乎人性，也更能解釋政院團隊倉卒提政策的情形。讀者都知道，執政成果要看中長期，也從來沒有媒體逼馬蕭要在多久時間提出什麼成績單。今天內閣官員們病急亂投醫、亂吃成藥，都是自己怕丟官而逼出來的。

投資戶買錯股票，自殺身亡，閣員說那是他們自己的決定，要自己負責。話是不錯，個人投錯資確實是自負盈虧；但是官員們做錯政策，每年損失數百億稅收，卻都是由廣大老百姓承接後果。這公平嗎？這有天理嗎？股民自負盈虧、自承責任，古往今來一向如此；但是昏官傷害了台灣經濟，做錯了政策建議，是不是也該負一點責任呢？劉內閣也可以把責任推給做決定的馬總統，馬總統也可以續挺昏官，如此繼續延燒，不知伊於胡底。沒關係，台灣經濟體質好得很，還可以再經這群蠢蛋折騰幾次。要怎麼收場，我們在看，全民也都在看！