Fighting Our Way Out of the Economic Doldrums

Fighting Our Way Out of the Economic Doldrums
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
February 3, 2009

The first problem the government must tackle in the Year of the Ox, is unemployment. The Executive Yuan has not had an easy time this past year. Immediately following the Lunar New Year, it introduced its "New Programs to Revive the Economy." It intends to invest 300 billion in the coming year, creating at least 150,000 job opportunities. The Executive Yuan is hardly jumping the gun. Job seekers packed employment agencies on the first day of work following the Lunar New Year. The Year of the Ox may "change heaven and earth," but severe challenges remain.

The Legislative Yuan began a new session. Legislators kicked off the New Year by dressing up as immortals from traditional Chinese opera. Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng dressed up as the Jade Emperor. Ruling and opposition party legislators, who are normally at each others' throats, called a truce. They posed next to the Jade Emperor, resplendent in their costumes, amidst an atmosphere of festivity. These high-ranking officials play an important role in the human world. Perhaps they really were demigods in a previous life, who have now descended to earth in this life. They command the power of the budget. We can only hope that these ruling and opposition party legislators will take pity on us mere mortals, that they will feel our pain. We can only hope that they will transcend partisanship and ensure swift passage of the budget and other bills affecting the economy.

The Executive Yuan's small scale works program to revitalize the economy is merely an emergency measure. It will not lift people out of destitution. But with the global economic slowdown, every government is combatting unemployment. They do not have time for long-term planning. They cannot save the poor. They can only fight fires. Like the consumer vouchers issued just before New Year, they cannot save the economy. They can only boost consumer spending. They can only buy time. They can only help the economic recession from falling into a vicious cycle. People have different opinions about the consumer vouchers. But judging by the results, they have undoubtedly stimulated consumption. Government heads have even taken the lead. They have used the vouchers and made cash donations of their own. Charitable groups have received substantial donations.

Past government programs to stimulate domestic demand were handled by local governments. They held bids and awarded contracts. After passage by the central government, these programs were again reviewed and approved by local legislatures. This wasted valuable time and interfered with the bidding and awards process. Quick results were out of the question. This time, the Executive Yuan allocated central government funds directly to local governments. They authorized them to handle the matter, bypassing the middle-man -- local legislatures. Therefore the speed at which the "New Program to Revitalize the Economy" can be implemented is limited only by the Legislative Yuan's own review process. During the last session, the Legislative Yuan burned the midnight oil, passing a number of budgets. This allows the Executive Yuan to adopt its programs this spring, creating many job opportunities.

From the figures alone, one really can't tell how the 150,000 jobs were calculated. But since the budget has already been allocated, the Executive Yuan must watch local governments like a hawk. It must not allow its good intentions to come to naught. It must guard against local governments divvying up the loot, sacrificing the interests of the unemployed.

The Executive Yuan's small scale public works program was a response to the needs of blue-collar workers. Programs for university graduates and technical institute graduates will be announced within the week. Basically the central government will inject funds through the National Science Council and other agencies, providing jobs for research assistants. How many long term jobs these programs will provide is hard to say. Again, this is merely a band aid, a way to make life a little easier until the economy recovers.

Last year the financial crisis inundated the globe. The world now faces the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. Plants have been closed and workers have been laid off. No country has been spared. Governments have become the most important pillar amidst the crisis. When the private sector loses economic momentum, only the government can provide the economic engine, and start a new wave of economic activity. Obviously the executive branch cannot do the job by itself. The Legislative Yuan, which provides a check on the power of the Executive Yuan, is equally important. In addition to watching over the purse strings, it must also ensure administrative efficiency. In such trying times as these. ensuring efficiency may be even more important than approving budgets.

Combatting unemployment requires mobilizing all the people. The Executive Yuan must be swift, decisive, and precise. The Legislative Yuan must understand the public's needs. It must set aside partisanship, and give economic issues priority. Above all, those with jobs must save themselves. At times like these, one cannot consider only easy, high paying jobs close to home. One must roll up one's sleeves, and dedicate oneself to one's work. One must first get on track. Only then can one think about changing tracks. One must think of one's job as a means of stimulating the economy, as a way to liberate oneself from the consequences of the economic slump.

中時電子報
中國時報 　2009.02.03
一起打拚擺脫低迷景氣吧
中時社論

牛年開春第一件事，就是搶救失業大作戰！行政院這個年過得不輕鬆，年後立刻推出「振興經濟新方案」，預計在新年度投入三千億預算，創造至少十五萬個工作機會。行政院的提前備戰，絕非過度憂心，事實上，從開年上班日第一天，各地就業服務站就人潮大爆滿，可以看得出，牛年欲轉乾坤，挑戰有多嚴峻。

同一時間，會期開始的立法院，以扮仙班唱戲揭開序幕，立法院長王金平以玉皇大帝的姿態現身，平日議事攻防激烈的朝野立委，偃旗息鼓，個個開開心心地穿起戲服，位列玉皇大帝身邊，一片榮景，一片新氣象。對這群形同部會首長的國會議員而言，能在人世間扮演這麼重要的角色，上輩子也真得位列仙班才能降世人間，手握政策預算法案大權，但願朝野立委果能如仙界照顧眾生般，苦民所苦，對攸關國計民生的法案預算和重大政策，揚棄藍綠之見，盡速通過。

無可諱言，行政院推出的小型工程振興經濟方案，只能救急，不能救窮，但以目前全球景氣低迷，各國政府無不以搶救失業作為最大的施政核心，此時或許也沒有太多的時間和空間，考量長遠的規畫和計畫，只能先救急再救窮；就像年前發放的消費券一樣，談不上救經濟，只能先刺激消費，讓景氣不振的惡循環能有一時紓緩的可能，事實上，儘管消費券從動議到發放，民間各種仁智之見不斷，但從結果來看，消費券確實發揮了刺激消費的功用，甚至因為政府首長帶動花消費券、捐現金，部分社會團體也在這一波獲得不少捐募款項。

不同於過去的擴大內需方案交由地方政府自行招標發包，所有的補助通過中央之後，還得再經過地方議會審查，曠日廢時，直接影響地方中小型工程招標發包作業，也使得預算很難短時間見到績效；這一回，行政院直接由中央部會編列預算，再委託地方政府辦理，流程上省掉地方議會的中介，換言之，關係到「振興經濟新方案」能否加速推動的就是立法院的審查了。立法院上會期末挑燈夜戰，通過數項預算案，讓行政院開春就能整合這些計畫，釋出龐大的工作機會。

從數字上看，實在看不出來這十五萬個工作到底是怎麼計算出來的，但是，既已有預算，行政院要做到的就是精準地盯牢地方政府的效率，不要再讓中央美意到了地方卻完全行不通，尤其要避免分贓式的資源分配，讓失業勞工的權益受損。

從行政院的規畫來看，這一波以小型工程為主軸的搶救失業，因應的是藍領工作者的需求；至於下一波大專畢業生的就業危機，則在一周內要提出方案，原則上同樣由中央政府挹注經費，由國科會等單位提供研究助理的工作，坦白講，這些職務能讓多少大專畢業生，安安心心地長久待在工作崗位上，還很難說，但是，同樣的此時此刻只能先救急，在經濟復甦的循環來到前，讓日子好過一點點。

從去年上半年開始席捲全球的金融風暴，影響所及，使得全世界面臨大蕭條年代之後，最嚴酷的經濟低迷，關廠裁員潮如海嘯般，無一國可以倖免，政府成為挽救危機的最重要柱石，當民間失去經濟動能的時候，只有政府能扮演發動機的角色，促發新一波的景氣循環，而談到政府效能，顯然不能只是行政機關而已，作為民主政治中最重要的監督機制，立法院同樣重要，監督除了為民眾看緊荷包外，緊盯時效也很重要，特別在這麼艱困的時候，緊盯時效可能比看緊政府編列多少預算更重要。

搶救失業得要全民動員，行政院要快狠準，立法院要體會民眾最急迫的需求，把政治議題擺一邊，民生法案得先上陣，更重要的，所有就業人口得自己救自己，這年頭，不要再想著錢多事少離家近的工作，只能卯足了勁，埋頭打拚，先搶進工作軌道，再思考如何換軌，把自己的一份飯碗當成刺激經濟的一環，讓大家一起加速脫離低迷不振的景氣惡循環。