There's no such thing as a free lunch...Or is there?

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It's official. The next president of Indonesia is former army general Prabowo Subianto. Quite how the next five years will pan out is anyone's guess but hopefully the foreign pundits who always bring up his dodgy human rights record will be proven wrong. Nonetheless, on policy making, Prabowo's popularist move to literally offer the poor 'a free lunch' every day of the week does not augur well for the future. Such a policy - if it ever came to fruition - would cost a phenomenal amount of money and likely lead to huge inefficiencies (food waste) and poor incentives (make people lazy). Another concern is Prabowo's strong nationalist bent. Thus, in the possible event that he finds himself with his back against the proverbial wall in the face of stern economic challenges, there is a big chance that he will simply scapegoat foreigners. But he will have to be careful. Construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, for example, is highly dependent on foreign in

Are you a capitalist pig?

Are you a "capitalist pig"? 

Take this quick quiz to find out: 

1. The sweatshops in Indonesia set up (directly or indirectly) by foreign companies like Nike should be closed down. (True/false?) 

2. The male/female wage gap in Indonesia results from "gender discrimination" and not genuine economic considerations (True/false?) 

3. The gulf between Indonesia’s rich and impoverished masses is so great that the rich (say those with incomes of more than Rp500 million per year) should have to pay much higher tax rates (say 50 percent).(True/false?) 

4. Foreign mining firms like Newmont Mining exploit third world countries and book huge profits yet, at the same time, cause massive environmental damage whilst trampling on the rights of indigenous communities. (True/false?) 

 5. Foreign countries like Japan and especially Holland are partly responsible for the poverty in Indonesia (through colonialism) and are therefore morally obliged to make substantial financial donations to Indonesia on a regular basis. (True/false?) 

Have you answered "false" to more than two of these questions? Oh dear. I wouldn’t look in the mirror if I were you – oink!!

Are you a capitalist pig?

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