Shoeshine Boy

[WhiskeyGirl]

I found this in Time Magazine, October 6, 2008, page 50.

Lulu's Way
How a former shoeshine boy blended social programs with business-friendly poliies to turn Brazil into Latin merica's powerhouse.

With their endless string of Pearl beaches, heavenly climate and sensual bossa nova culture, Brazilians consider themselves uniquely blessed.  So when the first of two gigantic oil fields was discovered off the coast near Rio Janiero last fall, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva saw it simply as further proof of a celestial ond.  "God," Lula gushed, "is Brazilian."

"It's called doing things right, allowing the rich to earn money with their investments and the poor to participate in economic growth."  - Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil

When he was first elected in 2002, many feared that Lula and his leftists Workers' Party would trash Brazil's emerging economy by pursuing socialist policies.  Instead, Lula shrewdly embraced fiscal sobriety, strengthening Brazil's currency, the real, and reforming a bloated civil service pension system.  Those policies and a windfall in commodities fueled a boom--the economy will grow 5% or more again this year, and inflation is historically low.  ...  "The danger with Lula is that he can be rather messianic," says Rubens Ricupero, a Finance Minister in the 1990s, when Lula opposed the market reforms he now backs.  "But he's one of the most intelligent politicians in the world."

Lula's biggest challenge, though, has been bridging the hugh chasm between Brazil's rich and poor--a gap that makes the country look more like the feudal monarchy it was in the 19th century...  Lula, who as an improverished kid shined shoes on the streets of Sao Paulo, has pumped more than $100 billion into social projects ranging from microfinance to grants for families who keep their kids in school.  As a result, 52% of Brazil's 190 million people are now designated as middle class, up from 43% in 2002.  At the same time, he hopes to make Brazil more business friendly with a $280 billion Growth Acceleration Program to boost infrastructure and cut taxes.  "It's called doing thing right,"  Lula says, "allowing the rich to earn money with their investments and allowing the poor to participate in economic growth."

The article isn't on-line yet, but it available in hard copy.

In the US, we have a shrinking middle class, and a growing class of poor people.

When the next big oil or gas fields (or any mineral/etc.) are discovered on public lands and exploited, why not allow the public to benefit from that money?  Pay down the national debt, build better programs that everyone will benefit from?