American

HURJFall 2007 Issue 7

Civics

spring 2007 focus: American Civics

Table oF ConTenTs

10 DarwininReverse:HowtheDisabilityRightsMovementisChangingAmerica DaviDweinstein

16 AlternativeEnergyAwaits GanDhivallarapu

19 DealingwithSplit-Ends:TheWeaknessofHispanic-InterestLobbying isabelperera

22 TheEffectofIllegalImmigrationontheUSHealthcareSystem MehDiDraoua

24 TwoSidestoEveryCoin:BridgingtheGapinAmerica nancytray

27 Getoutthevote:GrassrootseffortstorevitalizeAmericandemocracy stephenberGer

research spotlights:Road Trip: Technology and Industry across America ... A Rock-and-Roll Retelling of the Faust Legend... Sketch of a Johns Hopkins Circadian Biologist ... Neural Circuitry Associations

30 TransformationalNetworksinSimpleRecurrentNetworks

ebonyeGussine

research reports: engineering

research reports: sciences

39 Whatgetsyouhigh:Ataleofnaturalrewardsandwhatwecando togetawayfromthechemicalalternatives

nicoleanGeli

34 BruisedandBeatenDown:ConceptualizingtheCombined EffectsofPovertyandDepressioninFamilies

Desiraevasquez

research reports: humanities42 OriginsofHealthPolicyintheUnitedStatesandGreatBritain: InfluenceofPublicPreferences&PoliticalCulture

saDajyotbrar

46 YokoTawada’sSelf-Invention:TheLegendofaJapanese-German WomanAuthor

Miyakohayakawa

50 AMoralMentality:The“SuddenlySexy”Debateover InternationalDebt

MichelleMelton

leTTer From The edITors

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hUrJ 2006-2007EditorialBoard:

Hopkins Undergraduate Research JournalJohnsHopkinsUniversity

MattinCenter,Suite2103400N.CharlesSt.

Baltimore,MD21218

hurj@jhu.eduhttp://www.jhu.edu/hurj

HURJNicoleAngeliStephenBergerAdamCanverMehdiDraouaEbonyeGussineMiyakoHayakawa

NiklasKrummMichelleMeltonIsabelPereraChristianRecca???DivyaSambandanNancyTray

GandhiVallarapuDesiraeVasquezDavidWeinsteinJuliaZhou

AboutHURJ:

TheHopkinsUndergraduateResearchJournalprovidesundergraduateswithavaluableresourcetolearnaboutresearchbeingdonebytheirpeersandinterestingcurrentissues.Thejournaliscomprisedofthreesections-originalresearch,acurrentfocustopic,andstudentandfacultyspotlights.Studentsareencouragedtocontributetheirworkeitherbysubmittingtheirresearch,orbywritingforourfocusorspotlightsections.Thetremendousinterestinourfocussectionhasnecessitatedtheuseofanapplica-tionprocessforourwriters,whileourresearchandspotlightsectionsareopenforalltocontributeto.

editor-in-chiefofoperations....................... PriyaPuri

editor-in-chiefofcontent....................... SadajyotBrar

editor-in-chiefoflayout....................... BryceOlenczak

Focuseditor....................... JasonLiebowitz

engineeringeditor:....................... ????

scienceeditor:....................... ????

humanitieseditor:....................... ????

spotlighteditor....................... DariaNikolaeva

copyeditor....................... DefneArslan

sidebareditor....................... ManuelDatilesIV

�

Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel On the Road chronicles thestoryofagroupoffriendstravelingacrossthenation,en-counteringnewexperiencesandreflectingonlife.Thetri-alsandtribulationsoftheBeatGenerationaredrawnoutthroughstream-of-consciousnesswritingasKerouacandhiscompatriotsjourneyonwardsinthemostliberatingoftechnologies:theautomobile.

By utilizing the works of Kerouac and other pieces ofclassic road literatureandfilm,Dr.BillLeslieof theDe-partment of the History of Science and Technology hasbeen able to create a course entitled “On the Road” thatencouragesstudentstoconsidertheroleautomobileshaveplayedandcontinuetoplaywithinAmericansociety.Eachweek, students analyze the lyrics of any car-related songtheychooseand,overthecourseofthesemester,theymustinterviewafamilymemberaboutaroadtripinwhichhe/she participated. The ultimate goal is to document thejourneyand tocreatean“auto”biography thatconsidersthefunctionofthecarintheroadtripandmeditatesonboththephysicalandsymbolicaspectsofautomobiles.

Beyond simply teaching about road trips, Dr. Leslie isusinghisbackground in thehistoryof scienceand tech-nology toplanhisowncross-countryvoyage inorder toexamine the history of industrial America from Lowell,Massachusetts, to San Jose, California. By collaboratingwith Scott Knowles, a former Hopkins graduate studentnowteachingatDrexelUniversity,Dr.Lesliewilltracethepathofmanufacturing intheU.S. fromtheearly19thtothelate20thcenturyandresearchwhatbecomesofsmall

industrialcitiesoncetheplantsclosedownorrelocatetootherareas.

Dr. Leslie has been able to write and teach on a widevarietyoftopicseversincehearrivedattheuniversityin1981.Althoughoriginallyhiredtohelpexpandhumanitiescoursesthatcateredtoengineeringstudents,Dr.LesliehasbroadenedthescopeoftheHistoryofScienceandTech-nologydepartmentand,insodoing,hasattractedstudentsfromalldisciplines.The“SevenWondersoftheModernWorld”course intertwines thehistoryof technologyandart in a modern context, while Homewood House’s newexhibit “ThePet inEarlyMaryland”wasentirelycreatedbythestudentstaking“IntroductiontoMaterialCulture,”aclasstaughtbyLeslieandHomewoodHousecuratorCath-erineArthur.Asforotherresearchprojects,Dr.Leslieisintheprocessofexamininghowlaboratoryarchitecturecon-strainsinnovationandnetworking.Separately,Dr.Leslieis exploring the idiosyncrasiesof corporateheadquartersthatshowcasethecompany’sproductinthebuilding’sar-chitecture,suchasisthecasewithAlcoaAluminumandU.S.Steel.

Byofferingsuchadiversearrayofcoursesthatmixsci-ence and the liberal arts, Dr. Leslie and his departmenthavecreatedavaluableacademicnichefortheuniversitythatattractsengineers,pre-meds,andstudentsfromeveryotherbackground.AsforDr.Lesliehimself,whenitcomestimetowriteanotherbook,hewillundoubtedlybefoundontheroadagain.

researCh spoTlIghTsRoad Trip: Technology and Industry across America

Jason Liebowitz/ HURJ Staff Writer

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A Rock-and-Roll Retelling of the Faust Legend

Christian Recca (English, ‘07) has spentthelastfouryearsinandoutoftherecordingstudio,workingonhisWoodrowWilsonFel-lowship,DevilsintheDetails,arock-and-rollretellingoftheFauststory.

TheFaustlegendisataleofthemanwhosellshissoultothedevil.BothMarloweandGoethehavewrittenliteraryversionsofthestory.TheyimaginedthestoryasemblematicoftheEliza-bethanandRomantictimesinwhichtheylived.Reccahasupdatedthestoryformoderntimes.In his version, the devil is an abstract forcewillinghishero,thehermeticFoxman,tosin.Almostoutofinertia,theFoxmanfallsintothesnareofdrugsandloosewomen,emergingwithabitteroutlook.Hewonders,sincetheworldissobad,whyshouldhebegood?TheFoxmanfindsareasoninMargarita,withwhomhefallsin love.ButMargaritacheatson theFoxman,promptinghismurderousrage.Eventually,theFoxmanisabletocometopeacewithhimselfandabandonthelifeofsin.

This album is currently being mixed downatAxisSoundstudiosinNewYorkCity.Reccacomposedthelyrics;hisbrother,Adrian,wrotethe music. The album was produced by JeffPeretzandengineeredbySteveRossitter.AfterrecordingthepreliminarytrackswithvariousNewYork-areamusicians, theReccabrotherslayered on extra guitar parts and harmonies.Recca,himself,playsbassandsings.

The point of the album is that evil todaycomesinattractive,subtleforms.Societypres-suresmantosin,deeminghimuncoolanddullif he chooses another path. Recca hopes thatthealbumwillbereceivedwelloncampusandbeyond. Perhaps listeners will see somethingofthemselvesintheFoxman.Reccawouldliketo thankeveryonewhohas lent theirsupportthroughoutthislongprocess.

Christian Recca???/ HURJ Staff Writer

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Every day graduate studentJean-Marie Maddux has deci-sionstomakeinherlife.Besidesdeciding whether to wear rain-bowsocksorsockswithpigsonthem, each morning Jean-Mariemustdecidewhether tocalloneoftwoequallypleasantgraduatestudents to secure half a sand-wich. The graduate students,anonymously ‘M’ and ‘C’, make,respectively, peanut butter ortunafishsandwiches.

One Friday before a labora-tory meeting, Jean-Marie calls‘C’,whonormallypreparesexcel-lent tuna fish sandwiches. Jean-Marie then continues to the labmeeting, where she is unawarethattheywillbeservingtunafishon crackers. She eats two platesof tuna fish on crackers. At this

point, Jean-Marie cannot pos-sibly eat anymore tuna fish andleaves‘C’ssandwichontheplate.

This scenario repeats eachtime there is a laboratory meet-ing. Jean-Marie stops rotatingbetween calling ‘C’ and ‘M’ forsandwichesonlabmeetingdays.Sheonlycalls ‘M’forhispeanutbuttersandwich,assheissatiatedwithtunafishbythetimethelabmeetingisover.

Why have I constructed afairly elaborate scenario involv-ing rainbowsocksand tunafishsandwiches? Jean-Marie Mad-dux, a Psychological and BrainSciencesgraduatestudent intheHolland lab, constructs similarscenarios and tests rats in theseparadigms,lookingattheneuralcircuitryneededtoformanasso-

ciation between, say, a tuna fishsandwichandaperson.

Dorats formcausal represen-tations, and where in the braindo these representations form?Jean-Marie asks these questionsto understand how the brainencodesandorganizes theasso-ciationsbetweendifferentevents,particularly in a region calledthe anterior cingulate cortex,anatomically shown to be con-nected to parts of the amygdalaand thalamus, a circuit knowntohelpencodeassociatedevents.Experiencesformthecoreofourexistence,andgraduatestudentslike Jean-MarieMadduxhelpustobetterunderstandourbrains,andourselves.

Nicole Angeli / HURJ Staff Writer

Divya Sambandan / HURJ Staff Writer

Dr. Samer Hattar is an Assis-tantProfessorofBiologyatJohnsHopkins University. Recipientof many prestigious awards, in-cluding the David and LucillePackardFellowshipandAlfredP.SloanFellowship,Dr.Hattarisatrulyaccomplishedresearch-er.Hislaboratoryhasiden-tified melanopsin-con-taining photoreceptorsintheretinaofmicethatareimportantinnon-im-age-forming functions.When the melanopsingene was knocked out intheseretinalganglioncells,the cells lost their inherentphotosensitivity. Thesemela-nopsin-containingcellsmakeupa very small portion of the eye,yet they are imperative for vari-ous behaviors including pupilconstriction and regulation ofthesleepwakecycle. Currently,Dr.Hattar’s studies focusontheeffectsof lighton learing,mem-ory, and behavioral functionssuchasthesleepwakecycle.Hislabhasrecentlyfoundananimal

that sees images normally buthasproblemswithitssleepwakecycle and learning and memoryabilities because it is unable to

sensethepresenceof light. Ad-ditionally, he is studying howthe melanopsin photoreceptorcells develop, which regions ofthebrainareinnervatedbythesecells, and when the melanopsinproteinisfirstexpressed.

Dr. Hattar first became inter-

ested in thisfieldofstudywhenhe trained as a circadian biolo-gist at the University of Hous-ton. He later became involvedwiththemelanopsinphotorecep-torswhenhecametotheJohns

Hopkins Medical School tostudy as a postdoctoral fel-low. Dr.Hattarisastrongadvocate of scientific re-search. He believes thatstudentsshouldconductresearch with the intentof enjoying it so theyhave the opportunity to

experience the personalsatisfaction of solving a

problem and overcominga challenge. He asserts his

gratitude for living in a timewhen scientific advances haverapidly taken place and allowedhim to progress as he has. Dr.Hattar’senthusiasmandloveforresearch is truly inspiring. Hesays,“It’slikeapuzzle.Youhavetofind the rightquestion. Giveyourself the chance to go into alab, to appreciate the scientificdiscoveryandquestioning.”

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10

How the Disability Rights Movement is Changing America

Disability only becomes a tragedy for me when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives—job opportunities or barrier-free buildings, for example. It is not a tragedy to me that I’m living in a wheelchair.

Judith E. Heumann, disability rights activist

DARWIN IN REVERSE

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Davidweinstein /hurjstaffwriter

Nearly 200 years ago, a distinguished Frenchphysician named Jean-Marc Itard was asked toevaluatethestrangebehaviorofayoungFrenchnoblewoman, the Marquise de Dampierre. Hersymptoms included bizarre body movements,involuntary outbursts of profanity, and the vo-calizationofsoundssuchasbarks,screams,andhigh-pitched cries. Though Itard, in 1825, pub-lishedanaccountofthewoman’sconditionthatwould inspire future studies, he failed to makesignificantprogressintreatingher.Turnedintoasubjectofmediagossip,theunfortunatewomanwas forcedbyher family to isolateherself from

society.Hersymptomspersisted,andshelivedinseclusionuntilherdeathin1885.

ThecaseoftheMarquisedeDampierreisonlyoneofcountlessinstancesthroughouthistoryinwhich people with disabling physical or mentalconditionshavebeenturnedintoobjectsofderi-sion,mockery,andscorn.Herconditionwasanunusualone,duetoherelevatedsocialstatusandtheunusualnatureofhersymptoms,buttheiso-lationandridiculeshewasforcedtoendurehascontinuedtomoderntimes.

In general, the history of people with dis-abilities (PWD) has been one of persecution.With some exceptions, ancient societies oftenmistreated—and sometimes killed—those bornwithphysicalordevelopmentaldisabilities,alter-nativelyconsideringthemtobesubhuman,evil,useless,orentertaining.Greekculture,whichem-phasized bodily perfection, was particularly in-fluentialinstigmatizingPWD,asitheldthatonewithadefectivebodymusthaveadeviantmindaswell.TheriseofChristianitygavebirthtotwodivergentviewpointsconcerningthosewithdis-abilities.Oneopinionheld that suchpeopleareinnocent victims of misfortune and called forthem to be treated with compassion. The otherview,however,wasthatdisabilityispunishmentforsin;underthisbelief,PWDwereoftentreatedharshlyandusedasscapegoatsforsocietalills.

The years following the Enlightenment ush-eredinanumberoftrendsregardingPWD.Someof thesewerepositive, suchas thedevelopmentofHumanism,whichledtoincreasedsocialcon-cernforthehandicapped.Atthesametime,how-ever,industrializationfurtherednegativepercep-tionsofthosewithdisabilities.ThephilosophyofUtilitarianism,inwhichsocialworthismeasuredbased on usefulness, led some societies to con-siderPWDasburdens.Inthe19thcentury,asSo-cialDarwinismcameintoexistence,PWDwereconsideredtohaveinferiorgenesandweresimi-larlyoppressed.Theeugenicsmovement,anearly

1900’sbyproductofSocialDarwinism,ledtotheenactmentoflawspermittingforcedsterilizationofthosewithdisabilities.

Thescientificrevolutionledtovastlyimprovedstandards of care for PWD, and gradually dis-creditedmanyofthepopulartheoriesattributingdisabilitytosupernatural(andshameful)causes.As new technology was invented and medicaljournals came to be widely disseminated, thecauses of individual disabilities were identifiedandvarioustreatmentsweredeveloped.In1885,withanarticlenamed“StudyofaNervousAfflic-tion”,ayoungFrenchneurologistnamedGilesdelaTouretteexposedtheaforementionedbehavioroftheMarquisedeDampierreassymptomaticofa neurological disorder; the condition was laternamed “Tourette’s Syndrome”. In a notable ex-ample, stuttering—once considered a result ofcircumstancessuchasthepresenceofthedevilinthethroat—hasbecomeknownasaphysiologicaldisorderfollowingyearsofresearch.

Yettheadvancesthathavetakenplacehavealsoposedfurtherproblemsforpeoplewithdisabili-ties.Astreatmentsimproved,hospitalsandotherinstitutionsbeganto“warehouse”manyofthosewithdisabilities,causingthemtobecomeincreas-inglymarginalizedandsegregated fromsociety.Somefacilitiesevenwentsofarastoabusetheirresidents.Asthesecondhalfofthe20thcentury

Hospitals and other institutions began to “warehouse” many of those with disabilities, causing them to become increasingly marginalized and segregated from society.“ ”

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neared, people with disabilities—though no lon-ger viewed as having inexplicable illnesses—foundthemselves subject to stereotypes, possessing fewlegalprotections,andoftenconfinedtomedicalfa-cilities.

OnMay29th,1935,sixpeoplewithvariousphysi-cal impairments launchedasit-inprotestatagov-ernmentbuildinginNewYorkCity,occupyingtheofficeofEmergencyReliefBureaudirectorOswaldW.Knauth.These individuals—inperhaps thefirstinstanceofcivildisobediencepertainingtodisabil-ity rights—had banded together to fight existingstandards that classified those with disabilities as“physically handicapped” and hampered their ef-forts tofindemployment.Thedemonstratorsgrewinnumberonthefollowingday,andattractedalarge

amountofmediacoveragebeforetheyendedtheirproteston June�th.Theresultingpublicityhelpedthe demonstrators rent office space, elect officers,andformallyuniteunder thename“Leagueof thePhysicallyHandicapped”.

According to sociologists Sharon Barnartt andRichardScotch,theformationoftheLPHwas justoneofnumerouseventsduringthe1920s,1930sand1940sthatlaidthenecessarygroundworkformoreextensive future protests. Barnartt and Scotch dis-cuss the emergence of a “collective consciousness”amongsomepeoplewithdisabilitiesthattookplaceoverthisperiod,representingtheirincreasedsenseofasharedidentityaswellasaheightenedawarenessofdiscriminationaimedatthem.TheWorldWars,Barnartt and Scotch claim, contributed notably tothis development by vastly increasing the ranks ofthe disabled (due to the return of wounded veter-ans)andheighteningfeelingsofdeprivationamongthosewithdisabilities.ManyPWDexperiencedthefrustrationofemploymentdiscriminationfirsthand,astheywereaskedtoworkduringthewarsduetotheneedfor labor,onlytolosethesejobsoncethefightinghadceased.

InadditiontotheLPH,theseyearswitnessedthefounding and development of numerous other or-

ganizationsforPWD,suchastheAmericanFoun-dation for the Blind. However, most early effortstochangetheprevailingconditions facedbyPWDwere largely unsuccessful, as they simply failed toresonateorgainlegitimacyamongmostAmericans.Inaremarkableirony,thegovernmentthat—accord-ing to the protesters—was discriminating againstthose with disabilities was headed by wheelchairuser Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a polio survivor.AsevidencedbytheconductofPresidentRoosevelt,whowenttogreat lengthstohidetheextentofhiscondition, having a disability was still a source ofstigmatizationandsocialhandicapduringthattime.AccordingtoBarnarttandScotch,itwouldtaketheemergenceofthecivilrightsmovement,yearslater,toprovideaframeofreferencethroughwhichPWD

couldgainpublicacceptanceoftheiractions.Inthefallsemesterof19�2,aquadriplegicpolio

survivor named Ed Roberts enrolled at the Uni-versityofCaliforniaatBerkeley.Robertshadbeenahealthychilduntil thedisease lefthimunable towalkanddependentonanironlung.Atfirsthefelthelplessandashamed,butaftermonthsoftreatment,heobtainedhishighschooldiplomaanddecidedtoseek a political science degree. Encouraged by hisactivistmotherandasympatheticadviser,RobertschoseBerkeley,aschoolwithatopprograminthefield.

Though the school initially refused to takeRob-ertsduetohiscondition,itultimatelybackeddown,leavingituptohimtomakearrangementsforhim-self.Thecampuswasfilledwithroomsinaccessibletowheelchairusers,andsinceRoberts’ironlungwastooheavytobeplacedinadormitory,hewasforcedto live in the university’s hospital. Still, Robertsthrived,andaswordgotout,otherstudentswithse-veredisabilitiesjoinedhim.Encouragedbythecivilrights and antiwar protests that were taking place,Robertsandotherdisabledstudentsformedapoliti-calgroupcalledtheRollingQuads.

Anxioustoendhishospitalconfinement,RobertsflewtoD.C. to lobby for studentswithdisabilities,

We all felt beautiful. We all felt powerful. It didn’t matter if you were mentally retarded, blind, or deaf. Everybody who came out felt, We are beautiful, we are powerful, we are strong, we are important.“

”

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andhesoonobtainedfundsforanewinitiative,thePhysically Disabled Students’ Program. The PDSP,whichbegan in1970, revolutionized the treatmentofstudentswithdisabilitiesatBerkeley,lettingthemget accessible housing, set up a “wheelchair work-shop”,andengageingeneraladvocacyfortreatmentandfunding.

According to writer Shapiro, Roberts “redefinedindependenceasthecontroladisabledpersonhadoverhis life”rather than themedicalmodelof theability to perform tasks such as walking. In 1972,inspired by the success of the student program,RobertsandothersopenedtheBerkeleyCenterforIndependent Living (CIL), which was designed tohelpallcapablepeoplewithdisabilitiesliveontheirown and integrate into society. In 1975, Robertswasappointeddirectorofthestate’sDepartmentofRehabilitation and he promptly set about expand-ingtheconceptofindependentliving;astheinitia-tive gained popularity, other programs resemblingBerkeley’sCILwerefoundedacrossthecountry.

WhiletheCILgainedinfluenceinBerkeley,pro-testsandpoliticalactivitiesbypeoplewithdisabili-ties were picking up steam elsewhere. In 1970, 22year-old New York resident Judith E. Heumann—anotherquadriplegicpoliosurvivor—foundedDis-abled in Action (DIA), a political protest group.Afterstudyingspeechtherapy,Heumannhadbeenruledineligibleforateachingcertificateduetohercondition. She sued the state Board of Education,wenttothemedia,andultimatelyreachedasettle-ment that included her certification. Heumann’sDIA launched several high-profile demonstrationsin the early 1970’s, including a trip to the LincolnMemorialandasit-inonMadisonAvenueinNewYorkCity.In1973,HeumannmovedtoBerkeleytojoinRobertsattheCIL.

The Rehabilitation Act, signed into law on Sep-tember 2�, 1973, contained the first United Statesfederal civil rights laws pertaining to people withdisabilities. Ironically, Section 504—the most im-portantpartofthelegislation—wasnotincludedasadirectresultofprotestsorlobbying.Muchofdis-abilityrightsactivityprior to1973hadfocusedongovernment spending, and theoriginalpurposeoftheRehabilitationActhadbeen toprovide federalfunds for PWD. According to sociologist Scotch,Sections501-504—pertainingtocivilrightsofpeo-ple with disabilities—were inserted seemingly as arandom afterthought. Some members of Congressmaynotevenhavebeenawareoftheseportionsof

theact,ormayhaveconsideredthemasympatheticbutmeaninglessgesture.

ThewordingofSection504wasadaptedfromTitleVIofthe19�4CivilRightsAct,andmakesitillegalforanyinstitutionreceivingfederalfundingtodis-criminateagainstPWD“solelybyreasonof…handi-cap”. Activists had not expected this addition, buttheysoonbecameawareofitssignificance.Follow-ingalawsuit,theDepartmentofHealth,Education,andWelfare(HEW)drafted185pagesofregulationstobeissuedthatwouldmandatetheenforcementofSection504.However,fearingthecoststheseregu-lations would incur, HEW stalled their release forthenextseveralyears—evenafterthe197�electionof JimmyCarter,whohadpromised to implementthem.

OnApril5,1977,disabilityrightsactivistslooselyorganized by the American Coalition of Citizenswith Disabilities—a new organization founded in1975 by Heumann and others with disabilities tooperate on a national level—launched large-scaleprotests in Washington, D.C. and at eight regionalofficesoftheDepartmentofHealth,Education,andWelfare. In Washington, 300 demonstrators tookovertheofficesofCarter’snewHEWsecretary,Jo-sephCalifano,with40remaininginsidefor28hoursdespiterefusalbythesecretarytoallowthemfoodor telephone access. In New York City, eight lead-ersoflocaldisabilityrightsorganizationsarrivedattheareaHEWoffice,stayingfor33hoursandgiv-ingupdatestomediaorganizations.Inthemostsig-nificantprotest,SanFranciscodemonstratorsledbyHeumann and Roberts occupied the sixth floor oftheregionalHEWoffice for25days.According toShapiro,theSanFranciscoaction“markedthepolit-icalcomingofageofthedisabilityrightsmovement”,asitrepresentedanationwideunificationofpeoplewithawidespectrumofdisabilitiesundertheban-nerofcivildisobedience.Hequotesonedemonstra-toras stating that“Weall feltbeautiful.Weall feltpowerful. It didn’t matter if you were mentally re-tarded,blind,ordeaf.Everybodywhocameoutfelt,Wearebeautiful,wearepowerful,wearestrong,weareimportant.”

Finally,onApril28th,1977,Califanocapitulated,agreeingtosigntheSection504documents.Thoughthis was a major victory for activists, the strugglewouldcontinue.

Following the introduction of the Section 504regulations, the disability rights movement beganto face public criticism. For the first time, institu-

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tions receiving federal funding would have to in-stallramps,buildwidertoiletstalls,andmakeotherchanges; as these measures could prove costly andtiresome,someorganizationswerereluctanttofullycomply.SeveralU.S.SupremeCourtdecisionsinthe1980slimitedthepowerofthenewregulations,andmomentumfromtheSanFranciscoprotestcontin-uedtoevaporateduringthefirstyearsof thebusi-ness-friendlyReaganAdministration.

In thisdifficultpolitical climate,disability rightsactivistsmobilizedtosupportSection504.Numer-ouslegalorganizations—includinggroupssponsoredbyHeumann’sDIAandRoberts’CIL—wereformedtotakethenewlegislationtocourt.Onthestreet,thedemonstrationscontinued,attimesadoptingamili-tanttone.In1983,WadeBlank—aDenverministerandindependentlivingactivist—foundedAmericanDisabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT).Overthenexteightyears,thegroupwouldtakeonthe American Public Transit Association (APTA),whichhadstoppedmakingitsvehicleswheelchair-accessiblefollowinga1981courtruling.Usingcivildisobedience techniques, ADAPT attempted everyyeartodisrupttheannualAPTAconference,quicklybecomingthemostconfrontationaldisabilityrightsorganizationinthefield.ThoughADAPT’sprotestswere highly visible, most mainstream activists dis-misseditasoverlyradical.

In early March of 1988, the board of trustees atGallaudet University—the most famous institutionof higher learning for deaf students in America—went against the wishes of students, faculty, andalumniandattemptedtoappointanon-deafpresi-denttoheadtheuniversity.Overthenextweek,inwhathistorianShapirodescribesas“theclosestthe[disability rights]movementhas come tohavingatouchstone event”, students engaged in a massivecampaign of protest marches, civil disobedience,andpoliticalaction,shoutingslogansandbarricad-ingthecampus.Oneweekaftertheprotestsbegan,theboardoftrusteesagreedtonameI.KingJordanastheschool’sfirstdeafpresident.

Two months later—with images of the protestsfreshintheirminds—lawmakersofthe100thCon-gressbeganworkonthefirstversionoftheAmeri-cans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Though the dis-ability rights movement had chalked up a numberof successes inCongress, theproposedregulationswentmuchfurtherthananyothercivilrightslegisla-tionsincethe19�0s.Theoriginaldraftcalledforallbusinesses to accommodate PWD (except in cases

wherethiswouldcausebankruptcy)andincludedaprovisionallowingpunitivedamagesindiscrimina-tion lawsuits—essentially extendingSection504 toallorganizations,regardlessofwhethertheyreceivefederalfunding.

Theproposedbillwasdevelopedprimarilybytwomembers of the National Council on the Handi-capped (NCH), a federal committee appointed byPresident Reagan: Robert Burgdorf, the council’slawyer and research specialist, and Justin Dart, aveteran activist whom many consider the “father”of theADA.Yearsearlier,20year-oldBurgdorf—apoliosurvivor—hadbeendeniedentrytoasummerinternshipprogramduetohisparalyzedrightarm;hewentontospecializeindisabilityrightslawandultimatelyjointheNCH.Dart,thesonofapowerfulbusinessman,hadgrownupinrelativecomfort,de-spitelosinghislegstopolioasateenager.Followingabusiness trip toSaigonduring theVietnamWar,during which he witnessed mistreatment of polio-strickenchildrenfirsthand,Dartdecidedtodevotehislifetohelpingotherdisabledindividuals;heen-gagedinvigorouspoliticaleffortsandjoinedcom-mitteesliketheNCH.

ThefirstversionoftheADAwasrejectedbythe100th Congress in the face of opposition by busi-nessesandvariousothergroups.However,withthehelp of Berkeley-based lobbyist Patrisha Wright,new legislation was reintroduced into the 101stCongressayearlater.Thoughtheseconddraftwasmoreconservativethanthefirst—omittingthepu-nitivedamagesprovisionandreducingthescopeofthe accommodations to be required—it managedtogainbipartisansupportasthelegislativeprocessproceeded.

InMarch1990,ADAPTlaunchedits“WheelsofJustice March”, a series of demonstrations in D.C.that included a March 12 “crawl-up” staged bywheelchairusersonthestairsoftheCapitolbuild-ing and a takeover of the Capitol rotunda the fol-lowingday.UnlikeothereventsrelatedtotheADA,theseprotestsgainedpublicattention,providingthelegislation with momentum as it moved throughCongress.TheAmericanswithDisabilitiesActwaspassed in the House on July 12, 1990 by a vote of377-28,andbytheSenateadaylater,91-�.PresidentGeorgeBushsignedthebillintolawonJuly2�,1990,andproclaimed,“Lettheshamefulwallofexclusionfinallycometumblingdown”.

Seventeenyears later, theultimate impactof theADAremainsunclear.Aseriesofrecentcourtjudg-

15

References:Barnartt,SharonandRichardScotch.DisabilityProtests:ContentiousPolitics1970-1999.2001.GallaudetUniversityPress.Washington,DC20002.Bobrick,Benson.KnottedTongues:StutteringinHistoryandtheQuestforaCure.1995.SimonandSchuster.1230AvenueoftheAmericas.NewYork,NY10020.Covey,Herbert.SocialPerceptionsofPeoplewithDisabilitiesinHistory.1998.CharlesC.Thomas,Publisher,Ltd.Springfield,IL,�2794.Fleischer,DorisZamesandFriedaZames.TheDisabilityRightsMovement:FromCharitytoConfrontation.2001.TempleUniversityPress.Philadelphia,PA19122.Landau,Elaine.TouretteSyndrome.FranklinWatts,aDivisionofGrolierPublishing.ShermanTurnpike.Danbury,CT0�813.Moe,Barbara.CopingWithTouretteSyndromeandTicDisorders.2000.TheRosenPublishingGroup,Inc.29East21stStreet.NewYork,NY10010.Kushner,HowardI.ACursingBrain?TheHistoriesofTouretteSyndrome.1999.HarvardUniversityPress.Cambridge,Massachusetts.London,England.Shapiro,JosephP.NoPity:PeoplewithDisabilitiesForgingaNewCivilRightsMovement.1993.RandomHouse.NewYork,Toronto.Switzer,JacquelineV.DisabledRights:AmericanDisabilityPolicyandtheFightforEquality.2003.GeorgetownUniversityPress.Washington,D.C.Waltz,Mitzi.Tourette’sSyndrome:FindingAnswersandGettingHelp.2001.O’Reilly&Associates,Inc.Sebastopol,CA95472.

1]2]3]4]5]�]7]8]9]10]

ments—inparticular,aprecedent-setting5-4Su-premeCourt ruling in the2000caseUniversityof Alabama v. Garrett—has curtailed some ofthe power of the legislation. Despite these set-backs, thedisability rightsmovementhasclear-ly made significant gains in both the legal andpublic spheres; a comprehensive Harris poll in1999 indicated that an overwhelming majorityofAmericansviewstheADApositivelyandsup-portsprovidingaccommodationsforpeoplewithdisabilities.

Perhapsthemostpressingissue,Shapirosays,is to overcome two traditional and widely-heldstereotypesaffectingpeoplewithdisabilities:theopposing archetypes of the “Tiny Tim” and the“supercrip”. The first portrays individuals withdisabilitiesassufferingandmiserablefigureswhomustbepitied.Thesecondisthatofthedisabledachieverwhovaliantlyovercomeshisdisability—the“supercripple”.Shapiroclaimsthatbothim-agesdemeanPWDbypromotingtheclaimthatthereissomethinginherentlywrongwithhavingadisability.Hearguesthatmostdisabledindivid-ualswantneithertobepitiednortoberevered,but rather to simply be treated and accepted asnormalpeople.

According to Shapiro, the power of the dis-abilityrightsmovementliesinitsvastnumbers:almosteveryAmericaneitherhassomekindofdisabilityorknowssomeoneelsewhohasone.At

first, this phenomenon weakened the campaignbycausingactivismtotakeplaceina“splintereduniverse”inwhichpeoplewithdifferentdisabili-tiesfocusedondiverseissuesandfailedtocooper-ate,evenfindingthemselvesatoddsonoccasion.(Inoneexample,Shapironoteshowwheelchairusers pushed for curb-cuts, while blind people,whooftenuseraisedcurbstoguidethemselves,opposedthem.)Yetinrecentyears,asbroaddis-ability rights measures have brought activiststogether,a“hiddenarmy”ofpeople touchedbydisability has emerged to push legislation for-ward.Shapirocountsaspartof thisarmymanykeysenators,congressmen,andadviserswhoei-thersufferedfromdisabilitiesthemselvesorwereclosetodisabledindividuals.Alsoincludedistheformer President Bush, whose son, Neil, has alearningdisability.

In a broad sense, the disability rights move-ment is a defiant response to social Darwin-ism.Inacruelworlddrivenonlybysurvivalofthe fittest, people with disabilities are graduallyeliminatedfromthepopulationduetotheseverehardships they face. However, in a world gov-ernedbyequalopportunities,thesesamepeoplecanbecomeproductivemembersofsociety.Thedisabilityrightsmovement,then,isanattempttocreatesuchaworldofequality.Itisanattempttoturntheunthinkableintoday-to-dayreality.

1�

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Gandhi Vallarapu /hurjstaffwriter

Whileeverincreasinggaspricesseemtoburdenthe average American consumer, the root of thisphenomenonisvastlymoredetrimental.Admoni-tions from scientific authorities have largely beenignored until recently, but the fundamental lackof alternative energy sources is not an easily ame-nableproblem. Fortunately,multipleenvironmen-tallyconsciouspartiesarerespondingtothiscrisis,withthegoalofeliminatingtheneedforoutdated,harmfulfossilfuels.Thereareeveninitiativesatthecollegiate level, such as MIT’s Energy “ManhattenProject,”organizedbyitsEnergyResearchCouncil.Withcollaboratecivileffort,Americawillsoonloseitsfossilfueladdictiontothebenefitofindividualsandperhapsmoreimportantlytheenvironment.

Thegovernmentwouldbetheprimarybeneficiarywithaswitchtoalternativeformsofenergy.Fossilfuelsnecessitateadangerous tie toMiddleEasterncountrieswithquestionableforeignpolicy.Inaddi-tion,thesoonertheUSmovesawayfromfossilfuels,thesooneritcanfreeitselffromthefluctuatinggas

prices that often dominate the news. The govern-ment should further fund research in various newformsofenergysuchashydrogenfuelcells.Thesenew forms not only produce fewer pollutants, butarealsomoreefficient. Themoderninternalcom-bustionenginehasefficienciesthat“rangebetween20 and 25 percent,” (Encarta), while hydrogen hasatheoreticalefficiencyofupto80percent.Thoughthe government could be doing more to promotedrastic reforms in energy policy, officials are suc-cessfully providing tax incentives for the purchaseofhybridvehicles.Hybridvehicles,suchasToyota’sPrius,provideabridgebetweenoldfossilfuelsandnewelectricenergysources.Byutilizingelectricitygeneratedfrombraking,hybridscansupplementthepowerobtained fromburninggas.Providinga taxincentive persuades American consumers to pur-chase these vehicles, which emit fewer pollutantsanduse lessgas. Despiteall thesesuggestions, theUSgovernmentmustalsoenablethefinancialsuc-cessofthecurrentoilindustry;so,itmightbeben-eficialtoprovidemorefederalmonetaryincentives

Alternative Energy Awaits

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Energyfor encouraging the oil industry to graduallyswitchtothenewfuelsources.Theoilindustrymust come to terms with the reality that fossilfuelsareanonrenewableenergysourceandwilleventuallybedepleted. Thegovernment couldhelpeasethetransitiontoalternatefuelsources.

Notonlywillthechangebenefittheoilcompa-nies,butalternativefuelsourceswouldtremen-douslycripplethedamagecurrenthydrocarbonsinflict. Themostegregiousdamagescausedbycurrent fossil fuelsarewelldocumented. Theyinclude acid rain and global warming. “Theseacid-containingwatervapors[…]enterthewa-tercycleandcansubsequentlyharmthebiologi-cal quality of forests, soils, lakes, and streams”(Encarta).Currentfilms,mostnotably,AlGore’s“AnInconvenientTruth,”forewarnabouttheim-pendingtroubleduetoglobalwarming. Theseeffectsincludemeltingofthepolaricecapsandthedestructionoftheozone.ThesoonerthattheUS’sdependenceoffossilfuelsiseliminated,thesooner the damage caused by these detriments

canbecurtailed.LeadingthewaywithacivileffortareAmeri-

ca’scolleges.Oneofthemostambitiousandin-novativeinitiativesistheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT)’sEnergy“ManhattanProj-ect.”Whilenotspecificallytargetingfossilfuels,MIT looks at obtaining energy from unusualsources.EnergycompaniesshouldlooktoMITforinspiration.Forexample,MITisattemptingtocreateorganicsolarcellsfromspinach.Mostnotably:“[…]efficiencycouldoutstripthebestsilicon photovoltaic arrays today” (Wired). Toimprovecarfuelefficiency,MITisattemptingtogenerate“[…]acar’selectricityphotoelectrically(usingagas-poweredlightandasmall,speciallydesignedsolarpanel) rather thanmechanically(using an alternator), substantially increasing

AwaitsH H

18

fuel efficiency.” Hopefully, more colleges will fol-lowMIT’sexample,andleadAmericatousemorediversesourcesforenergy.Contributingdifferentlyin theongoingeffortofenergyconservation is theJohns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.Recently, the university’s campus security has anovelmethodoftravel.Initiatedinthebeginningofthe200�schoolyear,campussecurityofficerstravelnotsolelybygasguzzlingmotorvehicles,butusingelectricpoweredSegways.Theyprovideanefficientshortdistance travelingvehicle for theofficersanddonotproduceanyharmfuleffectsontheenviron-ment. Segwaysarea forerunnerof futurevehiclesthatwillgraduallybelessdependentonoilforfuel.

To achieve the goal of complete fossil fuel inde-pendence,manycivicgroupsinCaliforniahavepro-ceededtoconverthybridvehiclesintoplug-inhybridvehicles.Currenthybridslacktheabilitytochargeutilizingaplugintotheelectricalgrid.Instead,theyrelyonbrakingforfrictionalenergy,andmanycarcompaniesareconcernedconsumerswillfindplug-inhybridscumbersome.Theseplug-inhybridshavevastlyimprovedfuelefficiency.“EnergyCShascon-verted two Priuses to get up to 230 mpg by usingpowerful lithium ion batteries” (Wired). An en-gineering professor at UC Davis has built his ownplug-inhybridthatgets250milespergallon,andhebelievesthatcompanieslikeToyotacanimplementthesetechnologiesforaslittleas$�,000pervehicle.IfToyotasubsidizedconsumersforbuyingafueleffi-cienthybrid,thenconsumerswouldbemorewillingtopurchaseone.Withtheresultsofthesesuccesses,groupslikeSetAmericaFreewant“thegovernment

tospend$12billionoverfouryearsonplug-inhy-brids,alternativefuelsandothermeasurestoreduceforeignoildependence“(Wired).SetAmericaFreehas created a blueprint for energy security whichallocatesmoneytovariouskeymembersintheen-ergyfieldtoestablishbetterfuelstandards,suchascleanerandmixedfuelblends.

By joining initiatives like MIT’s project, encour-agingcarcompaniestodevelopplug-inhybridsforgreaterfueleconomy,andshowingsupportthroughpurchasesofhybridvehicles,theaverageAmericancanbepartofacollaborateefforttoimproveAmer-ica’sfuture.Americanscanhelppreservewhatlittlefossil fuelremainsbycarpoolingandtryingtousepublic transportation. However, these are tempo-rarysolutions,andthepublicshouldpushthegov-ernment to fund forapermanent, long termsolu-tionthatwillbebeneficialtoallmembersinvolvedas exemplified by Set America Free. Most impor-tantly,wewanttopreservetheonenonrenewablere-sourcethatwewillbeleavingtofuturegenerations:theearth.Inordertodoso,wemustpromotealter-nativefuelsourcessimilartothecurrentgrassrootsorganizations.Whileitwillnotbeeasyorrapid,al-ternativefuelwilleventuallybedeveloped,buttimeis not expendable. As time progresses, fossil fuelswilldecreaseinavailability,demandwillsurge,pric-eswillinevitablysurge,andgascompanieswillfacealife-threateningdilemma,allwhiletheearthisaf-fectedbypollution.Americaneedstobeforwardinthinkingsoastopreventthisimpendingemergency,andthefirststepmustbetakenbytheindividual.

References:WiredEncarta

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19

Isabel Perera /hurjstaffwriter

W i t hthe ongoing

immigration debate,Hispanic American citi-

zens and non citizens alikeare becoming a formidable pres-

ence in contemporary North Americansociety.Moreover,thispresencehastranslatedintoboth

a socio-cultural as well as a political-economic, and oftenbipartisan,voiceintheUnitedStates.Thedebateovertheso-

cio-cultural Hispanic identity has erupted over the inability todefine an overarching Hispanic personality in the United States.Coupledwiththisconfusionisthedevelopingstrengthofthisiden-tityinAmericanlegislativeactivities.GrowingnumbersofHispan-icsinCongressfindthemselvesquestioningtheirabilitytorepresentHispanic interests.Similarly,Hispanic-interest lobbyinggroupsarehighly subject to criticism and condemnation as they often fail towhollyrepresentHispanicAmericans.Today,thesocio-culturalidentityofHispanicAmericans(orlackthere-

of)ishardlyamonoculture.Theterm“Hispanic”wasbornoutofthegovernment’sneedtocategorizenationalcensusresultsinthe1970s.AccordingtoPrincetonUniversity’s

MartaTiendaandtheNationalResearchCouncil’sFaithMitchell,theterm“encompassesboththedescendantsofearlySpanishsettlersinwhatarenowtheUnitedStatesandimmigrantsandtheir

offspringfromSpanish-speakingcountriesintheCaribbean,CentralAmerica,andSouthAmerica.”

20

GiventheoverwhelmingdiversityoftheHispanicpopu-lation, thiselusive identityhas facedevengreaterdebateoverpointsofpotentialpoliticalagreement,and,therefore,congressionalpower.Inparticular,lobbyinggroupsrepre-sentabroadvarietyofnationalitiesandinterests,eliminat-ingthepossibilityofrepresentingallHispanicAmericaninterestsunderasingleorganization.However,UCIrvine’sLouis DeSipio realizes that “over the past 20 years, His-panicelites,particularlynon-CubanHispanicelites,haveorganizedprimarilyasHispanicsandnotaroundtheirna-tional-originidentities.”.Atthesametime,thesepan-eth-nicgroupscanstill sometimesemergeassmall, specific-interestgroupsonCapitolHill.

Hence two types of Hispanic lobbying groups haveemerged. Currently, there remain several umbrella orga-nizations which represent general Hispanic interests bysplitting specific interests into different interest sections.Thesesmaller,sub-umbrellalobbyistsreceivemostoftheirgenerousfundingfromtheirmotherorganization.Atthesametime,thegrowingstrengthofindependent,specific-interest,independently-fundedgroupsdemonstrateacleardivisionofmeans.

The two pathways of Hispanic activism, sub-umbrellagrouplobbyingandindependentlobbying,havemanifest-edthemselvesinalmostallareasofHispaniccivicconcernsrangingfromimmigrationandworkpermissionrightstoequalhealthcaredistribution.Oneofthemostimportantissues,though,remainseducation.

While groups of the former construct find themselvessurrounded with powerful political allies and granderaims, they seem too often overshadowed by their sisteragendas.Such is thecaseof theHispanicEducationCo-alition(HEC),asub-partyoftheNationalCouncilofLaRaza (NCLR). Though theNCLRhasattempted torep-resent Hispanic interests as a whole, it has also seen theobvious need to create smaller interest groups within itsoverall goal of representing every Hispanic interest. Un-fortunately,evenundertheauspiceofwell-publicizedsup-port,itfindsitselfdealingwiththeburdenofmultipleis-sues.ThefollowingisanexcerptfromtheNCLR’sHEC’smissionstatement:

“NCLR’seducationpolicywork,housedintheOfficeofResearch,Advocacy,andLegislation,strivestoensurethatHispanicstudents, including immigrantandEnglish lan-guage learners, enter school ready to learn and graduatefromhighschoolwithameaningfuldiplomaatthesamerateastheirpeers.NCLR’sadvocacyinearlychildhoodedu-cationandhighschoolreform,whichisfocusedprincipallyatthefederallevel,includespoliciesandprogramssuchasHeadStart,theNoChildLeftBehindAct,theDREAMAct,andfundingforkeyfederaleducationprograms.”

The careful wording of the group’s broad mission state-ment can be sharply contrasted with the frankness of oneofitssmallestactivistaffiliates:theNationalAssociationof

Bilingual Education (NABE). A much smaller group, theNABEishardlypublicized,yetitsgoalsarewell-definedandeasilyunderstood:

“Wehaveworkedactivelytopromoteeducationalexcel-lenceandequity for this long-underservedgroup. Incon-creteterms,thishasmeant:

21

References:HispanicsandthefutureofAmerica,chapter1,pg.1HispanicsandthefutureofAmerica,chapter11,pg.448http://www.nclr.org/content/topics/detail/499/http://www.nabe.org

1]2]3]4]

“Advocacyforfederalandstate legislationtoaddresstheuniqueneedsofEnglishlanguagelearners.

“Advocacy for adequate funding, well trained teachers,appropriate assessments, and other resources for Englishlearnerprograms.

“Advocacy for equal educational opportunity, includingstrongcivil-rightspoliciesandaggressiveenforcementoftheLauv.Nicholsdecision.

“Advocacyagainstpoliticalattackson language-minoritycommunities,suchastheEnglishOnlymovementandanti-bilingual-educationinitiatives.

“Despitepoliticalresistance,wehaveseensignificantprog-ressinalltheseareasovertheyears.Recently,however,theschoolreformlandscapehaschanged,withtheadventofthestandards-and-goalsmovement,high-stakestesting,andall-outattacksonpubliceducation.Inparticular,theBilingualEducationActwas repealedandreplacedby theNoChildLeftBehindAct.”

ThefranknessofNABE’swritingrevealsthepowerfultoolofsmall-levelHispaniclobbying.Here,thegroupintroducesitselfanditssharpgoalssimply,unliketheoverarchingaimsofthelargeNCLR’sHEC.Itseemsthatthedebateconcern-ingthesocialandculturaldefinitionsofHispanicsinAmeri-cahasspilledovertothepoliticalandlegalarenathroughthestructuralevolutionofHispanic-interestlobbyinggroups.

Moreoften,Hispanic-interestlobbyinggroupshavefoundthat the larger, umbrella organizations have yet to satisfytheirspecific,independentneedsastheycannotbecoupledwithgeneralinterests.OftenclaimingthatgeneralHispanicinterestsarenonexistentduetothediversitywithintheHis-panicpopulation, specificgroups, suchas theNABE, real-

ize and attain a smaller spectrum of activism. Oftentimesit is thesheerstrengthofconvictionofsuchgroupswhichattractssupporters.Forexample,theNABEreceivesalargeportionofitssupportfromitsevensmallerstate-levelcoun-terparts.Approximately25Americanstateshavestatebilin-gualeducationactivismmovements.ThesestatesrangefromtheHispanic-heavyNewMexicoandCaliforniatotheHis-panic-lightAlaskaandIdaho.

Thetruequestion,though,liesnotwithintheidentityandmanifestedinterestsofthegroups,butratherwithintheef-fectivenessofsmaller,independentinterestgroupsoverthebranchesoflargerumbrellalobbyinggroups.NABEismoredirectlycontroversial,whereasNCLRhasabroaderappeal,andabiggername.Unlike theNABE, theNCLRisalwaysregisteredunderactivistdatabases. It is therefore thepub-licityandbrand-recognitionattributedtothelargestactivistgroupsthatmaintainsitsreputationandsupport.TheNABEhardlyreceivesasmuchpublicity.

ThoughbothtypesofgroupshavecontributedtochangeontheCongressionalfloors,eachhasdevelopedbothstruc-tural positives and structural negatives. General Hispanicgroups are larger and more forceful but must divide theirefforts among many topics and are not always holisticallyrepresentative of the interests of the entire Hispanic com-munity. On the other hand, smaller, more specific-interestgroups have less issues to address and therefore can man-agetoforcefullyfocustheireffortsonpreciseneedsbuthavea tougher time finding funds. The crisis has led to furtherconfusionanddebatearoundtheHispanicidentityandul-timately the growing assimilation of the ethnic group intoAmericansocio-politicalculture.

22

$If you ask William, he will tell

you the economy is booming.When he is raking in a salary of$18.5 million, why wouldn’t he?But if you ask Kate, she will tellyou a different story – one aboutdecliningwagesandthegrowthofpoverty.Ofcourse,sheisworkingfull-time and earning $11,000 ayear.The truth is, theeconomy isbooming,butbenefitsareweightedheavilytowardstheupperincomeof America and not to the lowerincomefamilies.Itsaysalotwhenthe 13,000 richest families haveasmuchincomeasthe20millionpoorest.1Inthismodernera, it iseasy to see that the gap betweenthe rich and the poor continuesto grow. This pressing issue hassocial, psychological, and medi-calrepercussions.Fortunately,this

crisis has caught the attention ofmany individuals and grassrootsorganizations, which have sprunguptofightforeconomicequality.

Notonlyarejobshardertofind,wages harder to gratify, and a se-cure retirement harder to guar-antee, but many researchers inboth the sciences and humanitieshavenotedotherconsequencesofgrowing inequality. Take, for ex-ample, the impact of the field ofpublic health. Researchers havelinked the widening gap to erod-ing health conditions, in whichsoaringcostshavepreventedmil-lions of families from acquiringthe most basic health insurance.Some researchers have even re-vealedthatwhencomparingstatesorcountries,thosewithsmallerin-come disparities have lower mor-

talityrates.2Anotherrepercussioninvolves psychological effects, aslowered wages cause workers toreducetheirproductivityandeffi-ciency.Othershaveassociatedin-equalitytoagrowthofcorruption.As the rich get richer, they gainmore political power, allowingthemtobackpoliciessuchaslargetax cuts for the wealthy.3 Clearly,this would further increase theirwealth.Onething is forsure: thisproblem will spiral out of controlunlesssomethingisdone.

Thereareincreasingnumbersofgrassroots organizations fightingfor economic equality. One suchassociation,TheAmericanFedera-tionofLaborandCongressofIn-dustrialOrganizations(AFL-CIO),representsover10millionworkersandstrivestostrengthentheirpo-

Bridging the gap

Nancy Tray /hurjstaffwriter

two SideS to every Coinin ameriCa

23

$ Bridging the gap

References:Lewis,Tom.“TheGrowingGapbetweenRichandPoor.”SocialistWorkerOnline1August2003,24February2007(http://www.socialistworker.org/2003-

2/4�2/4�2_0�_RichPoor.shtml)Trafford, Abigail. “Advantage: The Brits.” The Washington Post � June 200�, 24 February 2007 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/200�/0�/05/

AR200�0�0500824.html)Bernasek,Anna.“IncomeEquality,andItsCost.”TheNewYorkTimes25June200�,23February2007(http://www.nytimes.com/200�/0�/25/business/yourmoney/25view.

html?ex=1308888000&en=4e082ad29dfa1537&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)Noauthor.AFL-CIO:Issues[online].UnitedStates,AmericanFederationofLaborandCongressofIndustrialOrganizations,2007.AvailableontheWorldWideWeb:

(http://www.aflcio.org)Noauthor.UFE:OurStrategies[online].UnitedStates,UnitedforaFairEconomy,2007.AvailableontheWorldWideWeb:(http://www.faireconomy.org)Noauthor.Demos:ExpandingEconomicOpportunity[online].UnitedStates,Demos,2007.AvailableontheWorldWideWeb:(http://www.demos.org)

1]

2]

3]

4]

5]�]

litical voice through unions. Pres-ently,theAFL-CIOispushingCon-gresstoraisetheminimumwageto$7.25anhour.AsofFebruary1st,this minimum wage reform billpassed in both the House and theSenate.TheAFL-CIOisalsotryingto pass the Employee Free ChoiceAct,whichwouldrestorethework-er’s freedom to form unions andeffectively strengthen the middleclass. They are also struggling toabolish the ban forbidding Medi-carefrombargainingwithcompa-nies for more affordable prescrip-tiondrugs.4

LiketheAFL-CIO,theUnitedfora Fair Economy is another grass-

roots organization contestingthe increasing inequal-

ity issues. Its mainobjectives are

to raise

awareness by holding educationalworkshops and distributing infor-mationthroughthemedia,researchpublications and books. Throughsuch efforts, they have triumphedinpreventingthepermanentrepealoftheFederalestatetaxthusfar.5

Demos, an advocacy and re-search organization that works atthestateandnationallevels,focus-esondemocraticreformincludingthe reductionofeconomicdispar-ity. In order to raise awareness,Demos has three specific initia-tives. One is called the “Debt andAssetsProject,”whichdiscussestheimpactpublicpolicieshaveonlow-er class families’ debt. Here, indi-viduals educate legislators and thepublic. “Growing and ProtectingtheMiddleClass”discussesthedis-appearingmiddleclass,anddiffer-entwaystotacklethisproblem.Forexample,thiscouldbealleviatedbyinvestments in higher education,

owningahome,andoverallin-come growth. The third

program, titled“Aroundthe

Kitchen Table E-Journal,” is amonthlye-journalthatinformsthepublicof linksbetweendebt,edu-cationandincome.�Theirfirstpri-orityistoeducatethepublicaboutthecrisisbeforeproposingwaystocombatit,asAFL-CIOdoes.

AFL-CIO, United For a FairEconomy, and Demos make uponly a fraction of the spectrumof grassroots organizations avail-able.Withsomanyindividualsandgroups working towards reform,some progress has been madeagainst economic inequality. Inthe recent 200� elections, votersshot down the president’s policiesand fought for what they wanted–higherwages,theabilitytoformunions, and affordable prescrip-tiondrugs.However,thereismuchmoretobeaccomplished.Thericharestillgettingricher,andthepoorarestillgettingpoorer.Untilmoreprogressismade,itlookslikeWil-liam will still be cashing in thegreenwhileKatewillstillbestrug-glingtosupportherfamily.

24

ET OUTG r a s s -

roots

Gefforts to revitalizeAmerican democracy

25

Itisoneofthegreatestparadoxesofthemodernera:Amer-icans are proud to live in a democracy, but the number ofpeopleactuallyvotinghasdecreasedsteadilyfordecades.Forexample, the three presidential elections of the 19�0’s eachsawvoterturnoutabove�0%ofeligiblevoters.Thatfigurede-clinedtobelow50%inthepresidentialelectionsof199�and2000(Pintor).Voterturnoutratesareevenlowerforcongres-sionalandlocalelectionsthanforpresidentialelections;thedropinturnoutbetweenpresidentialandmidtermelectionshas routinely been between 10% and 15% over the last 50years.Althoughthenumbershaveimprovedsomewhatintheelectionsof2004and200�,itismorelikelythattheseinflatedfiguresrepresentvigorouspublicdebateaboutanunpopularwar,ratherthanagenuinereawakeningofademocraticspiritamongstthepeople.

Democracyisentirelydependentonaninformedandac-tiveelectorate.Althoughpoliticiansconstantlyexhortvoterstogotothepolls,itseemstheyhavebeenmostlyunsuccess-fulingalvanizingparticipationintheelectoralprocess.Asaresult,avarietyofgrassrootseffortshavesprungupinrecentyearstoaddresstheproblem.Thesegroupsarededicatedtoregisteringvotersand,perhapsmoreimportantly,convincingthosealreadyregisteredtotakesometimeeachyeartomakeaninformeddecisionandcastaballot.ThemostwellknowncampaignformembersoftheMTVgenerationis“RocktheVote!”,butavarietyofotherorganizationsareactive toen-courageparticipationatalllevelsofgovernment.Unlikespe-cialinterestgroupsthatmobilizevoterstoactonlyonsingleissues,thesegroupsservemainlytoinspirecitizens,especiallyyoungvoters,tolettheirvoicebeheard.

Why the silence? The declining level of voter turnout is perhaps the single

moststudiedissueinAmericanpoliticalsciencetoday.Asa

matterof fact, theproblem isnot limitedexclusively to theUnitedStates:voterturnoutandvoterregistrationlevelshavedeclinedinalmosteverycountryacrosstheglobe,althoughfewdemocracieshaveratesaslowastheUS(Pintor).Becausethe decline has been apparent for several decades, it is un-likely tobe linkedtoanyoneparticular issue,politician,orparty.Ageneralpost-WorldWarIItorporamongtheAmeri-canelectoratehasoftenbeencitedasareason,althoughthisstatementseemstodefineratherthanexplainthedecline.

A variety of more comprehensive reasons for the declinehavebeenproposedbyscholarsandpunditsoverthelastfewyears.Elections intheUnitedStateshavebeenlessandlesscompetitivesinceWorldWarII(Franklin).Highincumbencyrates,thegridlockofdividedgovernment,andthegeneralin-abilityofthetwopoliticalpartiestoreachacompromiseonthemajorissuesofthedayhavecausedmanyAmericanstofeelasthoughtheirvoteswilldolittletochangetheentrench-mentsofthesystem(Hill).Psychologistsandpoliticalscien-tiststalkabout“voterefficacy,”ortheextenttowhichpeoplefeelasthoughtheirvoteactuallymakesadifference.Astheelectoralsystemhasgottenmorecomplicatedandmoreex-pensive,voterefficacyseemstohavedeclined.

Interestingly, this psychology seems especially to affectyounger voters who are entering into a system that seemsalreadytobeset instone,a factthatwasexacerbatedwhenthe2�thAmendmentloweredthevotingageto18in1971.Thedemographicgapinvotingbehaviorcontinuestogrow:older,well-educated,andmorefinanciallywell-offAmericansaremorelikelytovotethanareyounger, less-educated,andpoorercitizens(Teixera).Thesefactsareespeciallytroublingbecause these latter of three groups are often most in needofrepresentation.Beyondthefactsofdecliningvoterefficacyandagrowingdemographicgap,however,liesadeepertruth:disenfranchisementcontinuestobeamajorprobleminthis

Stephen Berger /hurjstaffwriter

THE VOTE

2�

References:Pintor,RafaelLópezandMariaGratschew.“Voterturnoutsince1945:aglobalreport.”TheInstituteforDemocracyandElectoralAssistance.Stockholm,Sweden;2002.Franklin,MarkN.VoterTurnoutandtheDynamicsofElectoralCompetitioninEstablishedDemocraciesSince1945.Cambridge,England:CambridgeUniversityPress,2004.Hill,David.AmericanVoterTurnout:AnInstitutionalPerspective.Cambridge,Massachusetts:WestviewPress,200�.Teixera,RuyA.WhyAmericansDon’tVote:TurnoutDeclineintheUnitedStates,19�0-1984.NewYork,NewYork:GreenwoodPress,1987.Patterson,ThomasA.TheVanishingVoter:PublicInvolvementinanAgeofUncertainty.NewYork,NewYork:VintageBooks,2003.Troyer,ThomasA.etal.“Playingbytherules:Handbookonvoterparticipationandeducationworkfor501(c)(3)organizations.”Caplin&Drysdale.Washington,DC:Independent

Sector,1998.Green,DonaldP.andAlanS.Gerber.GetOuttheVote!HowtoIncreaseVoterTurnout.BrookinsInstitution.Washington,DC:BrookingsInstitutionPress,2004.

1]2]3]4]5]�]

7]

country.Butunlikeanearlierera,inwhichmorethanhalftheAmericanpopulationwaspreventedfromvotingbythelawsoftheland,today’sdisenfranchisementislargelyself-imposed.

Motivating voters Into thisdiscouraging frayentera largenumberofgroups

whosesolemissionistogetpeopleoffthecouchandbackintodemocracy. To be sure, politicians have attempted to changethesystemfromwithintomakeitmoreexcitingandrespon-sive to voters. Campaign finance reform, oversight of votingmachines,andtheperiodicdebateabouttheelectoralcollegemay ultimately motivate more Americans to go to the ballotbox (Patterson), but grassroots citizen groups will ultimatelyhaveevenmorepowertoshapethementalityofthecitizenryonadailybasis.

MostofthesegroupsseektoinfluenceAmericansbetweentheagesof18and25,asthisgrouphashistoricallybeenoneoftheleastlikelytoparticipateinthedemocraticprocess.“Rockthe Vote!” is one of the largest and most successful of theseorganizations.Foundedin1990,RocktheVoteusescelebritystarpower–thelikesofSamuelL.Jackson,P.Diddy,andMa-donna–alongwithpopularcorporatesponsorslike7UpandBen & Jerry’s to spread a message that government and citi-zenshipcanbe“cool.”Thegroupisnon-partisan,butitoffersinformation on issues pertinent to the interests of a youngergeneration,includingcollegeloansandtheeconomy.ThespiritoftheorganizationisbestcapturedbyanMTV-sponsoredrallyin1994,whenamemberoftheaudiencefamouslyaskedPresi-dentClinton,“boxersorbriefs?”Thiskindofmessage-heavybut laid-backattitudeseems towork;hundredsof thousandsofcollege-agepeoplehavebeenregisteredbytheorganizationoverthelastfifteenyears.

Every organization has a different constituency and a dif-ferent approach to the problem. Groups such as the LeagueofWomenVotersattempttoinformandmobilizeaconstitu-encytobecomeactiveinlocal,state,andfederalgovernment.Theydosoinagenerallynon-partisanmanner,withouttakingpositionsonspecificissuesorbackingspecificcandidates,al-thoughtheirneutralityissometimesdisputed.TheAssociationofCommunityOrganizationsforReformNow(ACORN)pro-motesreformsfortheworkingpooratalllevelsofsociety,butespeciallyfocusesongettingitsmemberstovoteandrunforoffice, particularly in local elections. Countless organizations

followthesemodelsonamuchsmaller,morelocalscale.Getting them to the polls

Mostofthesegroups,bothlocalandnationalinscope,arenon-profitorganizationsthatoperateunderaparticularsetoflegalguidelines(Troyer).Theselawsexerttheirpowerthroughthetaxcode:non-partisanvoterregistrationgroupsareusuallytax-exempt but must follow certain regulations in exchange.They are legally forbidden to endorse candidates or politicalpartiesortocontributetotheircampaigns,arestrictionthatisactuallyfairlyhelpfulinthedrivetoregisterandmotivatevot-ers:mostpeoplemayneedalittlehelptogettothepolls,butdonotwanttobetoldwhotovotefor.Incontrasttomanypoliti-caloperations,mostoftheseorganizationsoperateyear-round,notonlyaroundelectiontime.

Anecdotalandempiricalevidencesupporttheideathatthesinglebestwaytomotivatepeopletoparticipateinthedemo-craticprocessisnotjusttoencouragethemtovote,butrathertoincreasetheirfeelingsofvoterefficacy,tomakethemfeelasthoughtheycanhaveanimpactonthepoliticalprocess.Whenpeoplefeelliketheyhaveastakeinthesystem,whentheyfeellikecitizensinsteadofjustvoters,theyaremorelikelytobeac-tiveintheelectoralsystem.Thisisbestachievedbyencourag-ingactiveyear-roundparticipation:callingcongressman,sign-ingpetitions,andgettinginvolvedincitizenshiporganizations.Voterregistration,whileimportant,isonlyhalftheprocess.

These groups, both local and national in scope, are begin-ning to exert some effects on the entrenched and embattledmentalityoftheaverageAmericanvoter.Bycanvassingdoor-to-doorandexploitingmoderntechnologies(atleastoneser-vice helps people register to vote by cell phone text messag-ing),thesegroupsarereachingouttoeachcitizen,oneatatime(Green).Voterturnoutrateswereupslightlyin2004and200�,and thepresidentialelectionof2008 isprojected tohave thehighestvoterturnoutofanyelectioninyears,largelybecauseitisviewedatthispointtobemuchmoreopenandcompeti-tivethananyelectionofthepasthalf-century.Thechallengeisongoing,however:thoseyoungvoterswhoweremobilizedin2000and2004arenowapproachingtheir30s,andanewgroupofless-motivatedvotersaretakingtheirplace.Butitseemspos-siblethattheUSisenteringaneweraofheightenedcivicactiv-ism,driveninlargepartbyaslowbutsuregrassrootsincreaseinvoterparticipation.

27

TheUnitedStatesofAmericahasalwaysbeenanationbuiltbyimmigrants, for immigrants. With the Statue of Liberty standingproudly in the New York City harbor, incoming people from allovertheworldfeltwelcomeandexcitedtofinallygetapieceoftheirown“AmericanDream.”However,whathappenswhentheUnitedStatesreplacesthewelcomesigntosay“NoVacancy”forsome?Thisparticularmessageisbeingissuedtothenewestlarge-scaleimmi-grant wave of Mexicans and Latin Americans. However, being incloseproximitytothesouthernstates,thisnewgroupdoesnotseemto heed the laws of immigration and instead develops large scaleillegal migration upwards from the Mexican border. Aggravatingnumerous religious, political, and law enforcement groups, thesenew illegal immigrants landed themselves in a firestorm of criti-cismastheUSeconomybegantodeteriorateafter2001.ThisillegalimmigrationaffectsmanyaspectsofAmericanlifeandwoundsthehealthcaresysteminauniqueandverypowerfulsenseinthenewlychanginglandscapeofthe21stcenturyAmerica.

Ina fairly repetitivepattern,onecanobserve that even thougha new wave of immigration is crucial to the survival of America,thenativepopulationviewsitasintrusiveandunproductive.ManyMexicans,mostlyinsouthernstatessuchasTexas,NewMexico,andCalifornia,arehavingthesameproblemsasItalianorIrishimmi-grantsinthe19thand20thcenturies.Lookingforworknotavail-ableintheirownnation,Mexicanshavebeguntouseillegalmeans

The Effect of

Illegal Immi-gration on the US

Healthcare System

Mehdi Draoua /hurjstaffwriter

28

ofcrossingthesouthernbordertogetintotheUSandtrytomakealivingnotonlyforthemselvesbutfortheirfamilies,aswell.Illegalimmigration,whilenotanewthing,hasbecomeaverynoticeablenuisanceforcommunities,especiallyintheborderstateswheretheproblemiseasilyseen.MovementintotheUSwasmainlyoverlookedbymanyAmericansafewyearsagoduetogreateconomicstabilityleftbyPresidentClinton.IllegalmigrantsprovedtobeagoodsourceofcheaplaborformenialjobswhichAmericanswouldnottakeatsuchlowwag-es,suchasfruitpickingandevengeneralconstruction.How-ever,astheeconomicsituationformanyAmericans,especiallythemiddleclass,deterioratedafter2001,criticismhaseruptedagainst thenewimmigrants inareassuchas jobsandpublicschooleducation.Notashighlyadvertisedhoweveristhefightfromhospitalsandhealthcareproviderswhichseeillegalim-migrationnotonlyasastrainfortheirbusinessbutalsoasacripplingdiseaseontheUShealthcaresystemasawhole.

UndertheEmergencyMedicalTreatmentandActiveLaborActof1985(EMTALA),allAmericanhospitalsmustprovideemergencymedicaltreatmenttoanywhomaycometotheirfacility(Cosman).Thisincludesthosewhoareuninsured,are

notcitizens,andcannotpay.Whilethegovernment

obligesthehospitalstotreatthesepa-tients, no refunding of their unpaid

servicesmusteveroccurunderthebill’sduties.Inotherwords,hospitalsmustgive

unpaidservicestotheircommunities,with-outanyguaranteeofrepaymentbyagovern-

mentfacilitythatmadeitdoso.Althoughaverysensible idea (it is unethical for hospitals to deny

care to an uninsured gunshot victim), certain areasofthenationhavebecomeoverwhelmedbyanabuseof

thissystem.Asaprimeexample,between1993andpres-entday,over�0hospitalshavecloseddowninthestateof

California due to the surge in critical care given to thosewithoutinsurance,mainlyillegalimmigrants(WND).While

some may blame this simply on business fluctuations, sincehospitalsareusuallyrunbyprivatefirms,onecannotdenyaproblem in the system when many of these closed hospitalsreportednopaymentforover50%oftheirservices.Tocombatthis,theUSgovernmentgaveCaliforniaemergencyhospitalsapproximately$72millionannually tocare for illegal immi-grants,forwhichmanyhavepraisedthesystem(Darmiento).However,whenonelooksatthenumberofhospitalsthe$72millionsuddenlydoesnotbecomenearlyasmuchas itmayseem in thebeginningsince it is forallCaliforniahospitals,andnotonlyone.Thefiguregoesdownevenfurtherwhenitisestimated that illegal immigrantscost thestateofCalifor-niaapproximately$10.5billioneveryyear(Longley).Aswasmentionedearlierthough,emergencymedicalservicescannotbedeniedunderanycircumstanceunderpenaltyofstifffinesfromthe federalgovernment forbreakingEMTALAgroundrules.Withapproximately10,000immigrantscrossingovertotheUSeachday,onecannowobservehoweasilyhospitalsinborderstatescanbesunkintodebtduetonotbeingpaidformedicalservices.

AfterobservingthelossesthatAmericanhospitalsaretak-ing,onecanseewhymanyarechoosingtoraisepricesoftheirservices to those who are able to pay i.e. legal US residents.Surveyshavegivena$1.1billionfiguretowhatAmericanciti-zenshavetopayforthecareofillegalimmigrantsinthenation(Larubia).However,legalresidencesoonbecomesaproblemwhennativitytoAmericansoilcomesintoquestion.Bythisitismeantthatagrowingtrendofimmigrationbeforedeliver-ingababywhichautomaticallybecomesacitizenthroughthe14thamendment.Commonlyreferredtoasan“anchor”child,thenewborncitizenallowstherestoftheillegalfamilytostayintheUSandtherebyreceivehealthcarebenefitsusuallylefttothosewhowerelegallysupposedtoreceivethem(i.e.Ameri-cantaxpayers).Anotherissuethatmanyhavegivenlighttoisthefactthatillegalimmigrantsbringwiththemdiseaseswhichhave been relatively wiped out by the American healthcaresystem.Strainsoftuberculosisandmalaria,whichhavebeen

American and Mex-ican citizens have made the illegal immigration issue one of the hot-test political points of the decade.

“

”

29

References:Larrubia,Evelyn.Illegalimmigrants’healthcarebillistalliedLAtimesNovember15,200�(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-health15nov15,1,5989087.story?coll=la-

headlines-california)Darmiento,LaurenceHospitalsfear‘chillingeffect’ofimmigrationquestionsLABuisinessJournalAugust9th,2004(http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_32_2�/

ai_n�179918)Stelzer,IrwinImmigration,Iraqandoil:abitterbrewforBushTheSpectator,May�th200�(http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_200�05/ai_n1�523285)Longley,Robert.IllegalImmigrationCostsCalifornia.5BillionAnnuallyDatelineDecember2004(http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/immigrationnaturalizatio/a/caillegals.htm)Cosman,MadeleinePelner.IllegalAliensandAmericanMedicine.JournalofAmericanPhysiciansandSurgeons(http://www.jpands.org/vol10no1/cosman.pdf)http://www.alipac.us/article370.html(HOSPITALTOTHEWORLDWELCOMESILLEGALS&CONTAGIOUSDISEASES)WorldNetDaily.IllegalaliensthreatenU.S.medicalsystemMarch13,2005(http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43275)Said,Carolyn.TheImmigrationDebateMay21st,2005(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/200�/05/21/MNGFQIVN991.DTL&type=politics)Stelzer,IrwinFourProblems;...andafuneralfortheRepublicanCongress?TheWeeklyStandard,April17,200�(http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0RMQ/is_200�_

April_17/ai_n1�34�429)Kirsch, John Some candidates seize upon immigration worries. Fort Worth Star Telegram, February 200� (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_km44�7/is_200�02/ai_

n1�297704)Guzzardi,JoeIllegalAliens:TheHealthCostDimensionJanuary23,2003(http://www.vdare.com/guzzardi/health_care.htm)

1]

2]

3]4]5]�]7]8]9]

10]

11]

controlledwellinsidethebordersoftheUShavenowspikedupagaininsouthernstatesduetoillegalimmigrantsbringingthem along anywhere from Mexico to Argentina. Because ofthis, millions must be poured into helping cure these unin-suredindividualsfromdiseaseswhicharenormallytakencareofwhentheyareyoungchildrenorinfants.Thissenseofdis-easehysteriaisbeingusedbymanyinterestgroupsonCapitalhilltopressforfurtherregulationofhealthcaregiventothosewithoutproperdocumentationandeventualdeportation.

There is very little that can be done in terms of denyinghealthcaretoillegalimmigrants.ForeignpolicytowardsMex-icohascreatedanatmosphereinwhichthosewhowanttogettotheUSbadlyenoughmustfindsomewayacrossthedesert.Thiscircumstanceisespeciallytrueduetorecentfinancialcon-strictionsontheSouthwestborderfencesthatwerebuiltearlierthisyear.Oncetheissueofillegalimmigrationissettled,onewillobservethepopularityofmandatoryhealthcare.Itiseasierandmuchlesscostlytopreventdiseasesthroughimmunizationwhenthechildisyoungthanitistotreatfull-blownillness.Nothaving health insurance would cause physical damage to theindividualandputfinancialstressontheAmericanpublic(i.e.cheap inoculations as a baby are favorable over allowing thechildtogetsicksothathe/shehastostayinahospitalformuchtimetorecover).Inthesamespirit,onehastogiveillegalim-migrantwomentherighttoproperfacilitiesandserviceswhendeliveringababyinordertopreventcomplicationsassociatedwith a home birth, which many would resort to if hospitalswouldnottakethem.Theoveralltrend,onceagain,seemstoleantowardspreventingdiseaseatayoungagesincethechil-drenofillegalimmigrantswillbecomethetaxpayerswhoeven-tuallyhelpthefutureAmericaneconomy.Whenproteststurntoargumentsaboutdiseasessuchastuberculosisandmalaria,therealityisthathospitalsmustcareforall.Thegovernmentcannotsimplyallowtheseindividualstosufferanddieonthestreets of Texas or California. Illegal immigrants, especiallythosewithdiseases,havethepotentialtocreateepidemicsfromdiseaseswhichknownoclassoreconomicboundaryacrosstheUS. All could, and would, become victim to the disease thatinitiatedfromthosewhowererefusedhealthcare.Fromapub-lichealth standpoint, illegal immigrantsmustbe treatedand

aidedinorderto,onceagain,preventmuchlargerandcostlyproblemsdowntheline.

Motivated by a variety of sources, American and Mexicancitizenshavemadetheillegalimmigrationissueoneofthehot-test political points of the decade. On the Southern front ofstates suchasTexasandArizona,concernedAmericanswhoseemtofeelthatnotenoughisdonetostoptheillegalimmi-grantthreatintotheir“backyard”havedoneeverythingfrompassing stricter social reforms to creating local militias thataideinprotectingagainstillegalcrosserswithdeadlyforce.Ontheotherhand,groupssuchasthosestartedon(www.immi-grationinsanity.com)seemtobelievethatmorehumanecoop-erationwiththeMexicangovernmentandamoreopenborderpolicywouldworkbetterthanarmedcivilianwarriorsshoot-ingatwhatmayormaynotbeillegalimmigrants.Inpartisanbattle,bothDemocratsandRepublicansseemtobeunwillingtoforgetabouttheevergrowingmatterofillegalimmigrationintotheUS.Bothpartiesseemtoalsohavedifferentwaysoffixingtheproblem.Variationsingeneralamnestytowork-citi-zenprogramshaveprovedtobetouchysubjectsforAmericans,manyofwhomareimmigrantsthemselves,andseetheseplansasnothingmorethanburyingthehealthcareproblemsofgrossimmigrationunderthepublicrug.

Afterobservingdifferentanglesofargumentfromnativestotheillegalimmigrantsthemselves,itcanbeseenthattheAmer-icanhealthcaresystemisquitedistinctfromotherissuessuchas jobsecurityandeducation,yetat thesametime it iscon-nectedtothelargergoalofallthree.Unlesspoliticscanchangethe constitution or even build a permanent fence across thesouthernborder,healthcareproviderswillhavetoworkwithorwithoutfundstocareforthefutureofthiscountrybyhelpingallcitizensandnon-citizenswithintheAmericanborders.Astheyfollowingmedicalprotocoltoimprovethelifeandwell-being of those that come into their doors, hospitals must besupportedintheirquesttoaidethisnewwaveofimmigration.In thespiritofhowthisnationwas formed,a small sacrificenowwillhopefullyworktopavethewayforanewgenerationof immigrantchildrenwhoare legalAmericanresidentsandwhopaytaxestohelpmaketheirnewnationgrowandprosperevenmore.

30

Transformational networks in simple recurrent networks

Ebonye Gussine

Figure 1. Bigrams of a Sentence

IntroductionTransformations can be considered as a variation of an

originalsequence(e.g.astring)thathasthesameelementsastheoriginal,butinadifferentorder.Astringisasequenceofelements;usuallywords,butsometimescanbeasequenceofcharacterssuchaslettersornumbers.Oneexampleofatrans-formationonastring is reversal,where themanipulationoftheresultingstring, is theoriginalstringprintedbackwards.Transformationsinstringsarelinguisticallyrelevant,becausetheyareusedcross-linguisticallyallthetimeinsentencefor-mation.Onelinguisticallycommonexampleofatransforma-tiononastringisquestionformation.Inquestionformation,asentenceisconvertedfromadeclarativeformintoaninter-rogativeform,withrespecttotheinversionofthemainauxil-iarytothebeginningofthesentence.

Forexample,considerthefollowing.a) Theboyishappy.b) Istheboyhappy?c) Theboywhoissmilingishappy.d) Istheboywhoissmilinghappy?e) *Istheboywhosmilingishappy?Withexamplessuchas(a)and(b)thistransformationalrole

applieswithoutanyproblem.Withexamples(c)and(d),thereare two auxiliaries, but the rule does not specify which oneshould be inverted. Factually, there are two auxiliaries hereand it is not the linearly first “is” that gets inverted, but theoneinthemainclause.Givenexamples(a)and(b),itisnotimplausiblethatachildwouldlearntoinvertthelinearlyfirstauxiliaryinthesentence.However,childrennevermakethismistake,which isrealized inexample(e).Thefact thatchil-drennevermakethiserrorisstrongevidencefortheStandardPovertyoftheStimulusargument.

Therearetheoriessuggestinghowthestructuraldependen-ciesontheelementsinthestringsmaybelearned.Oneclassi-callypopularargumentisthePovertyoftheStimulus,setforth

byChomsky(1975).IntheStandardPovertyoftheStimulusargument (henceforth Standard POS) some declarations arecommonlyusedinarguingforlinguisticnativism.Thesedec-larationsconsistof:a)thecorrectsetofprinciplesneedn’tbemoresimpleormorenaturalthanthealternatives,b)thedataneededforchoosingthecorrectprinciplesmaynotbethedatathatisavailable,andc)empirically,childrenshouldnotbeabletoarriveatthecorrectanswer,giventhedatathattheyareex-posedto(Laurence,Margolis,2001).Butchildrendocometothecorrectconclusionsonhowthesetransformationsareex-ecutedwithlittlerelevantinput,whichisstrongevidenceforthisargument.

TheStandardPOSargumenttellsusnothowchildrenmaylearn transformations such as auxiliary inversion, but havesomesortof innatebiastochoosethecorrectanswer.How-ever,itdoesnottelluswhattheformofthisbiasis,orwheth-ercomputationalmodel suchasa simple recurrentnetwork(henceforthSRN)mayaccomplishthistransformationaltask(Lewis&Elman,2001).

OnewaythatSRNshavebeenappliedtosolvetheauxiliaryinversionproblemisviawordprediction.Thewordpredictiontaskcanbesolvedbytheuseofbigramprobabilities.Abigramprobabilitymodeltakestwoconsecutiveelements(referredtohereasabigram)inastructure(inthiscaseasentence),andassignsaprobabilitytoeachbigrambasedonhowmanytimesitappearsinthedataset(KamEt.al2005).TheSRNmodelthathasbeenproposedwillbeabletopredictwhichelementwillcomenextinthesentencebasedonwhatthelastelementwas.

Forexample,afteranSRNistrainedonmanyexamplessuchas(c),themodelcouldpredictthenextpotentialelementinthestructureusingtheprobabilityofthebigramsithasbeenexposedto,asaguide.ConsiderthefollowingbigramsinFig-ure1.Thefirstrowreferstoexample(d)andthesecondrowreferstoexample(e).

ISTHE THEBOY BOYWHO WHO IS ISSMILING SMILINGHAPPY*ISTHE THEBOY BOYWHO WHOSMILING SMILINGIS ISHAPPY

31

Therearesixdistinctbigramsthatexistbetweenthegram-maticalversionoftheinterrogativesentenceandtheungram-maticalversionoftheinterrogativesentence.Thebigramsbe-ingreferredtoareunderlinedinFigure1.Ofthesesixbigrams,“whois”(boldedinFigure1)hasbeenseenthemostoftenbythemodel.Thereforeithasthehighestprobabilityso“is”willbe themost likelyword tobepredicted following“who”.Af-ter thebigram“who is” then thebigram“is smiling”has thehighestprobabilityandispredictablebasedontheelementthatcame before it. The process continues in this fashion, so themodel produces grammatical sentences because the bigramsthatmakeupthegrammaticalsentenceshaveahigherprob-abilitythanthebigramsthatmakeuptheungrammaticalsen-tences.

OneproblemwiththismodelisthattheSRNdoesnotlearnthe actual structural dependencies between the elements inthedeclarativeandinterrogativeversionsofthesentences.Themodeldoesn’t“learn”thatthelinearlyfirstauxiliaryshouldn’tbeinverted,becausethebigrammodelitisboundtoarepre-sentationthatfailstocapturethestructuraldependencies.Themodelonly seeswhat element comesbefore it andwhat ele-mentcomesafterit.Thisissometimesreferredtoasthebigramproblem.Anotherproblemis that thismethoddoesnotrep-resent therelationshipbetweenthedeclarativeversionof thesentenceandtheinterrogativeversion.Withoutthepreserva-tion of the relationship between the two sentences, then thesentencescanbethoughtofasindependent.Thisissometimesreferredtoasthecorrespondenceproblem.

The ExperimentIn order to really understand SRN’s ability to learn these

linguisticallyrelevanttypesoftransformations,wehavetoun-derstandhowtransformationsingeneralarehandledinSRNs.SRNsareknownforbeingabletorepresentstructureovertime(Elman,1990).SRNsarealsoknowntobeabletogeneralizetomoreabstractlydefinedconstituents(i.e.predictingthatoneofmanynounscouldappearafteradeterminativearticlesuchas“the”)notjustaparticularword(Elman,1991).BotvinickandPlaut (200�) studied short-term memory for serial order us-ingasimplerecurrentnetwork.Itisimportanttounderstandiftransformationscanbehandled,howtheyarehandled,andtowhatextenttheyarehandledbytheSRNarchitecture.Bytest-ingsomedifferenttypesoftransformations,wecangaininsighttohelpusunderstandlinguisticallyrelevanttransformationsinSRNs.Theworkdoneforthisprojectontransformationalnet-worksareasubsetofalargerexperimentoncapturingthestruc-turaldependenciesobservedinquestionformation.HeadedbyDr.RobertFrankofJohnsHopkinsUniversity,thisprojectwas

presentedatthe200�AnnualConferenceonArchitecturesandMechanisms for Language Processing (AMLaP). Most of myworkontheprojectwasontransformationalnetworks.

Inapartof theexperiment, theSRNsweretrainedtoper-formagenerationtask.Thestringsweregeneratedusingapro-gram,andthenweretransformedaccordingtoamanipulationthatwasbuiltintothedata-generatingprogram.Themanipu-lationthatwaschosenformyportionoftheexperiment,waskeepingthefirstandlastcharactersinthestring,andreversingeverythinginbetweenthefirstandthelastcharacters(SeeFig-ure2).Allofthenetworkswerefirsttrainedon300,000trialsand tested. Then all networks were trained for an additional200,000trialsforatotalof500,000trialsandthenretested.Thenetwork,afterseeinga sequenceanda transformationsignalwastrainedtooutputthetransformedsequence.Inourexperi-mentweusedtwotypesofsignals:onetooutputtheoriginalsequence,andonetooutputatransformedsequence.

BotvinickandPlaut(200�)saidthatfortheeffectofstringlengthforimmediateserialrecall,“theproportionoftrialsre-calledperfectlybythemodelfellwithlistlength.”Thelengthsof the inputstrings testedvaried from3–8, since8was theoriginallengthcreated,sothestring-generationprogramcre-atedstringswithlength3,5,7,9,11,13,15,and17.Whenthelengthofthestringwasincreased,thestringsgeneratedwerealwaysdoublethenumber,plusone,asshownbefore.Thefirsthalfofthegenerationwastheoriginalstring,andthesecondhalfwasthetransformedstring,aspreviouslyspecified.

AllofthesimulationsweredoneonaprogramcalledLENSdevelopedbyDouglasRohde.Thefirstmanipulationthatwasdoneforthisexperimentwasthemanipulationofstringlength.Thesecondmanipulationwasvarying theamountofhiddenunitsandcontextunitsfortheSRNsthatthedataweretrainedon. The number of hidden units and the number of contextunitswereequalineachSRN.Theoriginalamountofhiddenandcontextunitswas100.Thenetworkswerethenmodifiedtohave50unitsand25units.Thenetworkwastestedonstringsithadpreviouslybeentrainedonafter300,000trainingtrials,and then strings it had not seen before. After the additionaltraining,thenetworkswereagaintestedonstringsithadbeenpreviously trainedon,andstrings ithadnotbeenpreviouslytrainedon.

Totesteachsimulation,thesamedata-generationprogramwas used to make a static file of testing strings. An exampleof the testingstrings for the lengthmanipulationsareshowninFigure2.Theoutputcriterionisdifferencebetweenthetar-getoutputandtheactualoutputbeforeanactualoutputstringcanbeconsideredcorrect(i.e.howfarawaytheactualoutputis from the target). For this experiment, the output criterion

TargetOutput 11

24

33

42

55

Input 1 2 3 4 5 IdentTrans

Figure 2. Identical and Transformed Strings

32

was set to 0.5. The amount of testing examples that met thecriteria for being correct that the network had been trainedon,areshownaspercentagesinFigure3.Theamountoftest-ingexamplesthatmetthecriterionforbeingcorrectthatthenetworkhadnotbeentrainedon,areshownaspercentagesinFigure4.Figure5andFigure�showtheerrorpersampleofthestringspreviouslytrainedonandnotpreviouslytrainedonrespectively.

ObservationsAfter training the networks for only 300,000 trials, the er-

rorwasquitevariableacrossnetworks.Thenetworkperformedaboutthesamefornetworkswithhiddenunitsnumbering50and25,whetheritwastestedonpreviouslytraineddata,ornov-eldata.Thiswasnotthecaseforthearchitecturewith100hid-denunits.Itperformedsignificantlybetteronthenovelstrings

(95.�7%ofexamplescorrect)whileitexhibiteddisappointingperformance forpreviouslyseenstringat32.59%,whichwasduetoover-training.However,afteratotalof500,000trials,thenetworks performed almost equally on both previously seenstringsandnovelstrings(seeFigures5and�).

Forourpurposes,theresultsforthenetworksof50hiddenunitsand100hiddencanbeconsideredacceptable.Therearethree reasons for the fact that the networks did not performperfectly:1)theremayhavebeenadifferenceinperformanceifmorehiddenunitswereusedinthearchitectures,2)thenet-workscouldhavebeentrainedformoretrialsforimprovementin performance (though this runs the risk of over-training),and 3) this type of transformation is unnatural. These couldhaveallhaddifferentandsignificantimpactsonthenetwork’sperformance.

Length No.ofUnits No.ofExamples OutputCriterionReachedAfter300,000Trials

OutputCriterionReachedAfter500,000Trials

8 100 43,024 32.59% 87.55%8 50 43,024 �7.83% 77.80%8 25 43,024 2�.42% 32.92%

Figure 3. Criterion Reached on Previously Trained Strings

Length No.ofUnits No.ofExamples OutputCriterionReachedAfter300,000Trials

OutputCriterionReachedAfter500,000Trials

8 100 2�,789 95.�7% 87.84%8 50 2�,789 �7.8�% 77.94%8 25 2�,789 2�.�8% 33.0�%

Figure 4. Output Criterion Reached on Novel Strings

Length No.ofUnits No.ofExamples ErrorperExampleafter300,000Trials

ErrorperExampleafter500,000Trials

8 100 43,024 4.33428 0.35��78 50 43,024 1.3�454 0.8�7858 25 43,024 5.��772 4.�5110

Figure 5. Error Per Example for Previously Trained Strings

Length No.ofUnits No.ofExamples ErrorperExampleafter300,000Trials

ErrorperExampleafter500,000Trials

8 100 2�,789 0.20108 0.347918 50 2�,789 1.37047 0.8�3928 25 2�,789 5.�7935 4.�415�

Figure 6. Error Per Example for Novel Strings

33

ConclusionThepurposeof thisexperimentwastodiscoverhowSRNs

couldencodetransformedstrings.BotvinickandPlautintheirexperimentdidnottestthisintheirexperiment,soitwasnec-essary to establish if the SRNs could accomplish this task. Ifwithsufficienttrainingandhiddenunits,anSRNcouldencodealinguisticallynon-plausibletransformation,itisanindicationthatthesetypesofnetworkscouldaccomplishthelinguisticallyrelevant transformations, such as auxiliary inversion in questionformation.Itwasalsoimportantthatthenetworkscouldgeneralizetonewstringsmadeupofthesameelementsindif-ferentorders,becausethatisessentiallyhowsentencesarecon-structed.Though,theseresultsfailtoaddressimportantcon-siderationssuchassemanticsandwordorder,itisstillastepintherightdirectiontowardscreatingcomputationalmodelsthataremorerelevanttothewayhumansreallyuselanguage.Thenextstepwouldbenowtorunsimulationsonlinguistical-lyrelevanttransformationsandobservehowwellthenetworkperformsonthesetasks.

References Botvinick, Matthew M., and David C. Plaut. 200�. Short-term

memory for serial order: A recurrent neural network model.PsychologicalReview113:201–233.

Chomsky,Noam.1975.Reflectionsonlanguage.NewYork:Pan-theonBooks.

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bruised and beaten down: Conceptualizing the Combined effects of poverty and depres-sion in FamiliesDesirae Vasquez

Americansocietyisunfortunatelynotastrangertothepres-enceofdepression in the livesof itsmembers,nor thedetri-mentaleffectsthatdepressivedisordershaveontheday-to-dayactivities that shape those lives. However, in the contextualrealmofthesocialsciences,distinguishingbetweenthedynam-iceffectsadiseasehasonaperson’senvironmentandthewayinwhichtheenvironmentmightfeedintothediseasecourseofanindividualisabithardertograsp.Whatsocialscientiststhentrytodoistodissecthowthebothcognitiveandenviron-mentalfactorsplayintooneanother,andhowtheinfluenceofthese lifeanddisease factorsmightfluxacross individualsorparticularpopulations.

Aparticularlymeaningfulpopulationtostudyinregardtodiseaseoutcomes is theunderprivilegedpoor, andaparticu-larly useful unit in which to study such a population is themother-child dyad. Both common sense and research find-ingstellsusthatunderservedminorities,singleparents,immi-grantpopulations,andthepoorhavegreatervulnerabilitiestomentalillnessandlessabilitytoseeksupportfortheirdiseasewithin their neighborhoods and communities. Further, onemayreasonthatunderprivilegedmotherswithdepression,astheprimarycaretakersofyoungchildren,areespeciallyinflu-entialintheirchildren’slives,andthatbystudyingthesepairsinthecontextofpoorminorityneighborhoods,oneshouldbeabletogetabettersenseofhowthetransmissionofdepressionconsequencesinoursocietiesmostneedymightoccur.Unfor-tunately,aswithmuchofthemedicalandpublichealthdoneinpastyears,whatknowledgeexistsaboutmentalhealthstatesandconsequencesofmothershasbeencollectedwithsamplesfromamajorityCaucasianpopulation,anditmayverywellsaylittleaboutthefactorswhichmosteffectpoormomsandtheirchildren. This work instead seeks to go beyond the majoritydata,andtobegindemystifyingthetransmissionofdepressionoutcomes,particularlyviolentoutcomes, frompoorminoritymotherswithdepressiontotheirchildren.

What research has been done concerning the dual topicof maternal depression and the parenting of young childrenpoints to an overall what many would term as poor parent-ingpractices.Suchdetrimentsinparentingincludethelossofdisciplinaryconsistency,theincreaseofrelianceonaggressivetactics,andthepresenceoflowparentingself-efficacywhenamotherisdepressed.Theexternalfactorsthatcomminglewithmaternaldepressionmaysimultaneouslycompounddetrimen-taleffectsonparentingattributablefirstlytodepression.These

factors,likesocialsupport,monetaryresources,orcommunitysetting, even innon-depressedmothers, createenvironmentsthat can either help or hinder parenting. Ecological contextsoffinancialstrain, lowsocialsupport,andviolent,urbanset-tings that one may find when assessing the environments ofpoorminoritymothersandtheirchildrenhaveallbeenlinkedempiricallytolesseffectiveparentingoutcomesasdescribedbytheabovecharacteristics.1

While these limitedfindingspave theway forassumptionsabouthowpovertyandalackofsupportmightmakeitharderforadepressedmomtoparentwell,theydonothingtodistin-guish the directionality of influences that contribute to poorparenting once a poverty-stricken mother is depressed. Onecannottell,forinstance,whetherornotamotherisdepressedduetolifecircumstances,orwhetherherdepressionstatushasgravely impacted her and her child’s life circumstances. Thisambiguity leaves the question of whether it is depression orpovertytoblameforthedeficientparentingpracticesofthesemoms wide-open for interpretation. In order to clarify thisbroad question, we first must break down the definitions ofdepression, parenting, and underprivileged environment andthenlook,withthisknowledgeinhand,attheparentingskillsof poor mothers with depression in order to evaluate fromwherethecausesandconsequencesmayactuallycome.Sothisiswherewebegin.

Defining the Constructs: Depression, Parenting, and Environment

What do we know about Depression?Depression is a mental illness characterized by low affect,

whichisanothertermforapersistentlysadorpessimisticmood,feelingsofworthlessnessandhopelessness,alackofenergy,alackofzealfornormallyenjoyablelifeactivities,andincertaincases,suicidalthoughts,intentionsandactions.Depressioncanappeartohaveanexternalcausesuchasthedeathofalovedone,ormaynotappeartohaveanyoutsideantecedent,andasmuchmaybeassumedtobebiologicallyinfluenced.Majorde-pressionisthemostcommonpsychiatricdisorderreferredtobytheterm“depression,”anditisfurthercharacterizedbylongboutsofseveredepressivesymptomologywhichmaycontinuethroughoutthelifecourse.

Depressionisanincreasinglyprevalentdisorderinoursoci-

35

ety,withitsmostcommonsufferersbeingwomenofchildbear-ingage.2,3Motherswithdepressionarethenamajorconcernforthehealthandwell-beingoftheirchildren,because,beyondthespeculatedgeneticheritabilityofthedisorder,theparent-ing of depressed moms may be negatively influenced by theeffects theirdisease.Both thedisorder itself and the residualconsequencesofdepressioninotherrealmsoffunctioningun-doubtedly have a grave impact when endured and expressedbywomenresponsibleforthecareofyoungandimpression-ablechildren.Lookingtothefuturelivesofchildrenwithde-pressedmothers,maternaldepressionhasbeenlinkedtopoorchildhood outcomes including mental, emotional, social andphysicalhealthindicators,likelow-academicachievement,thepresenceofdepressionorconductdisorders,andlowlevelsofcopingability.4,5,�,7Inshort,kidswithdepressedmomsare,bythischaracteristicalone,atadevelopmentaldisadvantage.

In particular, maternal depression is associated with poorparentingpracticesdescribedasinept,hostile,andpsychologi-cally and physically coercive.8,9,10,11 These parenting practices,whichrangefromhowamomchildrenteaches,disciplines,orsimplyrelatestoherchild,allshapeachild’svisionoftheworld,and if skewed by depression, may become distort the child’semotions or thoughts as well. These practices by depressedmothers correlate with the negative outcomes previously de-scribedevenaftercontrollingforotherpotentialcontributorssuch as parent race and ethnicity, family income, and familyenvironment.12,13,14,15

What do we know about Parenting?Constructs of parenting initially were illustrated by social

scientists as unidirectional patterns moving from mother tochild. Baumrind’s classical typology defines three parentingconstructs,theauthoritarian,theauthoritative,andthepermis-sivestyleofparenting,thatdifferintheirlevelsofdemanding-nessandresponsivenesstowardschildrenandthathavebeenextensively studied.1� Authoritarian parents, by convention,demand much of their children without much explanationof these demands or an allowance for compromise betweenparties. Authoritative parents are demanding of children, yettheyarewillingtotalkdemandsoverwithoffspringandwillfacilitateanexchangeofideasandfeelingsbetweenthemselvesandtheirchildrenonsuchmatters.Permissiveparentsdonotdemandmuchoftheirchildren,nordotheyfacilitateanyex-changeofvalues.Theseconceptsofparentingstylesandtactics

of discipline have been explored and enumerated as associa-tionsinwhichaparentinfluencesherchildbybothmodelinganddirectinteractionswithheroffspring.

Morerecently,parentinghasbeenexaminedbysociologistsandcommunity-orientedpsychologistsseekingtodescribeitspracticesandoutcomeswithinabroadenvironmentalcontext.Childreninthesestudieshavebeengivenaroleintheirownparenting. For instance, a child who appears reserved frombirthmaybecoaxedorcoddledbyaparent,whereasanoutgo-ingchildmightbegivenmorediscipline.

Muchdebatehasoccurredoverhowtocharacterizespecificparenting types. Physical discipline or punishment has beencharacterizedclassicallyasauthoritarian.Corporalpunishment,inparticular,hasbeenscrupulouslyevaluated,andithascometobegenerallyregardedasanegativeformofcontrolthoughttoillicitpooremotionalandbehavioraloutcomesinchildren.17However, there is a lack of agreement among researchers astohowchildcharacteristics,betheyage, intelligence,gender,ortemperament,mayfactorintotheeffectivenessofcorporalpunishmentasadisciplinarytactic.18,19Inaddition,inasocietywheremildandinfrequentuseofcorporalpunishmenthastra-ditionallybeenaccepted,itisdifficulttoestablishwhencorpo-ralpunishmentcrossesalinefromtolerabletoabusive,bothintermsofthefrequencyandseverityofitsuse.

Another negatively regarded concept of parenting, thoughnotasthoroughlystudiedascorporalpunishment,istheuseofpsychologically aggressive tactics as a disciplinary technique.Suchtacticsmaybeusedinauthoritarianparentingpracticesorpermissiveparentingpractices,buttheyarenotlikelytobeutilizedbyauthoritativeparents,whoseekcompromiseandaninterchangeof ideaswith their children.Describedas tacticsof psychological control like verbal abuse, symbolic aggres-sionliketheslammingofdoors,andcoerciveparentingsuchasmakingthreatsandinflictingguilt,psychologicallyaggres-sive methods of discipline have been called into question bynumeroustheorists.Thoughtheabsenceofgruesomephysicalevidencemaymakethepsychologicaldominationofchildrenlesstaboo,thetacticneverthelessyieldsgrimresults.Throughthemanipulationoftheparent-childloverelationship,psycho-logicalcontroldestabilizesthechild’ssenseofsecuritywithintheparent-childrelationship.13Parentspreventthementalau-tonomyofthechildasameansofgainingsubmissionandcon-trol.Childoutcomesfromsuchtreatmenthavebeennotedbyresearcherstoleadtobehaviorslinkedtothephysicaldisciplineofchildren,likedepressionandconductdisorders,butalsoto

ChildCharacteristics

Race

Environment

MaternalDepression

Status

Discipline

Parenting

ChildOutcomes

3�

theimpaireddevelopmentofthechild’soverallindependencefromtheparent.8Thisdevelopmentalimpedimentcreatesthepotential forfurtherproblemsinthechild’ssocialadaptationandothercompetencies,suchasschool-relatedperformance.8Studiesinchildhoodresilience,however,haveopenedupade-bateastohowinnatepersonalitytraitsinchildrenthatfosteresteemandself-efficacy,suchasintelligenceandaneasygoingnature,maynegatesomeofthedangersofpsychologicaldisci-plinetactics.3

Commonly linked in theory to the authoritative parentingstyle, disciplinary tactics described as ‘supportive’ and ‘non-violent’havebeenregardedaspositivetechniquesforparent-ing as compared to psychologically and physically aggressiveforms.Thisisespeciallysowhennon-violentdisciplineisusedconsistentlyastheprimarysourceofparenting.3Childdevel-opment researchers and others in the field discern that non-violent tactics, which may include open parent-child discus-sionsaboutrulesandconsequences,parentalenforcementofachild’sresponsibilityforhisorherownactions,andfosteringof perspective-taking on the part of both the parent and thechild,canhelpbuildachild’ssocialandemotionalmaturity.10,14Supportiveparentingtacticsmaycontributetotheprovisionofchildren’scompetencewithinrelationships,theirsenseofself-worthandesteem,andaskillsetoftheirownproblemsolvingtacticsindependentoftheirparent’scontrol.Thepropensitytobeasupportiveparent,however,isinfluencedbytheenviron-mentalcontext.Inhigh-crimeneighborhoods,parentsmaybelikely touseviolentversusnon-violentdisciplinary tactics inorder tomaximizecontrolof theirchild’s safety in situationsthatdemandanimmediateresponsefromthechild.

As parenting practices and consequences have come to bedefined,sohaveresearchersworkedtodescribecharacteristicsofparentsthatinfluencestheirapproachtodiscipline.Mater-naldepression,asatargetedfactorinthisarea,hasbeenfoundto influence todisciplinary tactics throughanumberofave-nues.Ingeneral,maternaldepressionimpairstheindividual’scopingandsocialproblemsolvingabilities.�Inaddition,ade-pressedmother’sparentingisbothinfluencedbyandinfluen-tialtohergivenfamilyandcommunityenvironment.19,20Whencontextualvulnerabilitiestopoorparenting,suchasstressandtrauma created by domestic or community violence, presentthemselves in tandem with depression’s affective challenges,the risk of aggressive parenting is likely to increase.21 Withthesefindingsandothersthatdirectlyobservetheparentingofdepressedmothers,maternaldepressionhasbeenfoundtobeasignificantcontributortonegative,inconsistent,andineffectualdisciplinarypractices.9

What do we know about the Environment?When discussing the environment in the study of a social

science problem, there should always been the clarificationthatanenvironmentismuchmorethanthephysical.Inaddi-tiontothebuildingsthathouseapopulationofinterest,therearesocialandculturalfactorsthatcontributetoafamily’sen-vironmentalsetting, themostprominentofthosebeingrace,ethnicity,communityresources,andcommunityrisk,suchastheavailabilityofhealthcare,fluency inEnglish, andcrime-ratesinaneighborhood.Recognizingtheimplicationsofraceandethnicitywithinoursociety,manystudiesgaugingparentaldisciplinary behaviors as well as those looking more directly

atmaternaldepression’simpactonchildrenhaveattemptedtocapturedifferencesbyracialandculturalstatus.22,23Otherstud-ies have undertaken an exploration of depression status andparentingtechniquesamongunderprivilegedminoritieslivinginhigh-risk,low-resourceenvironments.21

Raceisalong-heldbutscientificallyvagueconstruct,whichhasdebatablymoretodowithethniccommonalitiesingeography,beliefs,andlifestylethanitdoeswithsharedgenet-icsorphenotypes.Themedicalandscientificcommunity,es-peciallyinthepublichealtharena,increasinglyconceptualizesraceasamorecomplexandtenuousdistinctionthanprevious-lyunderstood.Whilethedifferencesbetweenracesduetoself-identifiedculturalnormsandthoseduetosocialandeconomiccircumstancemaybechallengingtoferretout,researchershavealready suggested that differences in acculturation, supportnetworks,andaccesstomentalhealthresourcesallaffectbothminorityapproachestodepressiontreatmentandrace-relatedparentingstyles.21Suchresearch,whencarefultomaintainthatculturallinkstohealtharedescriptiveofgroupdifferencesandnot explanatory of minority deficits, increases the awarenessandsensitivityofsocialscientiststoanyracialorethnicchar-acteristicsassociatedwithdepressionandparenting.

Anincreasedriskofpoorparentingisalsoassociatedwithelementsoftheenvironmentsuchasalowlevelofaccultura-tionforimmigrantmothers, loweducationalattainment,andpertinentlystressfulenvironmentssuchascrime-ladenneigh-borhoodsandhouseholdswithhighlevelsofmaritalandfam-ilyconflict.1,19,20,21,24,25

As theseperspectivesmayenhance theability toprovideaclearerideaofhowthepoorminoritymotherinteractsandin-fluencesherchildren, thisstudyexaminesracialandculturalinfluences intheenvironmentwhere it is feasibleandethicaltodoso.

Real Depression in Real World Families: The WE Care and We Care for Kids studies

TheGeorgetownUniversityandTheJohnsHopkinsBloom-bergSchoolofPublicHealthworkedhaveworkedonconjoinedprojectsinrecentyearsinanefforttounderstandtheprocessofandoutcomesofmaternaldepressionandchildoutcomes.In the WE Care study, researchers at Georgetown UniversityMedicalSchoolassembledagroupof2�7beingseenathealthclinicsintheWashington,D.C.metropolitanarea.2�,27Womenservedintheseclinicswereoverwhelmingminorities,andthewomeneventuallyusedinthestudywereallAfricanAmericancitizensandnon-citizenHispanicandLatinawomen.Womenwere identified as being poor through their receipt of foodstampsandothergovernmentsubsidiesandidentifiedas liv-inginahigh-riskenvironmentbytheurbanlocationoftheirhealthcare clinics. In addition, characteristics of the womenstudiedincludedhighratesofsingle-parenthood,lowratesofhigh school graduation, and high rates of abuse and traumaexperiences,meaningthatinthestudy,allwomenweremorelikelytobeincludedinthesecategoriesthannot.All2�7wom-eninthestudyratedsufficientlyhighonthePRIME-MDde-pression inventory scale to be labeled as having a depressivedisorder.

While the purpose of the WE Care study was to addresswhetherornotpoorminoritywomenreactedsimilarlytode-

37

pression treatments as their majority counterparts, the studywasextendedbyDr.AnneRiley in theBloombergSchoolofPublicHealthtoassesstheeffectsofdepressionstatusonthechildrenofmothersintheWeCareFroKidsstudy.Dr.RileyrecruitedmothersintheWECarestudy,inadditiontothosemothersnotusedintheoriginalstudyastheywerefoundtobenon-depressedwhenscreened.Shethencomparedtheresultsofassessmentsmeasuringthechildwellbeingofbothdepressedandnon-depressedmothers,whileconsideringenvironmentalfactorslikeincomeandsocialsupportinherevaluationaswell.WhatDr.Riley foundwas thatchildrenofdepressedparentsfare worse than children of non-depressed moms, even afterdepressedmothershavebenefitedfromdepressiontreatment.In terms of parenting, Dr. Riley saw that the poor parentinghabitsestablishedduringamother’sstrugglewithdepressionwerelikelytoremainaftertheremissionofthedisease,whichconstituted the need to educate mothers before, during, andafterperiodsofdepressiononhowthediseaseaffectsparent-ing, and to support depressed moms throughout the diseasewith parenting tactics and reinforcement. In addition, it sig-naled that the environmental factors necessary to ensure theimprovementofadepressedmom’sparenting,namelytheabil-ityliveinanareasufficientlysafeenoughforthemtonon-vio-lentlydiscipline,thefosteringofcommunicationfrommom’stohealthcareprovidersthroughtheuseofcommonlanguageandjargon,andthefinancialresourcestopayforexpandedde-pressiontreatment,weremostlikelylackinginthelivesofthesefamilies.

Dr.Riley’sstudyofchildwellbeingincludedascaleofpar-entingknownas theCTS-PCII,or therevisedConflictTac-ticsScale-ParentChildversion.28Thisscalemeasured,bybothparentandchild reportona seriesofLikertScalequestions,the extent to which depressed and non-depressed mothersemployedphysicallyviolent,psychologicallyviolent,andnon-violenttacticsofparentinganddiscipline.Usingbothmothersandchildrenasraters,itwasfoundthat,depressedmothersinthe study were more likely to use physically and psychologi-callycoercivetacticsinordertoparenttheirchildren.

AfterreviewoftheliteratureandthedatapresentedinboththeWECareandtheWeCareforKidsstudies,aconceptualmodel for the transmissionofmaternaldepressionaffectsonchildrenthroughmothers’parentingwasestablished(seeFig.1).Themodelseekstoinitiateatentativeanswertotheques-tion:Whyarepovertyanddepressionrelated,andhow,whenadepressedindividualhappenstobeamother,doestheaffectofdepressioninfluenceherchildren?

Fromthemodel,onecanseethatrace,asaninherentfactorinallpersons’identities,unlikegeographiclocationormone-tarystatus,mayfactorintotheenvironmentinwhichonelives.Racemaycontributetoself-identity,whetherornotonefeelsacceptedbymembersofherneighborhoodandthecommunityatlarge,anditmaycarryalongwithinethnicorculturalval-ues,beliefs,andtraditionallifestylechoices.Initsinnateness,racemayaffectallotherconstructsofthemodel.Environment,however, is likely only marginally defined by one’s own race.Other environmental factors already discussed are hypoth-esizedtoinfluencetheparentingbehaviorandthedepressionstatus of mothers. Likewise, the research has given cause tosuggestthatdepressionstatusmayinfluencetheenvironment,perhaps by alienating a mother from her social support sys-

temsordisablinghertowork.Boththeenvironmentpartiallyinfluencedbydepressionstatusandthedepressionstatusofthemotheritselffactorintothemother’sparentingstyleandabilityat any given time. Mothers who are irritable or melancholic,forexample,mightbemoreprone to threatenorhit a child,whilemotherswhoarefearfulfortheirchild’ssafetymightbelesspronetocompromisethestrictdemandstheyplaceupontheirchildrenandthattheyfeelensuretheiroffspring’ssecu-rity.Inthisway,disciplineofthechildisaclearcomponentofamother’soverallparentingpractice.Parentingagain,asstatedbypastfindings,isthoughttobeinfluencedinsomewaysbythechild’scharacteristics,namelypersonality,intelligence,gen-der,andhealth.Finally,itisimportanttonotethatthechild-hoodoutcomesofmaternaldepressionanddisciplinepracticesby depressed mothers must be mediated through the childhimself.Thechildistherecipientoftheparentingandsoanyoutcomes related to environment, maternal depression, andparentingwillsurfaceonlyafterthechildhasinternalizedthemandthechild’scharacteristicsthemselveshavebeenbroughttobearagainstinfluencesexternaltohimself.

Tentativeanswerstotheabovequestion,uponreviewofthemodelconstructed fromtheWECareandWeCare forKidsstudies, are numerous. Poverty, as a part of the mother andchild’senvironment,directlyaffectsboth themotherand thechild. If a mother is depressed, the environment of poverty,which is likely to include factors like crime, family violence,andpooreducationalandworkopportunities,mayexacerbatetheeffectsofdepressiononboththewomanandherrelationto her child through parenting and discipline practices. If amotherisdepressed,herdepressionmayalsoworsentheenvi-ronmentalconditionsinwhichherchildislivingandwhichaf-fectherparenting.Oncetheenvironmentandtheparentingofdepressedmotherssufferinrelationtoherdisorder,children’scharacteristicsarelikelytobelessbeneficialinmitigatingthedetrimental effects of poor parenting and more likely to benegativelyeffected,resultingintheemotional,behavioral,andotherunfortunateoutcomespreviouslyillustrated.

Whilethere ismuchmoregroundworktobecovered, thestudies and Georgetown and Johns Hopkins are among veryfew that truly tackle the interdisciplinary contexts in whichfamiliesdealingwiththeeffectsofdepressionarelikelytoexist.Theyinvolvealow-income,minoritysample,whoserepresen-tationofagreatervulnerablepopulationiscrucialtoadvancethestudyofmentalhealthoutcomesintheunderserved.Inad-dition, the studiesusea rangeof reliableandvalidmeasuresand control groups without depression which seek to suffi-cientlybridgethegapbetweenknowledgeaboutparentinginthewellversusthedisordered.Basedonthebackgroundofthefield and the given assessments being utilized, we know thatdiscipline isdirected towards thechild, thus interactingwiththe child characteristics that ultimately create emotional andbehavioral outcomes. Influential to discipline is the environ-mental context of the child’s neighborhood and family, thematernal depression status of the child’s mother, and the in-teractionofthesetwofactorswitheachother.Also,giventhemakeupofourstudysample,wefeelthepsychosocialmodelofmaternalaggressionindisciplinecanbeinformedbytheraceandethnicityofmother’sintheirconnectiontoenvironmentalsettings.Whileitisimportanttonotethattherearelikelytobeexceptionstotheprobabilisticoutcomesthestudyhashypoth-

38

esizedoccurandthewaysinwhichsuchoutcomesarecreated,theWECareandWeCareforKidsstudieshavesetafounda-tionforwhichmaternaldepression’seffectonchildrencanbeconstructed, explained, and utilized for the improvement ofparentingstrategiesandtheoverallwellbeingofchildrenandfamiliesatrisk.Suchprogresssignalsthewelcomechanceforneedy familiesdealingwithdepression toriseabovecircum-stanceandbeattheodds.

AcknowledgementsTheauthorwouldliketothankDr.AnneRiley,AssociatePro-

fessorandresearcheratTheJohnsHopkinsBloombergSchoolof Public Health for her mentorship and continual guidanceinthisbodyofwork.TheauthoralsoextendsgratitudetoMs.CarrieMills,ProjectCoordinator forDr.Rileyandan indis-pensable editor of the text. Finally, the author is indebted toTheJohnsHopkinsUniversitySecondDecadeSocietyfortheprovisionofasummerresearchgranttofulfillthetermsofthisstudy.

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What gets you high: a tale of natural rewards and what we can do to get away from the chemical alternativesNicole Angeli

Whatgetsyouhigh?Sex.Sleep.Chocolate.Family. Sports.Cocaine.Morphine.Heroin. Really,mostpeoplewouldonlystate sleep, sugar, sports and family in polite conversation.However, theaforementioned,aswellasmanyothertypesofnaturalandchemicalhighs,havebeenhypothesizedtoactivatethe brain in functionally similar ways. Addressing addictionis often done on the neurochemical level by looking at neu-rotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, but behavioralneuroscientists look at the relationship between a brain areaandbehaviors.Behavioralanalysisandphysiologicalconnec-tions,orneuroanatomy,areusedtocategorizethefunctionofdifferent brain areas in a complex game of connect-the-dotswhichwillhopefully revealapictureofaddictionunlikeanyother.

Behavioral neuroscientists interested in addiction look atneuralcircuitryincombinationwithmanifestedbehaviors,sothattheinvolvementofaparticularbrainareacanbeidenti-fied,asintheanalogousgameofconnect-the-dots.Compara-tiveresearchusesanimalmodelstohelpunderstanddifferentphenomena. Three steps are taken in comparative brain re-search.Thefirst step is tochooseoneofmany techniques toisolategroupsofneurons(brainareas).Second,byconstruct-ingdifferentresearchparadigms,orscenarios,neuroscientistscandeterminethefunctionofdifferentareasofthebrain.Thethird and most important step is to analyze all the data thathasbeencollected,withaviewtowardsreal-worldandclinicalimplications.

Getting down to the details Atechniquemanyneuroscientistsuseisalesionstudy,which

effectivelydisintegratesabrainarea,suchastheamygdalaorhippocampus. Creating a lesion disconnects the channels ofcommunication between neurons in different brain regions.Although it soundscrude, a lesion is createdby thephysicalactofpassinganelectricalcurrentordrippinganacid(aneu-rotoxin)intoabrainregiontoridneuronalcellsfromthearea.Aratthatcannotphysicallyallowdifferentneuronsto‘talk’toeachotherwillnotbeabletocompletethecircuitofcommu-nication,sothatifthebehaviordependsuponthatcircuit,theratwillbeunabletodemonstratethebehavior.Usingdifferentbehavioralparadigms,thebehaviorofanimalswithlesionsiscomparedtonormalanimals,inthehopesofgaininginsighttothebehavioralmanifestationsofdisconnectedneuralcircuitry.

Inthisway,theparticularfunction(s)ofacertainbrainregioncanbeidentifiedtotheextentaresearchparadigmwillillumi-natethebehavior.

Onemethodofstudyingdrugaddictionistolookattheac-tualconsumptionbehavior.Cocaineinjectionsareoftenpairedwith a preceding food cue, such as 5 minutes of access to asweet solution, in this experiment,usinganon-caloric sugarsubstitutecalledsaccharin.Duringthefirstpairing,ratscon-sumeasmanyas9-10millilitersof thesweetsaccharinsolu-tioninthetimeallotment.Asratsbecomeconditionedtothesaccharin-cocaine pairings, they stop drinking the saccharinsolutionthatprecedesthecocainepairing.Ratsthatreceiveaneutralinjection,likesaline,donotstopdrinkingthesolution.Theycontinuetorespondbyconsumingthetastysaccharinso-lution.Behavioralstudiesinanimalresearchoftentrytoteaseoutwhetherlesionedratscanmakethesecausalassociations.

Why do rat addicts stop drinking sweet drinks?It certainly isn’t a dieting technique. Historically, as the

properties thatdrugsheldbegantogetclassified,researchersbelievedthatratsSTOPdrinkinganaturalmotivatorbecausethey must dislike the cocaine. Thus, cocaine actually holdsaversivemotivationalproperties.However,overtheyears,evi-dence has accumulated in support of another theory propa-gatedbySueGrigsonatPennStateCollegeofMedicine.TheRewardComparisonHypothesissuggeststhatcocaineactuallyholdspositiveorpleasantmotivationalproperties,sothatratswill anticipate the rewardingpropertiesof cocaineonce theytaste the saccharin solution. Today, many researchers believethatratsstopdrinkinganaturalreward,likeasaccharinsolu-tion,becausetherewardvalueofdrug(cocaine,morphine)isfargreaterthantherewardvalueofasugarsolution.Knowingsomething far better than saccharin is in the future rats willwaitforthecocaineinjectionratherthanconsumethelessre-wardingsweet.4

Conversely, agents that exhibitnegativeorunpleasantmo-tivationalpropertieswillnotwarrantahealthysubjecttostopdrinkingthesamesugardrinkshunnedinthepresenceofco-caine.Itisimportanttodistinguishpositivereinforcingeffectsexhibitedbydrugsversusanagentthathasnegativeeffects,likelithiumchloridewhichstimulatesanonsetofnausea.Lithiumchlorideisadrugwidelyusedtoinitiatenauseaandintroduceaversivepropertiestosomeevent.Ratswillreduceconsump-

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tion when drinking the sugar solution that is paired with alithium chloride injection.1 However, certain lesion studies,likebilateral lesionsof thegustatory thalamus, interferewithreducedsweetconsumptionincocaine-sugarpairingsbutdonot interfere with reduced sweet consumption in LiCl-sugarpairing. This infers that the negative properties of LiCl aredistinctlydifferent thanthepositivepropertiesofcocaine,orthatcocainereallydoesnotcomprisethesametypeofnegativepropertiesthatgivevaluetoLiCl.

Cocaine: passive administration vs. self-administration

Passive administration is used to see whether the actualchemical make-up of the drug induces changes in the brain,which stimulates behavioral effects. The cocaine solution ismadeupindividuallyfromastocksolutionforeachratinmgofcocaine/kgofbodyweight.Inthisexperiment,thesolutionisinjectedbytheexperimentersubcutaneously,directlyundertheskin.

Self-administrationexaminesthemotivationaleffectsofthedrugaswellas thephysiologicalchanges thatoccur.Self-ad-ministrationisusuallycategorizedasoperantconditioning,theprocesswhereastimuluscuesaphysicalactwhichaffectsanoutcome.Thisisoftenachievedwiththepresentationofalightor tone which is conditioned to lever presses or nose pokeswhichprecedeaninfusionofcocainethroughanintravenouscatheter. Consistent with the reward comparison hypothesis,self-administrationsdatashowsthatasratsconsumelesssweet,theyareactiveinagreaternumberofactionsleadingtoanin-fusion of drug. This is consistent with the view that drug isgood,andratswanttoself-administer.7

Passive administration was the route we took to study theconsummatory responses of the rats to the taste cue follow-ingtaste-drugpairings.Therewasnoneedtolookatself-ad-ministration induced motivational properties, which are notinvolved in thecommunicationnecessary forconsummatoryresponses.

Gustatory Thalamus and Gustatory Cortex: the stars of the show

Lesionstudiesofferanopportunitytostudyconsum-matoryresponsesassociatedwithasweet-drugpairingandde-terminethebrainregionsinvolvedinthisbehavior.Thetaste‘circuit’thathasbeenidentifiedstartsinthetongue’stastere-ceptors,embeddedinthetastebuds.Thiscircuitrunsthroughthenucleusofthesolitarytractinthemedullaandtothepara-brachialnuclei.�Fromthispoint,signalstakethehighroadandthelowroad,thedorsalandventralpathways,respectively.Theventral pathway can be thought of as akin to the ‘emotional’or motivational route for tastes. The present experiment wasconcerned with the consummatory and sensory aspects ofdrugpairingsandhowtheybecomerecognized inthebrain.Thus,we’llfocusonthegroupsofnucleimakingupthedorsalpathway,theparvicellularregionoftheventralposteromedialnucleus(VPMpc),orgustatorythalamus,andtheagranularin-sularcortex,orgustatorycortex.5

Behavioral data suggest that the gustatory thalamusandgustatorycortexshareabehavioralsimilaritywheneitherthegustatorythalamusorgustatorycortexislesionedbilateral-

ly.Normalnon-lesionedratswillstopconsumingasweettastepairedwithcocaine.Whenlesionsofthegustatorythalamusorgustatorycortexaremadeonbothsidesofthebrain,lesionedratskeepdrinkingthesugarsolutionwhenthesaccharincueispairedwithmorphineorasweetsolution,butnotnegativelyvaluedLiCl. 2,3 In jargon,bilateralasymmetric lesionsof thegustatorythalamusandgustatorycortexthendisruptsuppres-sionofconsummatoryintakeofatastecuewhenpairedwitharewardexhibitingpositivecharacteristics,likedrugorsugar.Additionally, it isthoughtthatperhapsit isnotthegustatorythalamusorgustatorycortexthatcontrolstheassociationbe-tweenatastecueanddrug,butratherthecommunicationbe-tweenthetwobrainregions.

Tofurtherstudythesebrainregionsfromaneuronalcommunication frame-work,RastafaGeddes,agraduatestu-dentinDr.Grigson’slab,hypothesizedthatasymmetriclesionswoulddisrupt thecircuitonbothsidesof thebrain,andbe-haveasbilaterallesionswithasweet-morphinepairingreduceconsummatoryintakeofthesweet.Intheexperimentathand,thesymmetryofthelesionsandtypeofdrugwerethefactorschangedfromthepreviousexperiment.Thisisthefirsttimetheroleofthethalamocorticalcircuithasbeenlookedatfromtheroleofcommunicationincue-consequenceassociations.Thus,rather than bilateral lesions—the same region disrupted oneachside—theexperimentwasperformedwithasymmetricle-sionsinacontrastoflookingataparticularregionversuscom-municationbetweenregions.Differentareas,lesionedoneachsideofthebrain,butwithinthesamecircuit,wouldcompletelydisruptcommunication that induces thecocaine suppressionasseeninbilaterallesions.Someratshadleftgustatorycortexand right gustatory thalamus lesions. Other rats had the op-posite lesions, and in the data analysis, both types of lesionsweregroupedtogether.Graphically,controlrats(withnosur-gery,shamsurgeryoripsilaterallesions)wouldactasseenintheleftsideofFig.1(controldata),whilealllesionedratswouldintakethesamevolumeofliquid,pairedwithsalineorcocaine.The hypothesized deviation from Figure 1 would show threehighintaketrendlines,ratherthantwohighandtwolow(sup-pressed). This experiment for summer 200� was planned todetermine whether asymmetric lesions in the thalamocoticalloopareneededintheconsummatoryavoidanceofasaccharincuepairedwithpassiveadministrationofcocaine.

How to spend your summer filling water bottles

Beforethefillingofwaterbottlescommenced,theratshadtobecomehabituatedtotheresearcherandhavelesionsurgeries.Lesions were made over the course of a month. The surgeryphasetookanentiremonthbecausetwobrainsurgerieswereperformed on each subject, an electrophysiologically guidedthalamuslesionandastereotaxicallyguidedcortexlesion.Thetwo techniquesdiffer in that the cortex lesionwasmeasuredlikeamaptofinditsplacement,whilethethalamuslesionwastestedbyusingasaltysolutionontherat’stonguetomeasuretheactivitylevelofcommunicationintheneuronstofindtheextentof theregionof thegustatory thalamus.Theratsweregiven time for rest and relaxationwhile they recovered fromsurgery,thentheirconsummatoryintakewasmanipulatedtoremainconstantbymeansofwaterdeprivation.

Oncetheratsreachedaconstantmorningwaterintake,theexperimentbegan.Thefirstconcernwasthewaterdeprivation

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schedule,leavingaccesstowateratcertainscheduledtimesoftheday.Thewaterdeprivationwastoensurethataratwouldnotonlymaintainhisweight,butalsorespondtoatastestimu-lus,thesugarysolution.

Thepreparationsfortheexperimentmeantpreparingtheco-cainesolutionandatypeofsweetstimulus,saccharin.Thesac-charinwasputintoa.15%saccharinsolutionandusedasthesweettastestimulus.Thevolumeofliquidconsumedbytheratwasmeasuredforeachtrial.Thiswasthedependentvariable.The volume of liquid, as well as the dosage of cocaine injec-tions,wasmanipulated.Thefirstfivetrialsusedalowerdoseofcocaine—10mg/kg,whilethelastthreetrialsusedahighdoseofcocaine—20mg/kg.Thecocainesolutionwasadministeredunderneaththeskin,subcutaneously.

Itisimportanttorememberthatforthefirsttrial,therat’sac-cesstothesaccharinewaswithoutpriorexperienceofanydrugorsaccharin.Forthefirsttrial,allratsdrankbetween�-7ml(le-sionedgroups)or9-10ml(controlgroups)ofsaccharin.Within4pairingsofsaccharin,thecocaineinjectedrats,bothcontroland lesioned, drank under 3ml of saccharin, where initiallythey had drank between �-7ml (lesioned groups, or 9-10ml(controls).Onaverage,thesalineinjectiongroups,controlandlesioned,heldtodrinkingabove�mLof thesaccharinesolu-tionthroughoutthestudy.Theresultsshowedthatthecocainesuppressed intake of the sweet saccharin cue, and the lesiondidnotaffectthisconsummatoryphenomenon,regardlessoflesionstatus.

The results must mean somethingWefoundthatasymmetrical lesionsofthegustatorythala-

mus and gustatory cortex did NOT disrupt suppression ofconsummatoryintake,ashypothesized.Therearemanyfactorsthat need to be looked at considering this finding. The find-ingcouldsuggestthatmorphineandcocainediffer,--morphinewasusedinthebilaterallesionstudieswheresuppressedofthesweet solutionwasdisrupted—but thiswouldseemunlikelybecauselesionsofthethalamusdisruptbothmorphineandco-caine,asdolesionsofthecortex.

Anotherconcernisthefactthatbothcontrolgroupsreducedrespondingonthelasttrialofthehigherdoseofcocaine.Iftheexperimenthadcontinued,itwouldbeinterestingtoseeifthatdownward pattern continued. The reasons are unknown, butexplanationscould includearandomdisruptionintheroomwhere the ratswereheld,butperhapsothermore systematicreasonsunknownatthepresenttime.

Asofpublicationofthisarticle,onlypreliminaryhistologyhasbeendonetolookattheplacementofthelesionsmadeinthetestsubjects.Itispossibleandpresumedafterseverallesionshavebeenmapped,thatthelesionswereincorrectlyplacedsothatthecircuitwasactuallyintact.Thiswouldexplainwhythelesionedsubjects’behaviorwasnotsignificantlydifferentfromthecontrolsubjects.However,ifthethalamuslesionswerecor-rectlyplaced, thiswouldcontradict thetheorythat there isastrongconnectionbetweenthethalamusandcortexandbothareneededinconsummatorycomparison.

Lesionsalwaysneedtobecorroboratedbymappingouteachindividuallesionineachsampleofbraintissue.Thisisdonebyaprocessoffixingthebraintissueontoglassslidesandlook-ingatthedamageinflictedinthebrain(seePicture).Alesiontoolargemaydisruptmorethanjusttheneuronsintheregion

thatwasbeinglookedat intheparticularstudy.Alesiontoosmallmaynotsufficientlysuppresstheregion’sfunction.Twodifferentlesionsinonebraingeneratesahigherprobabilitythatoneoftheregionswillstayintact,andsotheratwouldbehavenormally.

Why should work continue? By understanding neural mechanisms, researchers will be

abletotargetspecificbrainregionsinvolvedintheconditionedresponsesofanaddict.Drugscouldbemanufacturedtodis-ruptcircuits involvedinthe ‘want’thatadrugaddictexperi-ences which often leads to self-administration and relapse.Once a chemical ‘high’ is experienced, that high far exceedsand isoftenonlyplacatedby thechemical substance.Thingsthatsobercitizensfindexhilarating-family,jogging,�5%cacaodarkchocolate-arenotevenappealingtodrugaddicts.Ifthisresearchcanbringadaywhentheinfluenceofdrugsisdiffusedsothatfullsatisfactionisfeltbyamotherholdingherchildoramanrunninga5K—thendrugaddictionresearch isvalid,sentimentalandlife-changing.

AcknowledgementsIwould like to thankSueGrigson,RastafaGeddesandall

thewonderfulpeopleatPennStateCollegeofMedicinewhowerebothteachersandfriendswhileIworkedintheGrigsonlab,summer200�.Also,tothosewhoproofreadthisarticlesocarefully.

ReferencesGeddesRI,HanL,BaldwinAE,GrigsonPS.ProgramNo.119.20

2004NeuroscienceMeetingPlanner.Washington,DC:SocietyforNeuroscience,2004.Online.

Geddes RI, Zammit CJ, Han L, Grigson PS. Bilateral lesions ofthe insular gustatory cortex block the comparison of naturalrewards:anticipatorycontrast.ProgramNo.�70.12.200�Neu-roscienceMeetingPlanner.Atlanta,Georgia:SocietyforNeuro-science,200�.Online.

GrigsonPS,LyuboslavskyP.TanaseD.Bilaterallesionsofthegus-tatorythalamusdisruptmorphine-butnotLiCl-inducedintakesuppressioninrats:evidenceagainsttheconditionedtasteaver-sionhypothesis.2000Mar10.BrainRes.858(2):327-37.etal,2000.

GrigsonPS.Conditionedtasteaversionsanddrugsofabuse:are-interpretation.1997Feb.BehavNeurosci.111(1):129-3�.

KosarE,GrillHJ,andNorgrenR.Gustatorycortexintherat.II.Thalamocorticalprojections.BrainRes.379:342-352,198�.

Norgren,R.“Gustatorysystem”.In:TheRatNervousSystem(2nded.).SanDiego,CA:Academic,1995,p.751-771.

Grigson PS. Twining RC. Cocaine-induced suppression of sac-charinintake:amodelofdrug-induceddevaluationofnaturalrewards.2002Apr.BehavioralNeuroscience.11�(2):321-33.

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origins of health policy in the United states and great britain: Influences of public preferences and political CultureSadajyot Brar

ReferenceNumbers!!!!

IntroductionInThePrecepts,Hippocratesstatedthat“healingisamatter

oftime,butitissometimesalsoamatterofopportunity.”Thosewhopracticemedicineshouldreachouttoothersforwhenoneissick,whomelsedoesapatientturntobuttheirphysicianoranotherhealthprofessional?Yetwhenindividualsareunabletoaffordmedicalservices,theyarethrownatthemercyofthesociety in which they live. Where will they seek their treat-ment? Are there charitable organizations? Do enough doc-torsperformprobonowork?Willthegovernmentsupportthepoor?Thebasicquestioninhealthpolicyishoweachsocietyprovidesforthosewhocannotprovideforthemselves.Shouldthegovernmentprovidesupport in the formofgovernment-runorsponsoredservices?

Nearlyallsocietieshavehadtofindasolutiontothisdilem-ma.Optionshaveincluded:fundinghealthcarecompletelyinawelfarestatesetting,practicingalaissez-faireapproachwheregovernmentthatdoesnotactandletsprivateorganizationsof-fersupport,orfindingacompromisebetweenthetwo.Amongthemore industrializedcountries, theUSisunique inthat itdoesnotofferafullrangeofhealthservicessponsoredbythegovernment inawelfare-based system to the extent thatEu-ropeannationsprovide.ThecircumstancesofthisaredeeplyrootedatthepoliticalbehavioroftheAmericanpeopleandhowthepoliticiansatthetimerespondtotheirconcerns,whichisalso true forEuropeancountries, suchasGreatBritain. TheUKisaprimeexampleofawelfarestatewithagreatdegreeofgovernmentinvolvementinhealthservices.

WhyisitthattheUSandUK,whicharesosimilar—cultur-allyandintheirliberaldemocratictradition—haveproducedhealth legislation that is so different in terms of its adminis-tration and underlying principles? Causes of this differenceinclude:differencesinpoliticalculture,governmentresponsestopublicpreferences,andgovernmentstructure.Thepoliticalbehaviorbehindtheintroductionofsomeformofgovernment-sponsoredhealthinsuranceintheUnitedStatesandGreatBrit-ainservesasinintriguingcomparison.

Background on CultureTheUKandUSaredifferentinthefactorsthatdetermined

health care legislation. Health care has poor-relief roots inthe UK while in the US it has sprung from entitlement pro-gramslikeSocialSecurity.GreatBritainhashadlegislationon

poor-lawrelief,fromwhichtheBritishpublichasbecomeac-customedtostateinvolvementthroughawelfaresystem.Thisled the British public to be accepting of the National HealthService(NHS),asitdidnotdriftawayfromthevaluesoftheBritish political culture. The United States has not had sig-nificant government involvement in welfare issues. This canbeattributed,politically,tothedeeplyrootedProtestantworkethic inAmericansociety. Thisworkethic fuels laissez-faireideassocially:thenotionthatwithhardwork,onebesuccess-ful.Thus,governmentsupportisnotnecessary.However,afterWWII, the government became more involved and aware ofthechangingpreferencesofitspublicinboththeUKandUSandhenceactedaccordingly.

In a general sense, culture and public preferences are in-terchangeable. “Culture is equated with an individual’s im-mediate preferences, and a country’s culture is equated withthe pattern produced by aggregating individual responses topollingquestions.”Thecultureofasocietydefinesthevaluesandsocialnormsbywhichmemberslive;eachcountryhasaveryuniqueculture.Therefore,althoughtheUnitedStatesandGreatBritainareverysimilarincertainrespects,someofthevaluestightlyheldbyAmericancitizensarenotfoundinBrit-ain.ThroughtheProtestantworkethic,whichbecamedeeplyentrenchedinAmericanculture,“fearofpublicpowerhasbeena[dominant]fixtureontheAmericanpoliticalscene.”Ameri-cansfavoramorelaissez-faireapproachwithlittlegovernmentinvolvementas there is“uneasinessaboutgovernmentalpro-vision of social welfare.” Also, there was poor relief stigmathathadpoorchoosestarvationovera“surrenderoftheirre-spect,”whichexplainslesspeopleaskingforhelpintheUnitedStates.ThiscultureandvaluesystemforcesAmericanstofendforthemselves.Americanslivebythecredothatself-relianceis thebestwaytomake it through. If individualsworkhardenough,theywillgainsuccessbecausetheUnitedStatesis“thelandofopportunity.”

Great Britain, however, does not share this value system,whichispartlyduetoadifferentsetofcircumstancesthatde-termined its policy origins. While early American colonistswereforcedtoworkhardjusttosurvive,theBritishhadalreadybeenestablishedforcenturies.TheUKhasestablishedtradi-tionsandcustomsforamuchlongerperiodoftimethantheUnitedStates. ItspoorlawsystemstartedwiththeOldPoorLawof1�01bywhichlocalmunicipalitiesadministeredindoorandoutdoorrelief.Also,understandingsofthestateinfluence

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weredifferentinbothnations.IntheUS,perceptionsofstatefiercelyfocusedonliberal,“hands-off ”procedures.InBritain,therewasacceptanceofstateroleinsocialwelfare.Thepublichadgreaterfamiliaritywithpoor-lawreliefinBritainthaninAmerica.

Health Policy TheoriesThereareavarietyoftheoriesusedtoexaminehealthpolicy,

howeveronlythefirsttwomentionedbelowareapplicabletotheUSandUK. Thesetheoriesaddmoredimensiontothisstudy of health policy. The first is referred to as “popularchoice,”which“tracestheinternationaldiversityinthefund-ing and organization of health services to the sets of valuesheldbydifferentpopulationsandthechoicestheymake.”Vi-centeNavarroarguesthatpeoplewhoonlygobythistheorydo not offer thorough explanations or account for other in-fluences on health policy: rather, these are neglected. Ac-cordingtohim,“valuesareproducedandreproducedwithinhighlycontrolledpoliticalenvironmentsbythepromotionofvaluesfavorabletothepowerfulandtherepressionofvaluesperceivedtobethreateningtothem.”Sowhilethewillofthepeopledoeshaveaveryimportanteffectonhowthegovern-ment reacts, it isnotalways themost important. In theUSandUK,thegovernmentiselectedbythepeople,howevernotalwaysdirectly,symbolizingthatthemassesarenotalwaystobetrustedwithpolicy-decisionmaking.Even“democracy”intheUSisnotwithoutlimitations.ManyAmericanfoundingfathersbelievedthattheuneducatedmassesshouldnotinflu-encegovernmentpolicy,as twoof themJamesMadisonandAlexanderHamilton,wroteinTheFederalistPapers.Inordertostopcorruption, itwasnecessary to instill safeguards thatkeptthemass’influenceongovernmentcontrolled.Howeverthisisnottosaythatthepublicisnotinfluentialandshouldberuledoutcompletelyfromimpactinghealthpolicy

Thesecondtheoryisgroupedtogetherasthe“powergroup”theories,statingthatinterestgroupsdrivehealthpoliticsandthat“publicpoliciesinthehealthsectorareattributedtothedifferentdegreesofpowerandinfluenceexercisedbyseveralpower(interest)groups...onthepublicdecision-makingpro-cessinthehealthsector.”Thistheory,however,onlycreditsonegroupasthedrivingforceofhealthpolicylegislation.

Lastly, there is the “convergence” theory, which states thatWestern countries are becoming very similar in their meth-ods of funding and organization of health services throughonemaincommonality:“themoredevelopedthesociety,thelargerarethepercentageofelderlypeopleinthepopulation,the more popular is the demand for health services and theamount of resources available to respond to that demand.”ThistheorydoesnotapplytotheotherstotheoriginsofinitialhealthpolicyintheUSandtheUK.

Historical BackgroundTounderstandhealthpolicy,itisnecessarytoresearchthe

historyofmedicineintheUSandUKoverthepasttwocen-turies. In 18th century Great Britain, there were two typesof hospitals, private (charitable) and government-sponsored.Hospitals were considered hazardous because they were notcleanandsotherichpreferredtogotoprivateofficeswhilethemajoritypoorwenttocommunity-basedclinics.Although

theprevalentviewoftheseclinicsandhospitalswasnega-tive,theywerestillafamiliarentityamongsttheBritishpub-lic.Later,specialistsandsurgeonsstartedtoworkmainlyinhospitalswhilegeneralpractitionersorapothecariesbegantoprovidecommunity-basedcare.Aroundtheturnofthe19thcentury,thepublicregardedgovernmenthospitalsmoreposi-tively due to various improvements in medical care. Therewas a widening acceptance of state involvement in hospitalcare.TheMetropolitanPoorActof1887establishedthestatewiththedutytoprovidehospitals forthepoor. Withthesetwofactorscombined,theroadwaspavedforthenaturalpro-gressionofgovernmentinvolvementinhealthcare.

WhileinBritain,thepublic’slong-standingnegativepercep-tion of hospitals was gradually blunted by a growing appre-ciationoftheircurativebenefits, intheUnitedStates,publichospitals continued to be uniformly dreaded and served asa last resort for those who were isolated and had no family.“Americans associated hospital residency with infection, ex-

Ashealthcarereformcontinuestoemergeasthehotbuttondomesticissuefortheupcoming2008presiden-tialelection, it iseasy to forgethowvehementlycon-testedFranklinD.Roosevelt’splansfornationalhealthinsuranceweremorethansevendecadesago.InspiredbysystemsalreadyfunctioninginEurope,FDRdevel-opedacomprehensiveproposaltoprovideaminimumlevelofcoveragetoeveryAmerican.TheideawasverymuchinlinewiththeprogressiveideologiesoftheNewDealInitiative,whichsoughttoradicallytransformtherolegovernmentcouldplay in improving the livesofindividualcitizens.

However, the media immediately derided the plan,notduetoparticulareconomicororganizationalflaws,butratherbecauseofitsperceivedsocialistunderpin-nings.Theleadingnewspublicationsofthetime,suchasTheWashingtonStarandTheBostonEveningTran-script,ridiculedFDR’sproposalasfarcicalandantago-nist to the foundations of American society. Withinthe medical community, health professionals fearedthatnationalhealthinsurancewoulddecreaseincomesand,more importantly, infringeupontheir treatmentdecisions,therebythreateningthequalityofcarepro-vided.

Inthefaceofsuchvirulentopposition,theviabilityoftheSocialSecurityActandthesuccessoftheNewDealappearedunabletoaccommodatearadicaltrans-formationofhealthcarepolicies.Ultimately,FDRreal-izedthateconomicrevitalizationwasmoreimportantinthewakeoftheGreatDepressionthanprovidingforuniversalhealthcoverage,and,so,thehealthcareplanwasdeletedfromthelegislationAstheU.S.onceagainfindsitselfembroiledindebateoverhealthcarereform,politiciansandvotersalikecanreflectonthediscourseofthepastanduselessonslearnedtosecureabrighter,andhealthier,future.

Sidebar: FDR’s Healthcare Proposal-JasonLiebowitz

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perimentation,and the stigmaof failureandmisery.” Adif-ferencebetweenBritishandAmericanhealthserviceswastheabsenceofcentralizedmedicalorganizationintheUSsystemleadingtounorthodoxmedicalsectsdominatinghospitalandcommunity-basedcare.Americandoctorswereunabletoor-ganizetheirpracticesinthesamemannerastheBritish.Therewasconfusionoverwhatmadeadoctoradoctor.YetthisdidnotseemalargeprobleminEnglandduetothenaturalsepara-tionofspecialiststohospitalssettingsandgeneralpractitionerstocommunity-basedclinicsettings.AmericancircumstancesofanunorganizedmedicalsystemwhichconfusedtheAmeri-canpublicpreventedgovernmentinvolvementinhealthcare.Americanperceptionstowardshospitalandcommunity-basedcarewerenotpositive. Laterwhen“orthodoxmedicine”wasmoreestablishedintheUS,throughtheestablishmentoftheAMAandgreaterstandardsinmedicaleducation,theseprevi-ouslynegativeassociationswithmedicaltreatmentinhospitalsandcommunity-basedclinicsturnedmorepositive.

Influence of WWIIWWIIsignaledachangeingovernmentconcernaboutpublic

opinioninbothcountries.“Rationalchoicepractitioners,MaxWeberandV.O.Key...[suggest]thatthemasspublic’sinfluenceisinfactlimitedtothebroadboundariesofgovernmentdeci-sions;elitesaregivenfreereintodeterminethedetailsofpolicymaking.”BeforeWWII,thistheorycouldbeconsideredtrueforhealthpolicy,howeverinthewar’saftermath,thiswasnotthecase.Therecoileffectstatesthatwhenpoliticiansaremoresensitivetopublicthought,theyareforcedtoseethatthepub-licdoeshavethoughts;themassesarenotfatedtoadestinyofmanipulationbythebureaucracy. DuringWWII,thiseffectbecamemorepredominant:“thecreationofa[publicopinion]apparatushadaninwardeffectonthedispositionsofAmericanandBritishpolicymakers. Inattempting, thentomanipulatepublicopinion,policymakersbecamemoresensitivetopopu-larpreferences.”Withthesechanges,itbecameevidentthatthepubliccouldnotbeignoredasitplayedavitalroleinthepoliticalprocess.

In theUS,FranklinDelanoRooseveltused radio,newspa-persandfilmstoreachouttotheAmericanpublicduetofearofhowthepublicwasstressedbyWWII.FDRpushedforintel-ligencegatheringandusedpollstersfrequently,whichwaslaterignoredbyEisenhowerandTruman.FDR’spollingcentralizedWhiteHouseopinionasit“spokewithonevoice.”Theseeffortscreated a push for greater government involvement with thedailyaffairsoftheAmericanpeople.ThepresidentreachedouttothemassestorelievetheirworriesduringWWII’sstresses.Withthisnoveloutreachandanincreaseduseofpolling,theAmericanpublicnotonlybecamemoreused togovernmentinvolvementbutbegantoexpectitfromthegovernment.

MedicareintheUnitedStateswasnotestablishedunderthefirst major “welfare-esque” government program the govern-ment sponsored. Polling data that showed that the generalpublicwasuneasywithplacinghealthinsuranceintheSocialSecurityActof19�5.FDRdidnotdosoafterbecomingawareofthis.

GreatBritainfollowedasimilarpathduringWWIIandthepublicrelationsapparatusbecameincreasinglyimportant.Thenewly-foundedMinistryofInformationwasinchargeofgov-ernmentpublicityandthegovernmentworkedtoeducatethe

publicandhaveabetterconnectionwiththemwhileincreasingcentralization. The “Labour government preserved the war’scentralization.Itencouragedthedepartmentstoseetheirin-dividualeffortsaspartofacoherentwhole.”Thisconvergingcreatedmoreorganizedgovernmentthatwasabletorespondmore efficiently to citizen needs. Also, government branchexpansion through the Ministry of Information, allowed thegovernmenttobetterservecitizensandbemoreawareoftheirneeds.

A Move Towards LegislationInGreatBritain,thepublicwasmorepositiveabouthospi-

talswhichstarted toattractmoreworking-andmiddle-classpatients,notjustthepoor.AGalluppollconductedinMarch1939 showed that 71 percent of those who answered wouldlike to make “hospitals a public service supported by publicfunds.” Also,“qualityofcareprovidedby[generalpractitio-ners]…cameunderincreasingattack.Excludedfromhospi-talpractice,thesedoctorsfailedtokeepabreastofthemedicaladvances thepubliccame toexpect frommodernmedicine.”Withthisdilemmainqualityofcareandtheincreaseddemandformoregovernment influenceonthehealthcaresector, thegovernmentcommissionedtheBeveridgereport. ThereporteventuallyledtothecreationoftheNHSasitshowedthattheBritishpublicwouldrespondpositivelygovernment-sponsoredhealthcare.WWIIhadledtoincreasedgovernmentinfluenceinthelivesofcitizens.TheBritishthusrespondedpositivelyasitcreatedmoreeaseforcitizensthroughregulatedhealthcareprograms.Allthistime,welfaredidnotseemtocausecontro-versy as the government had always been active in poor-lawreliefforanumberofcenturies.

IntheUnitedStates,healthcarelegislationwasnotincorpo-ratedintotheSocialSecurityActof1935butinsteadwaslaterincludedintheMedicareActof19�5.FollowingFDR’sdeath,PresidentsTrumanandEisenhowerdidnotfocusonpollingtonearlythesameextentastheirpredecessor.JFKhoweverusedpollingandpromotedMedicareforhis“issuefreecampaign.”DuringtheJFKandLBJpresidencies,thesameamountoftimewentintopreparingpublicrelationsmaterialaswithpreparingdocumentsforCongressindicatinganincreasedemphasisandconcernwithpublicpreferences.

The19�4electionsledtoamajorDemocraticlandslidevic-tory;CongressnowhadaDemocraticmajorityoftwo-to-onemakingitmucheasierforpassageofliberalagenda.Separa-tionofpowersintheUnitedStatesforcesbillstobepassedinbothhousesofCongressand thenbeapprovedby thePresi-dentbyhiswrittensignaturetopasssuccessfullegislation.Thismakespassagedifficultastherearesomanyhurdlestojumpthroughforabilltobecomelaw.Intheareaofhealthcare,pre-viousattemptsofhealthcarelegislationhadbeenunsuccessful.However,withaDemocratmajorityinCongressandaDemo-cratintheWhiteHouse,thisissuewaslessofaconcern.

ConclusionsLike Social Security, Medicare is an entitlement program.

The establishment of Social Security “justified” the creationofMedicare.AscanbeseenfromAmericanvalues,anythingotherthananentitlementsystemwouldnothavegarneredeasy

45

supportfromthepublic. Theonlywelfareprogramthatgar-neredenoughsupportfromtheUSpublicwasMedicaid,whichwasfortheelderlyandchildrenwhohadnohealthinsurance;thesesegmentsofsocietywereconsideredtrulydeservingbe-cause they were unable to provide for themselves. It can bearguedthatthe“popularchoice”theorycarriesagooddealofweighthere.Publicsupportopensa“windowofopportunity”thatgivespoliticiansthemandatetoworkinthedirectiontocrafthealthpolicy.

DifferencesbetweenresultingAmericanandBritishhealthpolicy legislation lie in the different value systems of BritishandAmericansocieties.Americanshavetraditionallyvaluedindependence and a laissez-faire form of government wherethegovernmentminimizestheneedtointerfereintheprivatelivesofitscitizens.Throughincreasedpollingandresponsive-nesstopublicopinionaroundWWII,politiciansbegantoseethat only an entitlement program could work in the US al-thoughlargergovernmentwasseenasnecessary.EntitlementprogramsofferedafriendlymediumbetweenvaluesAmericanfavored and some sort of government-connected health caresystem.TheSocialSecuritysystemwasbasicallyextendedtoincludeMedicarein19�5.Thefoundationsofthewelfarepor-tionofMedicare,Medicaid,werewidelyacceptedastheelderlyandchildrenwithouthealthinsuranceweretrulydeservingastheycouldnotfendforthemselves.Thusgovernmentsupportwastrulynecessaryforthem.

Britaindidnothaveasimilarturnofevents. MaxWeber’sbookTheProtestantEthicand theSpiritofCapitalismdem-onstrates that theProtestantworkethicwasneververywell-entrenched in England as those who possessed it, such asCalvinistsandPuritans,migratedtotheUnitedStatesbytheturnofthe17thcenturyduetoproblemswiththemoreCatho-lic-orientedChurchofEngland. Ergo, thesamefeelingsandvaluescommontoAmericansocietywerenotveryprominentin20thcenturyBritain.TheBritishwerealsowellacclimatedtogovernmentinvolvementintheaffairsofitscitizens.Poorrelief lawshadbeen inexistencesince1�01 familiarizing theBritishpublictowelfare-basedprogramssponsoredbythegov-ernment. Additionally,whentheBritishpublic senseda lessthanup-to-parmedicalstructureduringthe1930s,therewasincreased clamor for government sponsorship of the Britishhealthcaresystem.ThecitizensexpectedtheBritishgovern-menttointerfereintheprivatelivesofcitizensinanattempttomaintainappropriatemedicalstandards,while intheUSthiswasdoneprivatelythroughtheAMAandotherbodiesthator-ganizedmedicine.

Both countries were affected similarly as WWII increasedthe government’s role and influence on the daily lives of itscitizens. However,Americanculturalvaluescaused thefinalMedicare Act to be mostly entitlement-based rather than acompletely-welfare based program seen in England. The USpolitical structure made it more difficult to push legislationthanEngland’sunitaryparliamentarysystem.

TheUSpolitical cultureandvalue systemseemed toworkthrough the popular choice theory in crafting health policy.The values of the American public severely limited what thegovernmentcoulddoandwhenitwouldevenbothertopursueit.AnegativepollfromFDRslashedouthealthcarefromtheSocialSecurityAct.Similarly,pollingallowedJFKtosuccess-fullyuseMedicareasanissueinhispresidentialcampaign.LBJ

pushedMedicare throughCongressafter the JFK’sassassina-tion.Intheend,theseeventsandfactorscausedmainlyentitle-ment-basedhealthpolicytodevelopintheUS.

The passage of universal, nationalized health care in GreatBritainwasaffectedbythepopularchoicetheory;howeverra-tionalchoicecontinuedtoplayavitalrole.Thepassageofdif-ferentpoor-relieflawssincethe17thcenturyallowedcitizensto see government intervention and involvement as a socialnorm.Thisoccurredatatimewhenelitegovernmenthadmoreinfluence that themasses,as the franchisewasnotuniversal.Howeverbytheturnof the20thcentury, theBritishgovern-menttoobecamesensitivetopublicopinion.Throughpollingandintelligencegathering,thegovernmentwouldknowwhenitwasbesttopushforhealthpolicy.Thisledtotheformationofaprimarilywelfare-basedhealthpolicy.

References Abel-Smith, Brian. Hospitals, 1800-1948. London: Heinemann,

19�4.Cohen,Wilbur.“CommunicationinaDemocraticSociety.”InThe

VoiceofGovernment.NewYork:Wilbur,19�8. Gallup, George. The Gallup International Public Opinion Polls,

GreatBritain1937-75.NewYork:RandomHouse,197�.Hacker,Jacob.“TheHistoricalLogicofNationalHealthInsurance

Policy:Structureand Sequence in the Development of Brit-ish,CanadianandUSMedicalPolicy.”In Studies in Ameri-canPoliticalDevelopment.12(Spring1998)57-130

Hirshfield,Daniel.TheLostReform:TheCampaignforCompul-sory Health Insurance in the United States. Boston: HarvardUniversityPress,1970.

Honigsbaum,Frank.TheDivisionofBritishMedicine:AHistoryoftheSeparationof General Practice from Hospital Care.NewYork:St.Martin’sPress,1979.

Jacobs,Lawrence.TheHealthofNations:PublicOpinionandtheMarketingofAmericanandBritishHealthPolicy.London:Cor-nelUniversityPress,1993.

Morone,James.TheDemocraticWish:PopularParticipationandtheLimitsofAmericanGovernment.NewYork:BasicBooks,1990.

Marmour,Theodore,JerryMashaw,andPhilipHarvey.America’sMisunderstood WelfareState:PersistentMyths,Endur-ingRealities.NewYork:BasicBooks, 1990.

Navarro,Vicente.ThePoliticsofHealthPolicy.Oxford:Blackwell,1994.

Starr, Paul. The Social Transformation of American Medicine.NewYork:BasicBooks, 1982.

Rosenberg,Charles.“AndHealtheSick.”JournalofSocialHistory10:448.

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4�

Yoko Tawada’s self-Invention: The legend of a Japanese-german Woman author

Miyako Hayakawa

Yoko Tawada is an intriguing author among those usuallylabeledasMigrantenautorInnen.These“MigrantAuthors”areauthorswritinginGermanwhosenationalityorfirstlanguageisnotGerman.WithinthecontextofGermanstudiesthetreat-ment of Migrantenliteratur, literature produced by these au-thors,attractsavarietyofdiscussions.Politicalissuessuchasnaturalizationorassimilationareoftendebatedintandemwithindividualauthors’literaryachievements.ForauthorsofTurk-ishheritage,thisisparticularlythecase,asTurkish-Germansarethelargestminoritygroupinthecountry.Suchtreatmentisbothnecessaryandproblematic,associalissuesarecertainlyrelevanttomuchoftheliteraryworkproducedbyimmigrantauthors,yetmanywritershavedescribedthefrustrationofbe-ingproscribedanidentityasanartistandasamemberofanethnicminoritygroup.Feelingsofrootlessnessandwanderingaswell as confusion in the faceofprejudiceareabundant insuchliterature.

BorninTokyo,Japanin19�0,TawadafirstcametoGermanywhenshewas22yearsold,settlinginHamburg.Forthepasttwodecades shehasbeenprolific inboth JapaneseandGer-man,earningcriticalrespectforherwritinginbothlanguages.AtfirstshewroteonlyinJapanese,evenwhenshelivedinGer-many.Herlong-timecollaboratorandtranslator,PeterPörtner,discoveredherworkinJapanandorganizedtohaveherpub-lishedinGermantranslation.Followingthesuccessofherfirsttwobooks,TawadabegantopublishoriginalpoetryandproseinGerman.Today,sheisoneofthefewactiveauthorsabletoproduceliteratureofanextremelyhighqualityinmultiplelan-guages.Itispossibletodescribeherasatranslingualauthor,asshemovesagilelybetweenJapaneseandGerman.However,Tawadaherselfwouldlikelyobjecttosuchadistinctions,pre-ciselybecauseofherfluidconceptoflanguage.

The Writing Project: Self-InventionTawada’sfirst-personnarratorsarealmostalwaysunnamed

JapanesewomenlivinginGermany.Forthisreason,thereaderis quick to assume that the protagonists are Tawada herself.Suchanassumptioncanbedangerouswithmostauthors,butforTawadathis illusionisanintegraltheme.It is inthiswaythat the reader is disoriented and given an awareness of thedistancebetweenanyauthorandhis/hersubject.Furthermore,Tawada writes her own fictional biography as a translingualwomanauthor,herownlegendofsorts.

InTawada’sworks,theactofwritingisportrayedastheresult

ofover-categorization.Havingbeenforcedtoplaysomanydif-ferentroles,bothasawomanandasapersonlivinginaforeignlanguage,hernarratorsloosetheirsenseofself.Theywriteasinstrumentsoflanguage,historyandculture,transcribingandtranslatingthefragmentsthattheyencounter.AsTawada’snar-ratorsexperiencethisprocess,itcanbeassumedthatTawadadoes as well. On some level, all who write, not only womenmigrantauthors,undergothislossofselfintheprocessofwrit-ing.

Tawada’sfirsttwobookstobetranslatedandpublishedintheGermanlanguagewerethecollectionnurdawodubist,daistnichts(onlytherewhereyouare, thereisnothing,1987)andtheshortnovel,DasBad(TheBath,1989).Thefirststoryinthebook,nurdawodubist,da istnichts, isentitledBilderrätselohne Bilder (Picture-Puzzles Without Pictures). This narra-tion is delivered within the frame of a journey. The narratoris travelingby train fromthecityHtoR(possiblyHamburgandRegensburg).Herpurposeistovisitanexhibitofchildren’sbooks,butthenarrationbeginswhilesheisonthetrainanddoes not end until she has visited a marionette theater in R.Thestoryof thetrip iswoventogetherwithastoryfromthepersonalpastof thenarrator.Both storieshavemore signifi-cancethantheircontentalonewouldconvey.InthecityofRthenarratorencountersalmostallof themotifs foundinthechapterinTawada’sdoctoralthesisinwhichsheanalyzesWal-terBenjamin’swritingsonchildren’sbooksanddolls.Inotherwords,thenarrator’sperusalthroughthecitytracestherouteofTawada’sreadingofBenjamin.Thestorywithintheframe,which recounts the narrator’s experiences with an ex-loverandamysteriouswoman,hasalmostthesameplotasTawada’sshortnovel,DasBad.

Withinherownbodyofwork,Tawadatellsvariationsonthesamestory,metamorphosingamyth.Inthismanner,sheestab-lishesalegendofaJapanesewomanwhobecomesanauthorintheGermanlanguage.

Das Bad: The Loss of SelfThisnovelfollowsthemysteriousandtroublingexperiences

of thefirst-personnarratorassheundergoesvarious linguis-ticandphysicaltransformations.Beginningasasimultaneoustranslator,shelooseshertonguetotheghostofawomanwhodiedinafire.Asshehasbeguntogrowscalesonherskin,sheseeksemploymentasafish-womaninacircus.Sheeventuallywinds up as a typist, transcribing words that are dictated to

47

herbyadeadwomanandtranslatingfromthelanguageofthedeadtothelanguageoftheliving.Thedemandforherworkissogreatthatshecangetnorest.Finally,herboyfriendbuildsheracoffininwhichshecangetsomesleep.Shehaslosthertongue,soshecannotworkasatranslatoranymore.Shesoonalsoforgetsthealphabetandshecannottype.Aftergivinguphercosmetics,shealsonolongerappearsinphotographs.Attheendofthenovel,thenarratorherselfhasbecomeatrans-parentcoffin.

ThethemesofDasBadincludetheobjectificationoftheOri-ent,secondlanguageacquisition,loneliness,motherhoodandgeneralquestionsofpowerandwomen’sbodies.Allof thesethemesrelatetoeachotherwithinthecontextofthenarratorbeingovercomebyexternalforces.Inordertowrite,thenar-ratormustnotseekempowerment.Onthecontrary,shemustlooseallcontroloverherbody,particularlyoverherlinguisticfacilities.

The narrator in Das Bad suffers from the multiplicity ofrolesthatsheisforcedtoassume;inthisway,shelooseshersense of self-determination. Her boyfriend, Xander, teachesher theGerman language, thuspossessingher tongueashisown.Whenhephotographsher,shedoesnotappear“Asian”enough,sohecoversherfaceinheavymakeup.ThenarratorvisitshermotherinJapan,whodoesnotrecognizeherbecauseshelookstoomuchlikeaJapanesewomanfromWesternfilms,thatis,shehascometoembodytoowelltheWesternstereo-typeofJapanesewomen.Thenarratortriestoconformtotheidealsofothers,butintheendshemustgiveupandtransformintoatransparentcoffin.

While any summary of the novel will sound chilling andpessimistic,thisisnotwhatisconveyed.TointerpretTawada’simagery,onecanrefer toanessay thatwaspublished in thecollectionTalisman(199�).IntheessayErzählerohneSeelen(Narrator/swithoutSouls),Tawadaarguesthatthebestnarra-torsarethedead.TawadaquotesWalterBenjamin,insayingthatthetwotypesofstorytellersarethosewhohaveundergonea longjourneyandthosewhohavestayedinoneplaceforaverylongtime.Tawadapointsoutthatthedeadareonaverylongjourney,withouteverleavingtheplacewheretheirbodylies.Itisaparticulargifttobeabletohearthedead,tobeabletotranslate,likethenarratorinDasBad,fromtheirlanguageintothelanguageoftheliving.

WithinthecontextofWomen’sStudies,thenovel’sconclusionisalsopositive,becausethenarrator’screativeoutputconsistsofbodily communication.Narrating from thebody involvesthereclaimingofawoman’sbodyfromtheprojectedwishesofmen,usingitinsteadasaformofcommunication.Tawadadescribesthisasaprocessoflisteningtoherowncells.

WhatisalsoimportanttonoteintheplotofTawada’snovelisthattheforcethatoccupiesthenarratoristhatofawoman.Thenarrator,earningherlivingasasimultaneousinterpreterbyday,sleepingwithherphotographer/Germanteacherboy-friend at night and peeling the scales off of her body everymorning,was livingwithinthecontextofamale-dominatedsociety.Itwasthenadeadwomanwhostolehertonguefromher,settingoffthecourseofeventsthatendedinhertransfor-mationintoatransparentcoffin.Inthisway,theJapanese-Ger-manauthorisdistinguishedasawomanauthor,writingfromacollectivityofwomenthroughherbody.

Inheranalysisofthenovel,SabineFischerseesthefateof

thenarratoras the lastpossibilityofescapefromthestereo-typesandcategorizationsimposeduponherbothasamemberof aparticularethnicgroupandasawoman.However, it isnotonly thepatriarchal society that limits thenarrator,but,in Fischer’s opinion, also the Western feminist movements.Fischerpointsout thatmanyEuropeanandAmerican femi-nistshavebeenquicktolabelwomeninotherculturesasop-pressedandhelpless.WithinaninterpretationofDasBad,thiswouldmeanthattheJapanese-GermanwomanwriterisbothsubjectedbyandindebtedtotheWesternfeministmovements.Althoughthesemovementsworkedtoincreasethepresenceofwomenauthorsintheliterarycanon,theydidsobyinventingandpropagatingtheimageofaperfectlyvictimizedOrientalwomanasacontrasttotheirownideals.

Puzzle PiecesAtthebeginningofananalysisofthenarrativeBilderrätsel

ohneBilder,itisimportanttonotethattheentirestorybeginswithadisplacement:thetrainridefromHtoR.Inthisway,

MultilingualismApolyglot is someonewithahighdegreeofprofi-

ciency in several languages. There are several differ-ent types of polyglots: a bilingual person can speaktwolanguagesfluently,atrilingualthree.Onewhocanspeaksixormorelanguagesfluentlyisknownasahy-perpolyglot.

Famous Polyglots:•JoshuaChamberlain,acelebratedUnionArmy

OfficerduringtheAmericanCivilWar,spoke10lan-guages

•JamesJoyce,thefamousIrishwriter,spokeEnglish,French,Spanish,Italian,German,Danish,Norwegian,Russian, Latin and classical Greek, as well as Dutch,Slovenian,CroatianandIrish.

•PopeJohnPaulII,formerheadoftheRomanCath-olicChurch,learnedasmanyaselevenlanguagesdur-inghislifetime,includingLatin,Hebrew,Greek,Span-ish,French, Italian,German,English,Portuguese,hisnativePolish,andalsohadsomefacilitywithRussian.

•Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist whodiscoveredtheruinsofTroy,wasfamiliarwithEnglish,French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Italian,Greek,Latin,Russian,ArabicandTurkish

•J.R.R.Tolkien-Britishwriterandconlanger(inven-toroflanguages),aswellasaprofessoratOxford.HeisknownparticularlyforTheLordoftheRings.Heknewsome thirteen languages, in addition to his own cre-ations.

•Pope Benedict XVI, current head of the RomanCatholicChurch,speaksatleasttenlanguages(hisna-tiveGerman,Italian,French,English,Spanish,Portu-guese,andecclesiasticalLatinamongthem).

Sidebar: Terminology-ManuelDatilesIV

48

thenarratorsimulatesherpreviousimmigrationtoGermany.ItisnotedinalmosteverybiographicalbackgroundwrittenonTawadathatherfirsttriptoEuropein1972wastakenbywayoftheTransSiberianRailroad.ConsideringTawada’sblurringoftheborderbetweenfactandfiction,itisinterestingtopointoutthatthetripfromHtoRandthetripfromJapantoEuropebothinvolvedtrainsforthenarrator/Tawada.

Intheessay,ErzählerohneSeelen,Tawadaclaimstohavereadthat according toaNativeAmerican legend, the soul cannotmoveasquicklyasthebodycaninourcontemporarymodesoftransportation,forinstanceairplanesandtrains.TawadathenmusesthatshemusthavelosthersoulduringherfirsttriptoEuropeontheTransSiberianRailroad.WhilethelossofasoulisconsideredtobeaterribleexperienceintheWesterntradi-tion,Tawadarejectstheideaofasinglesoulanditsnecessaryhabitationwithinthehumanbody.Sheassertsthatthesoulisindependentoftheperson.Elsewhereshewrites,“Ihavemanysoulsandmanytongues.”Thedisplacementoftheauthorandeitherthe lossofasoulortheacceptanceofamultiplicityofsoulsbecomesapreconditionfordevelopmentasawriter.This,inturn,isbestaccomplishedbytraveling.

ThestoryrecountedwithintheframenarrativeofBilderrät-selohneBilderportrays inflashbacks thenarrator’s relationswithamannamedKandawomannamedEva.AconnectioncanquicklybemadebetweenKandtheprotagonistsofFranzKafka’sthreenovels,namedJosefK.,KarlRossmannand,sim-ply, K. Eva is perhaps in reference to the biblical Eve. Therecouldbemultiplereasonsforthesereferences.Evaistheparal-lelfiguretothedeadwomaninDasBad,inthatsheoverpowersthenarrator’sbody.Thusaconnectionwiththefirstwomanofhistory,whoconvincedAdamtoeatfromtheTreeofKnowl-edge, isappropriate.Kafka’sprotagonistsareoftenexaggerat-edlyphysicallyaffectionate,anditisalackofphysicalaffectionthatangerstheboyfriendKinTawada’sstory.Additionally,theideaoftheauthor’sbodybecomingincorporatedintothetextisimportantforKafka.Thisthreadofthestoryisstrungwithvividdescriptionsofphysicalmovementandcontact.Infact,thetriggersforthenarrator’sflashbacks,withinthecontextoftheframingtravel-tale,areoftenthementionofabodypartorfunction:sneezing,ears,thirstandvomiting,orplacingahandonanobject.

Althoughthethoughtofphysicalcontacttransportsthenar-ratortothepast,thenarratorherselfdescribeshavinghaddif-ficultywithK’sphysicalintimacy.Thisisrelatedtoherloveofbooks, as she explains how her passion is for the surfaces ofbooks rather than their content. She seeks out books in lan-guagesthatshecannotreadinordertoenjoyflippingthroughthem. Once she becomes too intimate with the content ofabook, itbecomesdead toher.For this reason, thenarratorburiedherbooksinaparkinTokyoanddecidedtocometoGermany.

HerattractiontoK.isofasimilarnature,partlybecausethenarratorseessimilaritiesbetweenK’sbodyandbooks.ShefeelssorryforK’sears,observingthattheylooklikewet,openbooks.Thetransformationfrombodyintobook,theincorporationofthehumanbodyintoabodyoftext,ismentionedagainlater,asthenarratorisscoldedfortouchingabookattheexhibition.Uponhearingtheadmonition,thenarratorimmediatelyasksherselfwhenshestartedtofeeluncomfortablebeingtouched.Shereactsbyidentifyingherbodywiththebodyofthebook.

K’sbodyisalsoabook,butheisupsetwhenthenarratortreatshisbodylikeshetreatsbooks.Reciprocally,thenarratorwantsK toviewherbodyas abook,buthe complains thathe canneverreadwhatsheisthinking.

Thestorybeginswiththenarrator’srelationshipwithK,butthemoreimportantfigureinthenarrator’slifeisEva.Thenar-ratorrecountsthethreetimesthatEvatouchedher:firsttohelpherthrowupwhenshewassick,thentotracethelifelineonherpalm,andfinally toapplysomeabsurdlycolored lipstickontothenarrator’slips.Bybeingcounted,thesethreeintimatetouches become heavy with significance, like three questionsthatmustbeansweredbytherestofthestory.

Thenarrator’sfinalencounterwithEvatakesplaceafterthenarratorhasbrokenupwithK.ShecallsEva,butfindsherselftobespeechless.Evatellshertogotoanantiqueshopinthestreetinwhichtheyfirstmet.Thenarratorknowsforafactthatthereisnoantiqueshopinthatstreet.Itbecomescleartoherthatsheneedstogotoanonexistentantiqueshopinthestreet,andinthenonexistentshopshemeetsEva.Evatearsoutthepagesofabook,andthepagesfalldownontheauthor,caus-ing her no pain but giving her great wounds that knock hertotheground.Evabendsoverher,pullsoffoneofherfingersandbitesoffherearlobeandframesitonthewall.Bypossess-ing her body and making this body into art, Eva has helpedthenarratorturnintoawriter.Inthismanner,thenarratorinBilderrätselohneBilderundergoesthesametransformationasthenarratorinDasBad.

Translation as a Method: The Hopeful Future of Shards

After thenarratorhasfinishedviewing thechildren’sbookexhibit she visits a performance in a marionette theater. Thestory performed is that of a puppet named Annette, who isconstructedbyatalentedwatchmaker.Annettebecomesasuc-cessfulbusinesswomanbecauseshenevergetssickandneverneedstosleeplikeregularhumanbeings.Yetheronlyfriendin life isa frog,becauseshedoesnotknowhowto love.Thenarratorleavestheshowearlybecausesheguessesthattheend-ingwillnotpleaseher.Theplaywill conclude, she imagines,witha typical fairy taleending: thepuppetwill learnhowtolove,andshewillbetransformedintoahumanbeing.Outsideof the theater the narrator sees the puppet being dismantledandthepiecesbeingcarriedawaydowntheroadbyaproces-sionoffrogs.Sheimaginesthatthefrogswilldeliverthepiecestoagiftedclockmaker,whowillputthepiecesbacktogetherasanewpuppet.Althoughthenarrator’sversionendsinthedeathofthepuppetAnnette,itallowsforthecreationoffuturestories.Destructionanddispersionoccurinordertofacilitatefutureliteraryconstruction.

Onabroaderscale,thestoriesthataretoldinthenarrativeBilderrätselohneBildercanallbeseenaspiecesofothersto-riesthathavebeenfittogetherwithinthecontextofajourney.Asthenarrativecomestoaclose,thestoriesbreakapartintoshards,withthepromisethattheywillcometogetheragaintoformotherstoriesinthefuture.ThisissimilartothewaythatDasBadandBilderrätselohneBilderhavesomanycommonelements.ItcouldalmostbesaidthatDasBadfunctionedasaprequeltoBilderrätselohneBilder.

Tawada uses this technique often, incorporating elements

49

from her previous work into her newer stories or altering astorysignificantlyintheprocessoftranslatingfromJapanesetoGermanorviceversa.ManyofhertextshavePartnertextsintheotherlanguage,withsimilarelementsbutdifferencesinlength,contentoreveningenre.

TheimageofscatteredshardsfittingtogetherisametaphorusedbyWalterBenjamininhisessay,DieAufgabedesÜber-setzers(TheTaskoftheTranslator).There,Benjamindescribesthetranslator’srolewithinthecontextofabroaderconceptoflanguage.Benjaminassertsthatitisnotnecessarilysoimpor-tanttoconveythecontentofaworkinitstranslation.Rather,atranslationshouldconveysomethingwithintheworkthatwasnotapparentinthelanguageinwhichitwasoriginallywritten.Somethingnewshouldberevealedaboutaliteraryworkeverytime it is translated. In thisway, throughthe translationofaworkintoasmanylanguagesaspossible,thelanguageofman-kind comes closer to expressing what is inexpressible withinthe literarywork.Benjamincalls theexpressionof this inex-pressiblereineSprache(purelanguage).Throughtranslation,shardsofthedispersedlanguagesoftheworldfittogetherlikethe shardsofabrokenvessel.Thecompletevessel representspurelanguage.

This phenomenon was precisely what Tawada observedwhenshecollaboratedwithPeterPörtneronnurdawodubistdaistnichts.Shehasspokenofherexhilarationasshebroughteachpoemtohimfortranslation,eagertoseewhatshewouldlearnfromherownworkthroughitstranslationintoGerman.Tawada’sextensivealterationstoherworkswhenshetranslatesthemherselforhersettingofthesameplotinmultiplecontextscanbeseenasanextensionofBenjamin’stranslationtheory.

Homage is once again paid to Benjamin’s theories on lan-guageandtranslationinthefactthatthebookinwhichBilderohneBilderrätsel ispublisheddisplaystheJapaneseandGer-manversionsofnarrativesandpoemssidebyside.Thisshowsarespectforthefactthatit ismorethancontentthatiscon-veyedthroughatranslation.

Tawadahassuccessfullyestablishedthe legendoftheJapa-nese-Germanwomanwriterinherwritingproject:thenarrat-ingwomantravelsfromJapantoEuropebywayoftheTransSiberianRailroad.ShesettlesinHamburgandlearnstheGer-manlanguagewiththehelpofaGermanman,whobecomesher lover. Objectified by him, she seeks out powerful femalefigures,whooverpowerorcrippleher.Inthisstateofpower-lessness,sheiscapableofchannelingthelanguagesobjectsandofthedead.Shetransformsintoawriter.ThefactsofTawada’sown life are less important the myth she has created to rep-resentherlife.Inaccomplishingthis,TawadahasemphasizedaspectsofthegeneralconditionofallauthorsandparticularlythatofMigrantenautorInnen.Herresistance tobeing labeledisexpressedbyseveralofhercolleaguesandherapproachtobeingawomanauthorcontributestothegeneraldiscussionofwomanauthorsinGermany.

References Matsunaga, M. (2002) “Schreiben als Übersetzung”. Die Di-

mension der Übersetzung in den Werken von Yoko Tawada.ZeitschriftfürGermanistik,12(3):533.

Tawada,Y.(1993)DasBad,KonkursbuchverlagClaudiaGehrke,Tübingen.

Tawada,Y.(199�)Talisman,(trans.PeterPörtner),Konkursbuch-verlagClaudiaGehrke,Tübingen,22.

Ibid.,18. Fischer, S. (1997) “Verschwinden ist schön”: Zu Yoko Tawadas

KurzromanDasBad.DenndutanztaufeinemSeil:Positionendeutschsprachiger MigrantInnenliteratur, (ed. Moray Mc-Gowan),Stauffenburg-Verl.,Tübingen,101-113.

Tawada,Y.(199�)Talisman,(trans.PeterPörtner),Konkursbuch-verlagClaudiaGehrke,Tübingen,22.

Ibid.,21. Tawada, Y. (2002) Überseezungen, Konkursbuchverlag Claudia

Gehrke,Tübingen,70. Tawada, Y. (1997) nur da wo du bist, da ist nichts, (trans. Pe-

ter Pörtner), Konkursbuchverlag Claudia Gehrke, Tübingen,9/120.

Ibid.,21/108.Ibid.,45/84-55/74. Matsunaga, M. (2002) “Schreiben als Übersetzung”. Die Di-

mension der Übersetzung in den Werken von Yoko Tawada.ZeitschriftfürGermanistik,12(3):532-54�.

Benjamin,W.(1992)SpracheundGeschichte:PhilosophischeEs-says,(ed.RolfTiedemann),PhilippReklam,Stuttgart,50-�4.

Matsunaga, M. (2002) “Schreiben als Übersetzung”. Die Di-mension der Übersetzung in den Werken von Yoko Tawada.ZeitschriftfürGermanistik,12(3):532-54�.

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a moral mentality: The “suddenly sexy” debate over International debt

Michelle Melton

A recent editorial in the British journal The Economistquippedthat“…advocatingdebtreliefhasbecomethedevel-opment-policy equivalent of kissing babies. Every politiciandoesit.”Indeed,debtrelief—oftenconfusinglycalleddebtfor-giveness,debtreduction,anddebtcancellation—hasbecomeacausecélèbre.Ithasreceivedasignificantamountofmediaandpoliticalattention,andgarneredthesupport,asthemediaoftenremindsus,ofsuchconsiderablefiguresastherockstarBonoandthelatePopeJohnPaulII.Debtreliefhasovershadoweda significant part of public discussion on other internationaldevelopmentissues.Itsadvocatesclaimthatitisthenecessaryfirststepintheprocessofeconomicdevelopment. Althoughoftenportrayedtoosimplistically,debtreliefisnotanuncom-plicatedissue.Norisdebtreliefanewphenomenon.Whatisnewisthetoneofthediscourseandtheimmenseattentionthedebateisreceivingbytheacademicworld,theWesternpoliticalworld,andthemedia.Consequently,theseeminglymonoto-nousdiscourseondebtreliefneedsunpacking.

Debtreliefenjoysenormouspopularappeal. PoliticiansintheNorthfalloverthemselvestoofferit,andithascaptivatedtheattentionofnot justacademia ,but thegeneralpublicaswell. What is especially curious about the demand for debtrelief is that it is advocated, for the most part, by politiciansandinternationalfinancialinstitutionssuchastheWorldBankGroup(WorldBank)and,toalesserextent,theInternationalMonetary Fund (IMF); it is only partially mobilized by thepublic. Politicianscertainlydidnothavetoacknowledgethevalidityofdebtreliefandthrustitintothepublicarena.Butitgarnersmuchpoliticalsupport,asitappearstobeanexampleof sincere generosity. But accepting this explanation at facevalue is misleading. Debt relief was not accepted as prudenteconomicpolicyuntilrecently: ithasbeennomorethantenyearssincetheideaofwritingoffpoorcountries’debt,insteadof rescheduling, has been seriously considered by politiciansand lenders at international institutions. Debt relief was ar-gued forand implementedbypowerful institutionsandgov-ernmentswhocouldhaveeasilystifledorignoredappealsforachangeindebtpolicyastheyhadforseveraldecadesprior.

Notonlyhas thedebtdebatebeensustained,andnotonlyhavepoliticiansengagedthedebate,butageneralpoliticalcon-sensusappears tohavebeenreached. The issue isno longeroverwhetherdebtreliefisagoodidea,butoverhowtoissueits implementation.Debtreliefhaswon its ideologicalbattle:

todayitisveryrareforanacademic,muchlessapolitician,topaintdebtreliefasbadintheory.Itisunfashionabletospeakpoorlyofdebtreliefbecauseithasnowbecomesynonymouswithhelpingthepoor.Opponentstodaymostlycitetheprob-lemsassociatedwithimplementingdebtrelief—i.e.,theyhaveproblemswithdebtreliefinpractice—warningthatbadgover-nanceandmoralhazardmayunderminewhatdebtreliefseeksto do. This type of argument, though it recognizes flaws inexecutingdebtrelief,implicitlycondonestheideologybehindreformingdebtpolicy.

Part of the popularity of debt relief is that it is somethingeveryoneunderstands,aseveryonehassomeformofdebt.Butcertainly,thecasecouldjustaseasilyhavebeenmade,andinthe same pressing, moral language, for governments to pres-sure drug companies to end their patents early, providingmedicationtomillionsofHIVpositivepeopleinimpoverishedcountries.Thisisnolesspressing,andnolessmoralanissue,thandebtrelief.ItisalsoareasonableandfrequentlyemployedargumentthattheHIVepidemichasaslarge,ifnotlarger,animpact on developing economies as debt relief does. In fact,thecasehasbeen,andcontinuestobe, forrichgovernmentstoprovidecheapandeffectivemedicinetoafflictedcountries.Thispleaandhas receivedmoderatepublicattention. But itdoesnotattractthesamefierceadvocacybypoliticiansastheissueofdebtrelief.Thereisundoubtedlysomepoliticaloppor-tunisminvolvedindebtrelief,butopportunitiesforopportun-ismareprevalentinmanyissues.Whatisnotcleariswhyspe-cificallydebtreliefasanissuewastakenup.

Moral Language and the MarketOverthepastdecade,thedebateoverinternationaldebthas

changed inmeaningfulways. Importantly,debt isno longerdiscussed as solely an economic issue. Starting in the mid-1990’s and continuing today, the discourse on debt employshighlymoralrhetorictomakethecasefordebtforgiveness.Iholdthattheintroductionofmorallanguageintothediscourseondebtfunctionstopreservetheintegrityofthemarket.Mor-allanguageallowsthecoexistenceofconsistentlydisappointingmarketoutcomesfortheSouthwiththeNorth’sinsistenceonthebenefitsandadvantagesofliberalmarketpolicies.

Jacqueline Best, in her review and analysis of several eco-nomicpapersthatemploymorallanguagetodiscussthemar-ket,statesthat“ItisonlyveryrecentlythattheFund’srepresen-

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tatives, together with the mainstream academic community,havebeguntojustifyitsactionsinthenameofmoralauthor-ity.” Bestarguesthatthearticlesshereviewsattachmoralityandethicstomarketprocesses,whichrevealsthattheybelievethatthemarketactsmorally.Inturn,thisallowstheauthorstoassurethemselvesthatmarketprocessesarticulatewhatshouldbe and what is, more importantly, right. Best describes thestrategicintentbehindthisbehavior:

There exists a tension between…[a] concern with the limits of the market and [the] desire [on the part of neo-liberal theorists] to nonetheless make the market the final arbiter of economic practice. [Neo-liberals are] ulti-mately only able to resolve these tensions on a normative level by developing a moral argument for the universal value of the market. They thus stave off the threat of a wider political debate about financial reform by appealing to a universal conception of economic good….

ByslightlymodifyingBest’sargument, it canbeapplied tothedebatesurroundinginternationaldebtrelief.Bestiscorrectwhenshepointsouttheexistenceofatensionbetweenthelim-itsofthemarketandmakingthemarketthefinalarbiterofeco-nomicpractice.Thetensionmustberhetoricallyreconciled,sothatthepublicatlargewillcontinuetoaccepttheintegrityofthemarket.Butimbuingmarketdecisionswithmoralauthor-ityisnottheonlywaytoreconcilethistension.Infact,Bestde-scribesthewaythatthosewhoopposedebtreliefchoosetore-solveit,thatis,byinvokingthemarket’smoralauthority.Whenthemarketfails,politiciansstepintoasserttheirownauthority.Inthisway,thevalidityofthemarketissafeinitscentralroleinhumansociety;for,evenifitfails,moralityisreasserted,inthisparticularcasewithdebtrelief.Asaresult,thequestionofblameforpooreconomicoutcomes isalsocomplicated. Themarkethasfailedtomakegoodonitspromisesofpovertyre-duction.Thepromiseofaglobaleconomyreducing,muchlessending,povertyhasprovenemptybyrecentexperience.Abun-dant evidence shows that structural reforms imposed by theIMFandWorldBanksimplydidnotwork—although,neithertheIMF,theWorldBank,noranymemberoftheG-8woulddarepubliclyadmitasmuch.Byspeakingmoralistically,poli-ticiansassurethepublicthat,shouldthemarketnotproducedesirableoutcomes,politicswillstepintomendthetemporarygaffeandthemarketwillthencontinuetooperateunhindered.Widerpoliticaldebate,aswellasquestionsof legitimacyandfinancialreform,asBestpointsout,arethenavoided.

AccordingtoKaiNielson,morallanguage“isthelan-guageisthelanguageweuseinappraisinghumanconductandingivingadviceaboutcoursesofaction;itisthelanguageweuseinascribingorexcusingresponsibility;andfinally,itisthelanguageweuseincommittingourselvestoaprincipleofac-tion. Moral language is a practical kind of discourse that isconcerned toanswer thequestions: ‘what shouldbedone?’”Moral language includes references of rewards and punish-ments, of innocence and guilt, of responsibility, obligations,duties,norms,andimperatives(anytimeshouldismeantinanethicalsense—whenshouldbegsthequestion‘whyshould’andtheanswerisimplicitly‘becauseethicstellsusso’).Allofthesethemesarerecurrentinthediscourseoninternationaldebt.

A Brief History of Debt

Debt has been a significant problem for developing coun-tries since widespread decolonization in the 19�0s. Appeals

fordebtreliefanddebtforgivenesshavebeenaroundsincetheendofthatsamedecade.Severalrelatedandcomplexfactorsonboththesupplyanddemandsidecontributedtothelargedebtsincurredbydevelopingcountries.ColdWarpoliticsalsocontributedtoimprudentlendingpolicies.Often,moneywasknowingly lent to corrupt dictators, who accumulated debtandsquanderedborrowedcapitaltosupportextravagantlife-stylesandtheirsystemsofpatronage,whilealmostnoneofthemoneytrickeddowntothepoor.Inadditiontostrategicbutnegligentlending,the1970ssawalargejumpinexternaldebt.Oilshocks,highinterestrates,andaweakdemandforexportsaroundthesametimealsocausedanexplosionofdebt. Thesecondoilshockin1979-1980,combinedwiththeskyrocket-ing U.S. interest rates set by Federal Reserve Chairman PaulVolcker—whichreached22.3�%inJulyof1981andcausedtheglobaleconomytogointorecession—onlyaddedtothedebtstock.Moreover,moneywasfreelylentinthelate1970sandearly1980sduetoacultureofcompetitivecommerciallending.Irresponsiblelendingwasfurtherencouragedbyirresponsibleandfrivolousborrowing.Themoneyquicklydriedupfollow-ingthedebtcrisisofthe1980s,andlittleprivatecapitalinflow,includingtotheprivatesector,continuestobeaproblemformanydevelopingcountries.

Debttodaydiffersfromdebttwodecadesago.Thedebtcrisisofthe1980saffectedmostlymiddle-incomecountriesinLatinAmericawhohadincurreddebttocommercial lenders. Thecommercial lenders had lent recklessly, borrowers had bor-rowed recklessly, and the oil shocks, along with a sharp andsudden drop in commodity prices, severely increased thesecountries’debtstocks.Thecrisisofthe1980’slastedforaboutadecade,duringwhichtimetheproposedsolutionstothecrisiswere in the formofdebt rescheduling. Debtpaymentswererescheduledforlaterdates,whilelendingwasincreasedtothedebtorssothattheywouldbeabletopaythesedebts.Credi-torgovernmentsplayedasignificantrolein‘resolving’thiscri-sis,butdeclinedtospeakofwritingoffdebts.Theyproceededcautiouslysoasnottodisrupttheinternationalfinancialsys-tem.Themostinfluentialrecoveryplan,introducedin1989bythen-U.S.TreasurySecretaryNicholasBrady,wasdesignedtoenablecreditorcountriesaccesstonewcommercialfinancing.TobeeligibleforsupportundertheBradyPlan,countrieswererequired to implement comprehensive adjustment programs.Commercial debt was then exchanged for bonds at marketrates. The plan reduced commercial debt by approximatelyfortypercent.

Inthewakeofthatcrisis,officiallenderssuchastheIMF,theWorldBank,and the InternationalDevelopmentAssociation(IDA)begantoplayamuchmoreprominentrole in lendingtothedevelopingworld.Theseinstitutionsofferedloansatin-terestratesmuchlowerthanthemarketrates,butloanswerecontingentuponstructuralreformandeconomicliberalizationofacountry’seconomy,asdictatedbytheseinstitutions.

Today,mostofthedebthasbeenincurredbypoorercoun-tries,overwhelminglyinsub-SaharanAfrica.Moreover,mostdebtisbilateralandmultilateral,meaningthatmostcountriesowe money to governments or official lending institutions,ratherthantocommercialbanks. Aftersomedebtrelief,de-velopingcountriestodayowetheseinstitutions,specificallytheWorldBank,theIMF,andtheIDA,approximatelyfiftybillionUSdollarsnetpresentvalues.Beforeanyformofdebtrelief

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wasgiven,thisnumberwasestimatedtobeUS$80billionnetpresent value. Almost all bilateral debt—that is, debt owedfromonecountrytoanother—hasbeencancelledorisintheprocessofbeingcancelledbycreditornations.

The Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative waslaunched in 199� to help the poorest countries achieve debtsustainability.TheInitiativewasinitiatedanddevelopedjoint-lybytheWorldBankandIMF,withthesupportofpowerfulcreditornations.Therearecurrentlythirty-eightHIPCs,thir-ty-twoofwhichareinsub-SaharanAfrica. Todate,accord-ingtostatisticsfromtheWorldBank,theHIPCInitiativehasprovided US $54.5 billion in debt relief (this includes bilat-eraldebt).MoneyfordebtreliefcomesnotdirectlyoutoftheWorldBankorIMF,butfromtheHIPCTrustFundthatwassetupbytheseinstitutions.TheHIPCTrustFundissupportedpartially by donations from creditor nations and partially bytheWorldBank.

TheHIPCInitiative isa farcry frompastdebtpolicy,andfromsolutionstothedebtcrisisinthe1980s.Thelatterinclud-ed,inadditiontotheabove-mentionedBradyPlan,theBakerPlanandtheBradleyPlan.Thesewereproposed,respectively,bythen-TreasurySecretaryJamesBakerin1985andbySena-torBillBradley(D-NJ)in1989.Theformercalledforincreasedlendingandeconomicreform,andthelatterattemptedtore-ducedebtthroughincreasedlendingandbyreducinginterestratesonloans.Whatissignificantaboutbothoftheseplansistheir emphasis on rescheduling debt and increasing lending,ratherthanactuallywritingoffdebt.TheHIPCInitiativeisasharpbreakfromthistradition—theWorldBankhada“long-standingoppositiontowritingoffmultilateraldebt”—andwasconsidered controversial when it was first proposed. HIPCcontinuestograduallyexpand:theoriginaldraftoftheInitia-tivein1995wassettowriteoffonlyelevenbilliondollars.

UndertheoriginalHIPCInitiative,andwhatremainsundereffectundertheenhancedInitiative,thereareseveral“stages”beforeacountryiseligibletoreceivefulldebtrelief.WhentheInitiativewasfirstlaunched,unsustainabledebtwasdefinedbyhavingadebt-exportratioofbetween200-250percent,andadebt-service-exportratioof20-25percent. AgainundertheoriginalInitiative,acountrymusthaveestablishedthreeyearsof “good performance” before it could be considered for aninitialroundofdebtrelief.Duringthisthreeyearperiod,thedebtwasrescheduledbutnotrelieved.Oncethecountryhadreachedthisfirst“decisionpoint,”acountrythenbecameeli-gibleforsupportundertheHIPCInitiative.EligibilityateachofthesestagesstillisdeterminedbytheIMFandWorldBankBoards.Afteranotherthreeyearperiodofrecordedgoodper-formanceunderIMFandWorldBank-supportedprograms,acountrycouldhavethenreacheditscompletionpoint,atwhichpointdeeperdebtrelief(thoughnotfullcancellation)wasgiv-en. Moreover, tobeeligible forHIPCdebt relief,acountrymuststillforgocommercialborrowing.

Underattackforbeingslow,inefficient,andtoodemanding,theIMFandWorldBank,supportedbytheG-8,launchedtheenhancedHIPCInitiativein1999.ThreemainobjectivesweresoughtinenhancingHIPC:“deeperandbroaderrelief,”“fasterrelief,”anda“strongerlinkbetweendebtreliefandpovertyre-duction.”TheenhancedHIPCInitiativedefinesunsustainabledebtmore leniently than itspredecessor. Debt is consideredunsustainablebytheIMFifdebt-to-exportratiosareabove150

percent,orifdebt-to-governmentrevenuesareabove250per-cent.Undertheenhancedinitiative,themainemphasisisonpovertyrelief. CountriesmustoutlineanddevelopaPovertyReductionStrategyPaper(PRSP).Moreover,thetimeperiodsbetweendecisionpointsaremoreflexible.Toreachitscomple-tion point, a country must “maintain macroeconomic stabil-ity…carryoutkeystructuralandsocialreformsasagreeduponatthedecisionpoint,andimplementaPRSPsatisfactorilyforoneyear.”Currently,twenty-sevencountriesarereceivingdebtreliefundertheprogram(meaningthattheyhavereachedtheirdecision points), and fifteen have reached their completionpoints.

AsofFebruary2005,theUnitedStateshaspledged$750mil-liontotheHIPCTrustFundsinceitsinception;$�00millionwaspromisedbytheClintonAdministration,and$150millionby theBushAdministration. TheUnitedStateshasnot cur-rentlypaidanyofitscontributionsince2002.AsaParisClubcreditor,theUnitedStatesisestimatedtooweanunpaid$1.5billiontopayfortheHIPCInitiative;thisislessthanitwillcostFrance,Germany,andJapan.TheUnitedStatesCongresshasappropriatedapproximately$79millionforbilateraldebtreliefandtheHIPCtrustfundinfiscalyear2005,andtheBushAd-ministrationhasrequestedalittleunder$100millionforfiscalyear200�. Thismarksasharpdeclineinfundingfromfiscalyears2000,2001,and2002,when$110million,$434million,and$224millionwasappropriated,respectively.

Evenaftertheenhancedinitiativetookeffect,therecontinuestobemuchdebatesurroundingtheHIPCInitiativeanditsim-plementation.Criticsclaimthatitisstillinefficient,ineffective,andunder-funded. Fundingfortheprogramdoesremainsaproblem. According to the IMF, the “resources in theHIPCTrustFundareexpectedtobefullyexhaustedbyend-Decem-ber2005.”TheIMFhasgrudginglysoldsomeofitsgoldre-servestopayfortheprogram.Whetherornotthisisaprudentpolicyremainsahighlycontroversialissue.

The Terms of the Debate: Linking Debt Relief with Poverty Reduction

Thediscourseondebthasdrasticallychangedsincethe1980sandearly’90s.Debtreliefistalkedaboutandunderstooddif-ferentlythanitwas lessthantwentyyearsago. Considertheofficialpositionof theUnitedStatesTreasuryasanexample.In1983,UnderSecretaryofStateKennethDam,respondingtorequestsforhelpfromdebtorcountries,stated,“Large,grow-ing,openmarketsarethemainhopeofthedevelopingcoun-triesfordealingwiththeirdebtburdensandgrowthproblems.”In1988,theWashingtonPostrananarticlethatquotedthen-TreasurySecretaryJamesBakerassaying“debtforgiveness isamirage,”andcalledforsupportforhisplan,whichaimedtoincreaselending. Incontrast,LawrenceH.Summers,Secre-taryoftheTreasuryundertheClintonadministration,calleddebtreliefa“globalmoralimperative.”Summers,ina2000ra-diointerviewonNPR,makeshisviewsondebtreliefperfectlyclear.Itisworthquotingatlength:

SUMMERS: There’s a basic principle here. We are the richest country that there has ever been. We made mistakes in the past of loaning money badly to countries that are desperately poor. Countries where a fifth of the popula-tion has AIDS; countries where the average spending per person on health care is less than five dollars; countries where a child born today is more likely to die before the age of five than to go to secondary school.

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REHM: I’m not questioning why the loans were made. But now, you have a situation where there seems to be some consensus on loan forgiveness.SUMMERS: Absolutely, Diane. That’s what I was getting to. These loans were mistakes.REHM: How?SUMMERS: To try to collect these loans from countries that are so desper-ately poor—REHM: Are you saying instead—SUMMERS: Is wrong as morality.

TheUnitedStatesTreasurynowhasanentirepageonitsweb-siteofFrequentlyAskedQuestionsdevotedsolelytoquestionspertainingtointernationaldebt.Oneofthesequestionsis:“Iamconcernedabouttheburdenofdebtsowedbytheworld’spoorest countries. What is being done to alleviate this situa-tion?”Fortheadministrationtomakedebtreliefafrequently-asked-question speaks volumes about the change of positiontheUnitedStatesgovernmentunderwent,aswellasaboutwhatthegovernmentconsidersimportantpublicinformation.As-sistantTreasurySecretaryRobNichols,inalettertotheNewYorkTimesinFebruaryof2005,respondedtoaneditorialbyensuringtheeditor(andreadership)thattheUnitedStatesandBritain“areworking together tofindcommonapproaches tobestassistpeopleinpoorcountries.”Nicholsgoesontoarguethatcancelingpoorcountries’debtsistherightpolicytopur-sue.ThisisacompletereversalofUSdebtpolicyinarelativelyshortperiodoftime.

Inthepastdecadeorso,astheTreasuryDepartmentexam-ple illustrates,debt reliefhasbeencast in increasinglymoralterms. Debt relief has become the premiere issue when dis-cussingdevelopmentingeneral.Inparticular,Jubilee2000,aglobaldebtreliefcampaignthatgarneredsignificantsupport,vigorouslysupportedcompleteforgivenessofalldebt.Head-quartered in Britain, Jubilee 2000 was based on a passage inthe Bible (chapter twenty-five of the book of Leviticus) thatproclaimstheeradicationofdebtandthe“HolyTimeofresto-rationofthejusteconomicorder.”Jubilee2000castdebtfor-givenessasessentialtoeasingglobalsuffering.Thecampaign,whichaimedatcompleteforgivenessbytheyear2000(andisnowcalledJubileeUSANetwork),wasthefirstmajorgrouptoemploy sensationalist,moralistic rhetoric, and it set the toneofthelargerdebateaboutdebt.Accordingtothecampaign,ifdebtwasforgivenandthesavedmoneyputtogooduse,“thelives of 19,000 children could be saved.” Campaigners alsoexplicitlylinkeddebtrelieftoslavery,andproclaimedthat“…itisourtasktoliberate[low-incomedebtorcountries]fromthechainsofdebt.” The importantchange that Jubilee2000 inpartinitiated,thathastakenplacejustinthelastdecade,isthelinkbetweendebtreliefandpovertyreduction.Thisconnec-tion has become increasingly explicit, as those pushing debtrelieffrequentlyquotestatisticsaboutmoneyspentondebtre-paymentsversusmoneyspentonhealthcareandeducationinthemost impoverished, indebtedcountries. Asoneeditorialnoted,“All thesechanges[indebtreliefpolicy]areexpensivebutsensibleinvestmentsintheworld’spoor.”Thisconnectionbetweenrelievingdebtandrelievingpovertyisstressedinal-mostallthecurrentdiscoursesurroundingdebtrelief.Itisim-portanttobearinmindthatpoliticiansabsolutelydidnothaveto pick up on the debt issue. Expert upon economic expertcouldhavebeensentoutbyvariousinstitutionstopaintJubilee2000asanout-of-touchChristiangroupwhoknewabsolutely

nothingabouttheintricatefunctioningoftheglobaleconomy.Yetitmustbeemphasizedthatpoliticiansengagedthemselvesin thedebt issue,withvirtuallynooutsidepressure, save Ju-bilee2000. Politicianschoose to ignorecertain internationaleconomicissuesallthetime—forexample,theWTOandtheIMFarecontentiouspoliticalissuesandpoliticianschoose,forthemostpart,nottoengageinawiderdebateabouttheirle-gitimacy(atleastexplicitlyandinpublic).Soitissignificant,then,thatinternationaldebtwasaddressedbecauseitwasnotinevitablethatthisissuewouldbepushedtotheforefrontofthelargerdebatesurroundingdevelopment.

Official Responses: The G-8

For the past decade, debt relief has been explicitly writtenintotheinternationalagendaandpromotedbytheG-8(earlier,G-7),particularlyincommuniquéspublishedaftereachofficialG-8summit.Priorto1997,however,thesummitsalsocalledfordebtrelief,albeitinlessboldandlessurgentlanguage.1997wasanimportantyearfortheinternationalfinancialsystem,asitsawthelargestcrisistodate—theEastAsianCrisis.Ibelievethattheincreaseinprominenceandmorallanguagepost-1997hasmuchtodowiththefearoftheinstabilityoftheinterna-tionalfinancialsystem.

Prior to1997,debthadnotyetbecomeapressing issue inpublicdiscourse.Thefurtherbackintime,thelessimportanttheissueofdebtisandthefurtherbackontheG-8’sagenda.Inaddition,thefurtherbackintime,thelessmoraldebtreliefisseen.Forexample,in1991,theG-7statesthattheproblemsfacedbyAfricangovernmentsareimportant,andthat“Prog-ressbyAfricangovernmentstowardssoundeconomicpolicies,democracyandaccountabilityisimprovingtheirprospectsforgrowth.Thisisbeinghelpedbyourcontinuedsupport,focusedonstimulatingdevelopmentoftheprivatesector,encouragingregionalintegration,providingconcessionalflowsandreduc-ingdebtburdens.” Here,debtreliefisimaginedintermsofrescheduling,itdoesnotmeancancelingdebt.Thisstatementdoesnotprovideaforumforadiscussiononthetopicofdebt,doesnotincludeanactiverolefortheG-7toplayinrelievingdebt,andseeksnoends—i.e.,theG-7isnotconcernedwithhowthemoneysavedwillbespent.Itiscleansedofanykindofmoralappeal,andispolitebutdistantandcoldabouttheG-7itselfgettinginvolved;theprivatesectorislefttoitself,forthemostpart.In1990,debtreliefisnotmentionedintheSummitcommuniqué. Rather, the G-7 speaks only of re-schedulingdebt.

Likewise,in1993,theG-7statesthatinordertohelpreducepoverty,theywould

pursue a comprehensive approach, covering not only aid but also trade, investment and debt strategy, and a differentiated approach, tailored to the needs and performances of each country at its particular stage of development and taking environmental aspects into account...We confirm the validity of the international debt strategy and invite the Paris Club to continue reviewing the question of debt relief for the poorest highly indebted countries, especially with regard to earlier reductions in the stock of debt on a case by case basis. We welcome the U.S. administration’s decision to join us in debt reduction for these countries.

This is passive and makes clear that while debt relief maybeseenasvalidtopursue,theG-7wouldnotactivelyseekit.Moreover,debtisseenassomethingthatthemarketneedsto

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solve. While there isaplace forgovernment intervention, itisinupholdingmarketauthority.Thereisnomentionofthepoorestpeople,onlythepoorestcountries.Thedistinctionisanimportantone:poorpeoplearerarelyconsideredculpablefortheirsituation;theyare,generally,victims.Poorcountries,however,mayhaveplayedaroleintheirimpoverishment.

Theencouragementofactionondebtreliefbeganatrendofsupportingfurtherdebtreliefthathasdramaticallybeenplayedupsincethe1999SummitinCologne. ItwasatthissummitthattheG-8agreedtoenhancetheHIPCInitiative.TheSum-mitcommuniquéforthatyearstates

We have decided to give a fresh boost to debt relief to developing countries. In recent years the international creditor community has introduced a number of debt relief measures for the poorest countries…Recent experience suggests that further efforts are needed to achieve a more enduring solution to the problem of unsustainable debt burdens. To this end we welcome the 1999 Köln Debt Initiative…The central objective of this initiative is to provide a greater focus on poverty reduction by releasing resources for investment in health, education, and social needs. In this context we also support good governance and sustainable development.

Atthe2004Summit,theG-8issuedanentiredocumentde-

votedtothe issueofdebtsustainability, inwhichtheG-8af-firms its commitment to the HIPC Initiative. In fact, everysinglesummitsince1997hasstressedtheneedfordebtrelief,and has couched it in moral language. These documents allemphasizethatmoneyspentondebtreliefshouldbespentonhealthcareandeducation.

The2005Summit’sthemes,pickedbyhostcountryBritain,are“climatechange”and“Africa.”Debtreliefismentionedfirstin discussing what the G-8 has already done for Africa. Ontheofficialsummitwebsite,SummitPlannersemphasistheG-8commitmenttotheHIPCInitiative,becausetheG-8believesthatdebtreliefwillallowthe“freeingupresourcesforspendingonpovertyreduction.”Clearly,therehasbeenadramaticshiftinthegoalssoughtandthelanguageusedinthecourseoflessthanadecade.Althoughnotasovertlymoralasotheraccountsofdebtrelief,theG-8’snewpositionsubtlyacknowledgesthefailureofthemarkettoproducefavorableoutcomesfordevel-opingcountries.

The Media: Two Kinds of Liberal BiasIncreasingly,themediahasalsocastthecasefordebtrelief

inmoralandethicalterms.Debtisreferredtoasa“cripplingburden”thatispreventingthe“poorestcountries”fromspend-ingmoneyonhealthcareandeducation.Ofcourse,debtcan-cellation,itisstressedbymostarticles,shouldbefor“countrieswhosegovernmentsarelikelytomakegooduseofthemoney.”Itismostlyacknowledgedthatdebtreliefbyitselfisnopana-cea,onlythefirststepinthedevelopmentprocess.

Many articles present debtor countries as innocent. Themostextremedebtreliefadvocates,amongthemJubilee2000,call debt “the new form of slavery.” However, most articlestakeamoremoderate,butnolessmoral,stance.Forexample,inanarticleinTheIndependent(London)“DebtReliefisFarTooImportantaChallengetoBeLefttotheBureaucrats,”theauthorassertsthatitwouldbewrongtopursuepolicies“thatpunishthenewdemocratsforthesinsofolddictators.”An-other recent article from The Economist claims that Nigeriameritsdebtrelief,andutilizesincrediblystrongmorallanguage

toargueforit.Thearticleclaimsthatit“seemsunfairthattheyshould have to repay the loans that foreigners were foolishenough tomake to them.” Continuing, thearticleproclaimsthatNigerianreformersneedhelp fromforeigncreditorsbe-cause they are noble souls, “fighting a lonely battle against arich,corrupt,andentrenchedpoliticalclass,bravingoccasion-aldeaththreatstotryandcleanuponeoftheworld’sfilthiestpolities.”Farfromspeakingabstractlyofeconomicreasonsforforgiveness,thearticleexplicitlylinksdebtrelieftohelpingthepoor:“Nigeriamayhavealotofoil,butithasalotofpeopletoo.”Peoplearementionedandportrayedasinnocent.Thisarticleutilizeshighlymorallanguage—ofjustice,dessert,andcharactertoarguethecasefordebtrelief.

Themediahasnotalwaysdepicteddebtinthisway.Instarkcontrast,a1988articledoesnotmentiontheword“poor” inanyform.Theneedfordebtreliefisseenasessentialforeco-nomicgrowth,andnothingelse:“reducingthe$420billiondebtand the interest payments had become a ‘matter of urgency’ifeconomicgrowthintheregionwastoresume.”Theneces-sarymoneyforhealthcareandeducation,mentionedsooftenadecade later, is absent: “financial experts saidmajordebtornations had been prompted to act…by deepening economiccrises…Latin America would make ‘serious and responsible’proposals,”notforpovertyreduction,butforprograms“tore-structure theregion’seconomiesand improve theclimate forbusiness.”

Likewise,manyarticlesfromthe1980sandearly1990sar-guethat it is themarketwhichshoulddecidewhatcountriesdeserve. The market is widely held as moral. Consider this1987NewYorkTimeseditorialwrittenbyabanker.Heclaimsthatthegovernmentis“apoorforumtosettledebtquestions.”Shouldthegovernmentbeallowedtointervene,heargues,theinternationalfinancialandbankingsystemwouldbe“severelyweakened.” It is “utterly necessary” for debtor countries toundergotheprocessofrestructuring. Itwouldbeamistake,economically,toletthegovernmentstepin.Indeed,“Thedam-agetoourentirefinancialsystemwouldbeincalculable.”Theeditorial ends with a forceful, anti-government, pro-marketargument virtually absent from later debates: “Let us put anendtopoliticalrhetoric that imaginesaquickfixtothedebtproblem.ThebestroleforGovernment[indealingwithdebtproblems]isinthebackground…Theprocess[ofdebtnegotia-tionandrestructuring]maytakeyears.Unfortunately,thereisnosimplerwayhome.”Thiseditorialisastonishinglydifferentfrom the one published in 2004. Although they are defend-ingdifferentsidesofthedebate,theimportantdifferenceisnotwhattheyaresaying,buthowtheyaresayingit. Theformeremployshighlymorallanguageandequatesrelievingdebtwithpoverty reduction. The latter sharply separates theeconomyfrombroader,ethicalquestionsandleavesthemarkettodecidewhatshouldbe.

InanotherarticleintheNewYorkTimesfrom1987,moralityismarkedlyabsent,andeconomicsisofferedupasexplanationandsolutiontoproblemsofdevelopingworlddebt.Theauthorcontendsthatthesolutiontothedebtcrisis“should”beobvi-ous:“Itistoeasethecash-flowstrainondebtorcountriesinacontextofrenewedeconomicdevelopmentandcontinuingsta-bilityinfinancialmarkets.”Thearticlecontinuesitseconomicanalysis by stating that bankers must see the debt crisis “forwhatitreallyis—along-termdilemmaofeconomicsolvency,

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notjustashort-termliquiditysqueeze.”Therearenoimpov-erishedpeople,orgovernmentsstrugglingtopayforhealthcareandeducation.Rather,thereisaneconomiccrisiswhichwar-rantsaneconomicanswer.Responsibility,guiltandinnocence,andrewardsandpunishmentsareabsentfromthisanalysis.

Incontrast, in themid-1990s thedebate surroundingdebtshiftedtoneandnolongerconsideringthemarketitselfamor-alizing force. Rather, it became the responsibility of actorsin the system—governments, institutions, etc—tocorrect themarket. Marketprocesses,contrarytowhatwasheldtrueinthemediainthe1980s,impoverishpeopleandareresponsibleforunfairoutcomes. Anexemplareditorial intheNewYorkTimes is illustrative of the debate over debt writ large. Theauthor opens with the highly charged claim that “one of thebiggest reasons thatverypoorcountriescan’tprovidedecenteducationandhealthcareisthattheyarestuckinthecycleofdebt…muchofitdatingtothe1970’s…Everyoneagreesthisisunjust.”Rightfromthebeginning,debtreliefisassociatedwithpovertyreductionandwithincreasedspendingoneducationandhealthcare.Theeditorialgoesontoexplainrecentpropos-alsputforwardbytheUnitedStatesandGreatBritain,main-tainingthattheG-8“shouldendorsethisplan.”Poorcountries,theeditorialargues,“deservemorehelp.”Clearly,thisedito-rialissaturatedwithethical,notjusteconomic,claims.Whatis not said—arguments about attracting more foreign capitalandeconomicdevelopmentasidefromhealthcareandeduca-tion—isjustasimportantaswhatismentioned.

Thiskindofmorallanguagehasbeeninwidespreadusesincearound199�,whentheoriginalHIPCInitiativewasproposedandwhentheEastAsianCrisisbrokeout. Anothereditorialfrom199�usesthismorallanguage,althoughitonlyonceex-plicitlylinksdebtreliefwithpovertyreduction.TheeditorialcommendsJacquesChiracfor“rightlyinsisting”thattheG-7meeting “grapple with the troubling problem of third-worlddebt…so high that [these countries] are shut out of interna-tionalcapitalmarketsandcannotclimboutfromunderrepay-mentburdens.”Closing,theeditorialremarks,“theemergencyishere…Debtrelieftiedtostringenteconomicreformisanideatheindustrializedpowersshouldenthusiasticallyembrace.”Inthiseditorial,thereisevidenceoftheshiftinrhetorictakingplace.Appealsaremadeonthebasisofimmediatesuffering—i.e.,thatgovernmentsarefacingan‘emergency,’and‘should’actbecausedebtors‘cannotclimboutfromunderrepaymentbur-dens,’—butnotyethasthemediaconnectedthisrelieftoreliefforidentifiablepeople.Itisassumed,butnotstatedoutright,thatthesedebtburdensarewrong;further,itisassumedthattheindustrializedcountrieshaveaduty,thoughnotanimpera-tive,toact.

A1999articleinTheEconomisttakesthenextstepthatthe199�editorialdidnot.Itillustratestheevermoreexplicitmor-al claims attached to debt relief. The author lauds PresidentClinton’scallforfurtherdebtrelief,butbelievesthat“debtreliefneedstogofasterandfurtherthanevenitsproponentsenvis-age.”Here,thedutyofdebtreliefisimperative.Itisnotjustthatcreditorsshouldrelievedebt,butthattheyneedto.Countriesthattrytorepaytheirdebtsonly“impoverishalreadydestitutepeople,andblighttheirhopesofeconomictake-off.”Real,tan-giblepeople,notcountries,arestifledandsuffering.Thusfar,the relief extended by creditors has been “too stingy”—“it isunfairtopoorcountriesthatjustfailtoqualify…moregener-

osity to the deserving—not…continuing to punish the poorforthesinsoftheirundeservingpastrulers.”Thelanguageoffairness,ofrewardsandpunishments,innocence,andrespon-sibilityisallpresentinthisarticle.Theauthorismakingacaseexplicitlyonmoralclaims.

Opponents: The Market is MoralThedebateoverdebtreliefisnotaltogetherone-sided.There

are many who oppose forgiving debt, elected politicians ex-cluded.Generally,opponentscitemoralhazardandbadgov-ernanceasobstaclestoensuringareductioninpoverty,whattheyhold(implicitlyandexplicitly)tobetheultimateendofdebtrelief.Opponentsoftenuseequallystrongmorallanguagetoarguetheircase.

Thereareseveraldifferenttacticstakentodisputetheeffec-tiveness of debt relief. An article in The Economist recentlymadethecasethatintryingtodotherightthing,politiciansonlyenduphurtingtheoverallwelfareoftheirowncountries.After laying out the argument that debt relief is financiallydetrimental—theWorldBankandtheIMFhave“givenwarn-ingthata100%writeoffwould‘imperil’thebank,‘impair’thefundand‘cripple’theADB[AfricanDevelopmentBank]”—thearticlegoeson tostate thaton topof that, richcountriesarealreadystrugglingwiththeirownbudgets.Thearticlegoesontoarguethatdebtreliefhas“noobviousconnectionwithdevel-opment;governmentsmightbetemptedtocutothersourcesofaidmoney;andairlinesarestruggling.Intheirrushtoredeemindebtednations,theEuropeansmaydamnsomeindebtedair-lines.”Here,businessiscastasinnocentandthenobleattemptsofrichnationstohelpindebtedcountriesareseenasfoolish.Itisbetter,thearticleimplies,toleavemoralityoutofthepicture,lestweunintentionallyharmtheeconomyintheprocess.Theeconomyistheonlymoralizingforcethatcanbetrusted.Thearticlesuggeststhatinterferingisfarworse,andwithfarwiderimplications,thanleavingwellenoughalone.

Anotherarticleaffirmsthatwhathasbeendoneintermsofdebtreliefhasbeena“bigbreakthrough,”butwarnsthat“thepressure for speed will give debt relief to countries with badeconomicpolicies.”Campaignershavedonewhattheyshoulddo,thearticlesuggests,andthatit“mightnowbetimetomakehastemoreslowly.”“Thecurrentvogueforspeedcouldcomeattheexpenseofgoodanti-povertypolicy.”Again,theimplicitmessageisthatpovertyreductionisacommendablegoal,butthatthemarketknowsbest.Tryingtooverridethemarketisfoolish,andwillonlyendupproducingoutcomesoppositeofthedesiredeffect.

Inthistypeofargumenttheburdenisplacedondebtorna-tions.TheHIPCInitiative,onearticleasserts,“aimstoreducethedebtsofthepoorestnationstoasustainablelevel,providedthey followgoodeconomics.” This typeofargumentantici-patesthananyfailureoftheInitiativeisthefaultofthedebtorcountries,notthemarket,thecreditors,ordesignflawsintheInitiativeitself.AnarticleintheLondonGuardian,“CountMeOut, Third World Debt Forgiveness Only Benefits Well-FedDictators Clambering into Private Jets,” exemplifies anothervariationof this typeofargument. This isperhaps themostwidely-used argument against debt relief: it is claimed thatdebtreliefdoesn’tactuallyhelpthepoorbecausetheirhorrible,corruptgovernmentswillonlysquanderthemoneyandabusetheirownpeople.

5�

Therearealso thosewhoattempt todiscredit richgovern-ments’motivationsinofferingdebtrelief.Theybelievethatof-fersofdebtreliefoftenseemmoregenerousthantheyactuallyare,becauserichnationsare just“facingreality” inrelievingdebt,forthemoneylentprobably(ordefinitely)won’teverbepaid back anyway, debt relief or not. Much of the money is“hopelesslyirretrievable;”and“muchofthatdebthasalreadybeenwrittendownonthegovernment’sledgerbooks,reflect-ingestimatesthattheUnitedStateswaslikelytorecoveronlypennies on the dollar.” Furthermore, the HIPC Initiative isnotasgenerousasitappears:itdoesn’tdonearlyasmuchasitseemsto.Rather,“show-stealingpoliticiansnaturallyliketotalkuptheimportanceofeachnewstepinwhathasbecomealengthydebt-reliefprocess.”Inthesearguments,themarketislessofasaviorandmoreofaninevitability.

Finally,therearethosewhodeclarethatitisunfairthatonlyHIPCsreceivedebtrelief. Why,theyask,shouldpoorcoun-trieswhohaveworkedhardtomaintainsustainabledebtnotberewarded?TheHIPCsdonotincludeallthepoorestcoun-tries, only the ones that are both poor and heavily indebted.Debtreliefis,ineffect,punishingthosecountrieswhichhaveworkedhardtokeeptheirdebtlevelssustainable.So,then,whyshouldUgandareceivedebtreliefbutnotBangladesh?CriticsoftheHIPCInitiativewhomaketheseclaimsarenotnecessar-ilyagainstdebtrelief.However,theybelievethatsomecoun-tries have been unfairly rewarded for poor behavior. Otherpoorcountries,moredeserving,areimplicitlypunishedbytheInitiative.Themarket,thoughnotnecessarilyprescribedasasolution,isseenasassessingthosecountrieswhichareworthyoftherewardofdebtrelief.

Thereisanimportantthemethatrunsthroughoutthedis-course.Goodgovernanceasessentialtopermanentlyresolv-ing debt issues is emphasized over and over again in officialdocumentsreleasedbycreditornationsandtheIMFandWorldBank. But what appears to be a debate about governance isactually an extension of the larger question of responsibility:whosefaultisitthatthesepoorcountriesareindebted?Theirown,themarket’s,orthecreditors’?Thewaythatgovernanceisdiscussedisrevealingofwhereacommentatorbelievesthisblamelies.

The Realpolitik of Debt Relief

Debt relief is, in part, a rare act of old-fashioned charity in an era when the world mantra is to sink or swim in open markets and trade. It’s also partly a recognition of the cold fact that most of the debt owed by nations like Mali, Bolivia, Ivory Coast and Mozambique is simply unrecoverable.

Howpoliticallyandeconomicallyriskyisdebtrelief?Isthisjust,assomecontend,merelyanofficialrecognitiononthepartofpoliticiansthattheirloansweren’tgoingtoberepaid?ItistruethatmuchoftheUnitedStates’bilateraldebthadalreadybeen guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury. Much of the moneyowedbydebtornationsmostlikelywasnotgoingtobepaidoff.Butthisdoesnotimplythatcreditorcountrieswereobligatedtoendthecharadeandrelievethedebt.

Butalthoughreliefhasbeenadvocatedandpubliclysupportbyalmostall,creditorcountrieshaveoftenfailedtoliveuptotheirpromises.Moreover,thereiscontentionbetweencoun-tries,specificallytheUnitedStatesandGreatBritain,overthe

motivationbehinddebtrelief,andwhatdebtreliefisactuallyfor.

The IMF, World Bank, and G-8 have made big promises.Are theydelivering? Before2000,only sevencountrieswereeligiblefordebtreliefundertheHIPCInitiative,andonlyonecountry (Uganda) had reached its completion point and waseligibleforfulldebtrelief.TheenhancedHIPCInitiativewasoriginally supposed to eliminate $100 billion in debt; clearlytherevisedfigures,whichputreliefatcloserto$55billion,re-flectdiminishedexpectations.Thefiguresarereducedpartiallybecauseitisstillacontentiousissuewherethemoneytopayfordebtreliefisgoingtocomefrom.Asmentioned,notonlyistheHIPCTrustFundsettobeemptybytheendofcalendaryear2005,buttheG-8continuestobetornoverwhetherornottosellIMFgoldreservestofinancetheplan(seefootnotei).TheUnitedStatesremainsopposedtothesaleofthegold,althoughthisoppositionisrelativelyrecent.USTreasurySecretaryJohnSnowwasrecentlyquotedassaying“wearenotpersuadedbyargumentsforIMFdebtrelief,andwedonotbelievemarketor‘offmarket’goldsalesarenecessaryorwarranted.”In2000,Congresshadagreed,attherequestofPresidentClinton,to“au-thorizeU.S.supportfortheIMFtodrawonresourcesfortheFundandtoextenddebtreliefunderHIPCterms.”SupportforsellinggoldhaserodedundertheBushadministration,andspendingontheHIPCInitiativehasdropped.Whatappearstobeagenerousfirsttermwas,infact,thecarry-overfromaplanapprovedundertheClintonAdministration.Meanwhile,Brit-ain,ledbyGordonBrown,supportsthesaleofgold.Recently,Browngaveaspeechinwhichheencouraged:

We do this alone today, but we urge you to use your moral authority to urge other countries to follow suit so that poor countries can look forward to a future free from the shackles of debt…Because we cannot bury the hopes of half of humanity in the lifeless vaults of gold, the cancellation of debt owed to the I.M.F. should be paid for by the better use of IMF gold.

InAprilof2005,theG-8couldnotreachacompromiseonadealtoforgivefortybilliondollarsowedbytheHIPCs.TheUnitedStateswantstheWorldBankandtheAfricanDevelop-mentBanktofinancetherelieffromtheirreserves.Thismeansthat these institutions would have to personally and perma-nentlywriteoffthedebtoutoftheirfunds,whiletheEuropeanswishforthemoneytoeventuallybereplaced.Writingoffthedebtoutof theirreserveswouldmost likelybeablowto theWorldBank,politicallyifnoteconomically.AsTheEconomistput it, the failure on the part of the G-8 to reach a compro-misewas“the latestmove intheexasperatingcharadethat isthedebt-reliefdebate.”

Canadahasrecentlyproposedanalternativeplanthatchal-lengestheG-7tofund100%relief—themostradicalplanpro-posed—anddoesnotincludethesellingofIMFgoldtofinancetherelief.CanadianfinanceministerRalphGoodalerecentlycommentedthatCanada’snewproposal“iscashonthedash;it’smoneyonthebarrelhead.Weputourmoneywhereourmouthisandwe’repreparedtomoveandwecallonallothercountriestobepreparedtodothesame.”Thisstatementunderscoresthesenseofpubliccompetitivenessbetween theAnglocountriesonthedebtissue,andcanbereadasadirectchallengetotheUnitedStates.Althoughinpracticedebtreliefisatanimpasseduetofundingproblems,Britain,theUnitedStates,andnowCanadaallappeartobecompetingwitheachotherinashow

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ofconstantone-upmanshiptobeseenas“moregenerousthanthou.”SodespitethattheG-8allseemtoconceptuallyagreethatdebtreliefisaworthypursuit,logisticalproblemsrepeat-edlyhinderitsimplementation.

Bringing Morality Back InItwouldbeeasy todismiss thepoliticalpopularityofdebt

reliefasaconvenientwayforrichcountriestoacknowledgetheextremepovertyoftheHIPCs,andtoactpassivelywithoutget-tinginvolvedinanysticky,on-the-groundreformswhereques-tionsofsovereigntyareboundtoarise.Afterall,muchofthedebtofpoorcountrieshasalreadybeenwrittenoff;therewerenorealexpectationsthatmostofthedebtwouldbepaidback.Therefore,debtreliefissimplyawayofmakingpoliticianslookgood.Yetthisexplanationcannotaccountfortheuseofmorallanguage.Surely,ifdebtreliefwasonlyaboutpoliticalpostur-ing,politicianscouldjustaseasilystatethatdebtforgivenessisnecessaryforahealthyglobaleconomy.Moreover,thisexpla-nationcannotilluminatewhydebtreliefwaspickedupon,ver-susawholehostofother,equallypressing,international(andnational)issues.

Instead, by applying the revised Best argument, the hugepopularityofdebtreliefmakessense:moralityexplainsaway(at leastavoids)problems in themarket,andallows,withoutharming the integrity of the market, for it to not functionproperly. Debt relief is a way of bringing larger questions ofmoralitybackintodiscussionsaboutthemarket. Politicianswhodiscussdebtreliefnegotiatethefailingsofthemarketwiththefactthatitdominatesandorganizessociallife.Politiciansmustmakethisnegotiation,however,onlybecausesocietyasawholehasacceptedthelegitimacyofsuchamarket,butfailtounderstandwhythemarketdoesnotliveuptoitspromisestoraiseallboatswiththerisingtide.

Thosewhoopposedebtreliefdosoinpractice,andnot intheory. Forthem,moralityisstill inthepicture,butit isthemarketwhichismoral. Thisiswhythereissuchalargeem-phasis insomuchofthe literatureongovernance. Themar-ketmakesthedecisionaboutwhenacountryisorisnotreadytobeforgiven.InthewordsofBest,thepersonwhoopposesdebtreliefinpractice“workstosavetheauthorityofthemar-ket fromitsownfailingsbycreatingasetof institutions thatinternalizesthemarket’sowndisciplinarylogic.Marketdisci-plinebecomesaformofmoraldiscipline,whileinternationalfinancial institutionsarereinventedasmoralarbitersofrightandwrongeconomicaction.”ThosethatseetheinterventionoftheIMFandWorldBankonthedebtissueasanaberrationbelievepreciselythis.

Itisinthiscontextthatpoliticiansandactiviststalkofforgiv-ingdebt,notjustrelievingorcancelingit.Thereisalargeliter-atureontheethicsofforgiveness;onwhatpreciselyforgivenessis,whenitisappropriate,andwhetheritisaduty. Incorpo-ratingforgivenessintodebtreliefimmediatelyraisesallkindsofethically-chargedquestionsthatdonot factor intoconsid-erationwhentalkingsimplyofeconomicrelief—questionsofintegrity,guiltandinnocence,freedom,duty,andobligation.

The World Bank, the IMF, and many creditor nations aretryingtoshiftasubstantialshareoftheresponsibilityforpoorcountries’debtburdensawayfromthemarketandfromthem-selves.Asaresult,thereisalargeemphasisongovernancebytheseinstitutionsandinthelargerdebate.Byavoidingplacing

responsibilityonthemarketandtheirownbadlendingprac-tices,richgovernmentshaveaninterestincontinuingtopro-mote the market’s legitimacy. Although governance is abso-lutelyanimportantfactorindeterminingeconomicoutcomes,afocusongovernancetakesblameawayfromthemarketandcreditornations,thuspreservingtheintegrityofboth.Thisal-lowscreditorstorefusetoactuallyaddresslargerstructuralis-sueswiththeinternationalfinancialsystem.Questionsoffreetrade,largeindustrialsubsidies,andcontinuedfoolishandir-rationallendingpracticescanbeavoided;thatcountriescon-tinuetobepoortheoreticallyisnotthefaultofthemarket,northefaultofthecreditornationsandtheirquestionablepracticesthatcountriesarepoor.Likewisewiththeemphasisongover-nance.Aslongascreditorcountriescomealongandactivelyworktocorrect,orbalance,theseinequalitieswiththeirownethically-drivenaction,alliswell.

Conclusions

Morality, according to philosophers, is a distinctly socialphenomenon; it “is irreducibly social…the concept of ‘duty’is‘straightforwardlyintelligibleonlyincommunallife.’”Ac-cording to Nielson, morality attempts “to harmonize variousinterestsinsuchawaythattherewillbenomoresufferingthanisabsolutelynecessaryfortheretobesociallife.”Politicians,economists,columnistswhoinvokemorallanguage,nomatterwhich side of the debate they are on, are attempting to har-monizetheirowninterests inthedefenseof themarketwiththeinterestsofthedevelopingworld.Withoutsociety—inthecaseofsovereignexternaldebt,ahumansociety—therewouldbe no duty. But without morality, living together in societywould be impossible; interests would never correspond andtherewouldbenowaytoknowwhichinterestshouldbegivenpreference. “The characteristic functions of moral discourseare to guide conduct and alter behavior so as to achieve theharmonious satisfaction of as many independent desires andwantsaspossible.”ThediscourseondebtisfunctioningjustasNielsonstatesthatmoraldiscoursedoes.Itsmoralcomponentguides conduct and seeks to alter the behavior of all partiesinvolved—lendersanddebtors—inways that the languageofeconomicscannot. Notonlydoesbringinginmoralitymakethegoalsofcreditorslaudable,butitmakesitappearthatthegoalsofcreditorsandborrowersaresynchronized.Integratingmoraldiscoursewiththedebtdebateallowscreditorcountriestoaccomplishtwothings—relievesomeofthedebtburdenonimpoverished countries and convince the world (and them-selves) that themarket is themostdesirableway toorganizesocial life. Creditor countries are only able to reconcile themarketwithsocietybyemployingmoral language,nomatterwhat is made moral. Economic language falls short becausemerenumberscannotconvinceallparticipantsinthemarketsystemof taking synchronous route. Whetherpurposiveornot,asignificantoutcomeofemployingmoralityinthedebateaboutdebtoreconomicsisthatlargerstructuralproblemsthatperpetuateinequalitiesintheinternationalfinancialsystemareoverlooked.Althoughitwouldbeconspiratorialtoclaimthattheuseofmorallanguageisdeliberatetoavoidtheseproblems,theimperfecteconomicstatusquoisneverthelessupheldwiththehelpofmoraldiscourseandmadetolooksufficientinitstreatmentofallpartiesinvolved.Thepointofsubtleironyintheuseofmoral languagefordebtrelief isan importantone

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tomake:thoughitgivestheappearanceoflesseningfinancialstrains within the system, the moral emphasis on debt reliefmay side-step the importance of structural improvementswithinthemarket,whichwillonlyleadtofurther,andpoten-tiallydeeper,crises.

“DitheringonDebt,”TheEconomist,April23rd,2005.“ThirdWorldDrugAidFailing:Critics.”TheTorontoSun.May

2,2005;Foley,Stephen.“GlaxoTellsBlairtoPressG8forPat-ents Reform.” The Independent (London). November 29,2004; Beattie, Alan. “G8 seeks to inject incentive into searchfornewvaccines:richcountriesplananadvancepurchasefundtoencouragethebiotechindustrytofindanti-Aidsandmalariadrugs.”TheLondonFinancialTimes.March3,2005.

Best,Jacqueline.“MoralizingFinance:TheNewFinancialArchi-tectureasEthicalDiscourse.”ReviewofInternationalPoliticalEconomy,Volume10,Issue3.August,2003:�00.

Ibid.,581.See,forexample,Schatz,Sayre.“TheWorldBank’sFundamental

MisconceptioninAfrica.”TheJournalofModernAfricanStud-ies,Vol.34,No.2.199�,p.239-247;Crisp,Brian,andMichaelKelly.“TheSocioeconomicImpactsofStructuralAdjustment.”InternationalStudiesQuarterly,Vol.43:1999,533-552;Collier,PaulandJanGunning. “TheIMF’sRoleinStructuralAdjust-ment.”TheEconomicJournal,vol.109:November1999,�34-�51;Summers,LawrenceandLantPritchett. “TheStructural-AdjustmentDebate.”TheAmericanEconomicReview,Vol.83,No.2:May1993,p.383-389.

Nielson, Kai. “The Functions of Moral Discourse.” The Philo-sophicalQuarterly.Vol.7,No.28,July1957,237.http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0031-8094%28195707%297%3A28%3C23�%3ATFOMD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M

Rieffel,Lex.RestructuringSovereignDebt:TheCaseforAdHocMachinery. Washington D.C.: The Brookings Institute Press,2003,153-154.

Rieffel,150-151.Dugger,Celia.“DealtoEasePoorNations’DebtEludesRichNa-

tions.”April17,2005.TheNewYorkTimes.HIPCDebtInitiativeforHeavilyIndebtedPoorCountries.An-

nualMeetings2004.Onlineathttp://siteresources.worldbank.org/NEWS/Resources/HIPC_glance.pdf.

“HeavilyIndebtedPoorCountriesInitiative—StatisticalUpdate.”International Development Association and InternationalMonetaryFund,27. Onlineathttp://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTDEBTDEPT/ProgressReports/2044��9�/HIPCStatUp-date200504042.pdf

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXT-DEBTDEPT/

Holman,Michael.“WorldBankplansDollars11bnfundforpoor-estnations:schemeaimstoeaseburdenofdollars1�0bnexter-naldebt.”TheFinancialTimes(London),September14,1995.

Boote,AnthonyandKamauThugge.DebtReliefforLow-IncomeCountries:TheHIPCInitiative.Washington,D.C.:Interna-tionalMonetaryFund,1997,10.

Boote,AnthonyandKamauThugge.DebtReliefforLow-IncomeCountries:TheHIPCInitiative.Washington,D.C.:Interna-tionalMonetaryFund,1997.

Rieffel,187.

1]2]

3]

4]5]

�]

7]

8]9]

10]

11]

12]

13]

14]

15]

1�]

HIPC Background, http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTER-NAL/TOPICS/EXTDEBTDEPT/

HIPCHistory:StepsoftheHIPCInitiative.Online,http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTDEBTD-EPT/

Ibid.“HeavilyIndebtedPoorCountriesInitiative—StatisticalUpdate,”

22.Ibid.,23. http://www.treas.gov/offices/international-affairs/intl/fy200�/

tab13_hipc_%20initiative.pdfformorestatisticsaswell“HeavilyIndebtedPoorCountriesInitiative—StatisticalUpdate,”

5. Lewis, Paul. “Third World Gets Impatient in its Long Wait for

Recovery.”TheNewYorkTimes.July10,1983.Rowan,Hobart.“‘DebtRelief ’GainsSupport,”WashingtonPost,

march�,1988.Burgess,John.“RichNationsWarmtoIdeaofDebtRelief;Rallyto

UrgeExpansionof$29BillionProgram,”TheWashingtonPost,April8,2000.

TranscriptofaradiointerviewonTheDianeRehmShow,October10,2000WAMU-FMWashington,D.C.

http://www.treas.gov/education/faq/international/hipc.shtmlRobNichols,“PoorCountries’Debt”NewYorkTimes,February

18,2005.Dent,MartinandBillPeters.TheCrisisofPovertyandDebtinthe

ThirdWorld.GreatBritain:Ashgate,1999,1�. “Why Drop the Debt?” Jubilee USA Network, Online at http://

www.jubileeusa.org/jubilee.cgi?path=/learn_more&page=why_drop_the_debt.html(2001).

Ibid.,39.“PoorNationsandtheDebtTrap,”TheNewYorkTimes,April30,

1999.Summitcommuniquésforthepasttwenty-fiveyearsareavailable

athttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/summit/index.htm G7 Summit: London, July 15-17, 1991. Online at http://www.

g8.utoronto.ca/summit/1991london/communique/develope.html

G7 Summit: Tokyo, July �-9, 1993. Online at http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/summit/1993tokyo/communique/develope.html

G8CommuniquéKöln1999.Onlineathttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/summit/1999koln/finalcom.htm

G8Gleneagles2005:PolicyIssues,Africa.Onlineathttp://www.g8.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1094235520151

“EasingtheScar.”TheEconomist,March12,2005.“PoorNationsDrowninginDebt,”NewStraightsTimes(Malay-

sia),May22,1999.“DebtReliefisFarTooUrgentaChallengetoBeLefttotheBu-

reaucrats”TheIndependent(London),July22,2000.“NoLongerUnforgivable”TheEconomist,March17,2005.Riding,Alan. “LatinAmericanPlea forDebtRelief.” TheNew

YorkTimes.December13,1988. Beim, David. “Must We Torpedo Our Banks?” The New York

Times,May4,1987.Cohen,Benjamin.“ThirdWorldDebt(Cont’d.)”TheNewYork

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2004.“DebtCrisisintheThirdWorld.”TheNewYorkTimes,June28,

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“Countmeout;ThirdWorldDebtForgivenessOnlyBenefitsWell-fedDictatorsClamberingintoPrivateJets,”TheGuardian,May15,1998.

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UrgeExpansionof$29BillionProgram,”TheWashingtonPost,April8,2000.

Jubilee USA Network Press Release, “G-7 Delays Despite Ur-gent Need for Full Multilateral Debt Cancellation.” 1� April2005. http://www.jubileeusa.org/jubilee.cgi?path=/press_room&page=statement41�.html

Report on The International Debt Forgiveness and InternationalFinancialInstitutionsReformActof2000,September28,2000,2.

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Dugger,Celia.“DealtoEasePoorNations’DebtEludesRichNa-tions.” TheNewYorkTimes. April17,2005. SeealsoBalls,AndrewandSchehrazadeDaneshkhu,“G7NationsFindSomeCommonGroundonDebtReliefforAfrica,”LondonFinancialTimes.April18,2005.

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Nielson,239;italicsinoriginal.ToulminquotedinNielson,239.Nielson,240.

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