Thinking beyond immediate needs, what can developed nations do to help Haiti get back on its feet? Perhaps a Marshall Plan is in order? Or perhaps not, says Steve Forbes.
A Marshall Plan is a nonstarter. After World War II the U.S. pumped the equivalent of hundreds of billions in today’s dollars into war-shattered Europe, and the continent came back to life. But Europe was an economic powerhouse before the war and had the cultural traditions and institutions to make a quick comeback possible. Haiti, sadly, has none of those.
Its the institutions, stupid:
After all, tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants to the U.S. have done very well. It’s not a lack of entrepreneurial energy that has plagued this nation but the lack of an environment allowing those energies to be channeled productively.
Published Date: February 18, 2010