KEN’S CORNER: What’s the World Bank & the International Monetary Fund’s Function & Goal

KEN’S CORNER: What’s the World Bank & the International Monetary Fund’s Function & Goal

Commentary by TLB Contributing Writer: Ken LaRive

Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are products of the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1945, around the same time the United Nations was created. The Bretton Woods Agreement’s primary purpose was to raise and distribute funds for the objective of reconstructing war-torn Europe, and both organizations, The World Bank and the International Monetary fund were created for that purpose. Though they are thought to have the same objective, each serve a different function. The following is an explanation of the two.

At its inception, The World Bank was created as a financial institution. Its objective was to provide both financial and technical assistance to developing nations to build infrastructure such as bridges, roads, and social structures such as schools. The loans of The World Bank was meant to reduce poverty in these nations, and to help bring them up to speed with the 20th century, but also to help rebuild. This duality is found in World Bank’s two sub-institutions: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association. Its first loan was granted to France for $250 Million, to rebuild infrastructure, but through the years it has morphed in both duty, scope, size and purpose.

Today the World Bank directs both its focus and formidable assets toward what they call ”Millennium Development Goals” by lending to what they refer to as “middle income nations” with fairly low interest rates. The World Bank refers to five key factors necessary for primary economic growth and a viable business environment. 1. strengthen government and educate government officials, 2. create a specific infrastructure, 3. develop specific financial systems, 4. fight corruption, 5. instill a viable environment for research, consulting, and training programs.

As the purpose of the World Bank is to provide financial assistance by grants and loans, the former comes in two categories: investment loans and developmental policy loans. These Investment loans are meant to support specific economic and social development projects and developmental policy loans are created to provide rapid disbursing of needed funding to support specific policy and institutional reforms. Grants are issued to promote and enact specific development programs for debt relief, improving sanitation and water supply infrastructure, health issues like combating HIV/AIDS and tropical social diseases, supporting help for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and the so called “controversial” issue of instigating specific civil society organizations, government establishments and institutions.

According to Unisil.org:

“The International Monetary Fund is an institution that oversees the global financial system by following macroeconomic policies of its member countries in regards to topics such as exchange rates and the balance of payments. The International Monetary fund was created in order to stabilize foreign exchange rates and facilitates developments. Like the World Bank, it also offers financial and technical assistance to its members; however the International Monetary Fund is a lender of last resort. The International Monetary Fund’s main goals are to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment, sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty. To be a member of the International Monetary Fund there are several terms that the member states adhere to such as membership fees and voting rights. The International Monetary Fund will also advise and make recommendations to member countries to improve their economies. During this economic climate, the International Monetary Fund is being called upon more and more for Financial Assistance.”

Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are financial institutions. Both are autonomous and transcend borders, with noted differences. World Bank is mostly associated with loans and grants while the International Monetary Fund is the epicenter of the global monetary system.

According to the UNDP web site:

What are the Millennium Development Goals?

Adopted by world leaders in the year 2000 and set to be achieved by 2015, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide concrete, numerical benchmarks for tackling extreme poverty in its many dimensions.

The MDGs also provide a framework for the entire international community to work together towards a common end – making sure that human development reaches everyone, everywhere. If these goals are achieved, world poverty will be cut by half, tens of millions of lives will be saved, and billions more people will have the opportunity to benefit from the global economy.

The eight MDGs break down into 21 quantifiable targets that are measured by 60 indicators.

• Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

• Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

• Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

• Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

• Goal 5: Improve maternal health

• Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

• Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

• Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly (without reference to a Main Committee (A/55/L.2) 55/2. United Nations Millennium Declaration – The General Assembly Adopts the following Declaration: United Nations Millennium Declaration can be found here.

Author’s note: The above link is two pages of both brave and just goals that all Americans should read. As we are led to believe by our media, it will promote a OWO, where both sovereignty and liberty will be abolished. What I read here is just the opposite, though admittedly its achievement will be most difficult in a world of corruption, lust for dominative power, and selfish endeavors without thought for environment or the welfare of future generations. I see the propositional accountability for one and all under international law, which would make unconstitutional US imperialism by preemptive wars illegal under UN charter, the definition of terrorism to encompass both the US and Israel, and accountability for all under the standard of an international court. If there is a WW3, it seems evident that the US would be warring against the majority of UN States, and though I am not an international lawyer, it seems plain that the high-minded standards that are the bases of this declaration is not accepted by the powers who now dominate and control our country.

Education comes with a price. It is called responsibility. Do your homework. Be a skeptic, and doubt everything until proven true. Knowing that we do not have a free press is a step in the right direction… From that moment on, you are responsible for finding truth… and if you have a moral standard, justice.

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