The Trend toward global organizations telling us what to do
First it was a proposal submitted to the United Nations about taxing Internet usage and now it is the IMF informing us we should add a $1.40 tax to a gallon of gasoline to help the environment. The IMF and the United Nations are great organizations for what they do but when it comes to trying to impose their philosophy on us or any country it is a decision that is not their responsibility. Decisions made by country about their internal affairs are each countries responsibility. The proposal that the United States should add a dollar figure to the price we pay for gas in no way impacts the global economy.
There seems to be a growing trend by other countries in the world to attempt to influence the economies of others. It is true we are more of a global economy than ever and the fact that some countries provide economic support for businesses has never been challenged or addressed by the IMF or the United Nations. This kind of activity impacts the products and services of other countries which do not provide such support.
The role of the IMF is to monitor the international monetary system and financial and economic policies of its members. Whether the proposal to have our country add additional taxes on the price we pay for a gallon of gas I believe does not fall within the responsibilities of the organization. The IMF does a great job within it responsibilities but directing our country or any country to add costs to any product whether it be the price of gas or other products is not part of their responsibilities. The price we pay for products is to a large extent based on the concept of supply and demand. The more a product is in demand the prices will be higher if the available products is falling behind the demand for it.
Granted there are some examples where prices seem to be higher or vary from day to day with no apparent justification for the change. This can sometimes be seen in the price we pay for gas. It is not up to the international community to direct or even suggest what prices we pay for products and services. It appears in this instance that they want our prices to be more comparable to the price they pay for a product which in this case amounts to the price of a gallon of gas.
Arbitrarily raising the price of a gallon of gas which the IMF is suggesting would hurt our economy. Monitoring the financial and economic policies along with the monetary system is just that it is a monitoring organization which has no real authority to direct or impose action on its members. Many organizations monitor events around the world but they have no authority to require changes to be made. It is true that the financial situation in many countries have required the IMF to provide some funds to support the needs of individual countries. In this kind of situation the IMF can require some changes and/or agreements to be made before funding will be provided.
Organizations which monitor actions in our country and the world usually have no authority to make changes to affect the data collected and the path which or should be taken concerning the data collected. We have become a society of monitoring organizations in this country and around the world. Collecting data is fine but many organizations must remember they are a monitoring organization and not an enforcing organization. The true test of collecting or monitoring operations of any entity lies in the integrity of the data being collected and the conclusion reached. While some organizations have a goal up front and we as individuals know who they are others take their purpose seriously. Great organizations collect data which help various entities make decisions which must be made but the accuracy and reliability of data must be verified. Bad decisions can be made from bad data.
