"In a recent TV discussion, Hossam el-Hamalawy, the prominent Egyptian leftist blogger, was asked: "So you're the president of Egypt. You wake up, what's the first thing you're going to do to reorient the economy?" Hamalawy's answer was admirably concrete: raise the minimum wage to 1,200 Egyptian pounds ($198) per month, set a wage ceiling of 15,000 pounds ($2,480), renationalise the corruptly privatised factories, cut military spending and redirect those funds to health and education.
That a Marxist should suggest such steps is not surprising, but in Egypt they have now entered the mainstream. Neoliberal economic policies were thoroughly tried under the Mubarak regime, and demonstrably failed. In 2008 the World Bank named Egypt as its "top reformer". Mubarak's adherence to the Washington Consensus strategies, however, delivered prosperity only for the already affluent elite. Meanwhile, the quality of life for the rest of the country deteriorated. This has not been lost on Egyptians." (thanks Seham)
That a Marxist should suggest such steps is not surprising, but in Egypt they have now entered the mainstream. Neoliberal economic policies were thoroughly tried under the Mubarak regime, and demonstrably failed. In 2008 the World Bank named Egypt as its "top reformer". Mubarak's adherence to the Washington Consensus strategies, however, delivered prosperity only for the already affluent elite. Meanwhile, the quality of life for the rest of the country deteriorated. This has not been lost on Egyptians." (thanks Seham)
