It should not be about compensating losers but about distributing better the dividends of globalization.

Sir, Danny Leipziger and Michael Spence the vice chairman and chairman of the Commission of Growth and Development in their “Globalization’s losers need support” May 15, by talking about the need for protecting losers are, whether they know it or not, sending a quite wrong and negative message about globalization. A more constructive way to phrase the issue would be along the lines of “We have to make sure that the immense dividends from globalization are adequately distributed” Let us be honest, it must be clear by now that some beneficiaries are just getting more than their fair share.

If for instance a Mr Carlos Slim of Mexico is able according to Forbes to turn himself into the worlds second richest persons with a wealth of $53bn by controlling the Mexican telecommunication industry, it should be perfectly clear that this has nothing to do with globalization and all to do with bad regulators.

In this respect we only wish that Mr Leipziger and Mr Spence would give more attention to the obvious needs of scaling up global antitrust legislations and of finding ways of how to assure that the many monopolies that are created through assigning and defending the intellectual property right are reasonably exploited, instead of thinking about compensating handouts. That Bill Gates gives back is commendable, but that cannot be the basis for a government policy, when every citizen should have the right to earn his own keep, even if only employed as an unemployed.

Bank needs products

eSir, your “Bank seeks customers”, April 4, in which you describe the headaches of someone who is losing a valuable market niche, in this case the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as its clients have grown richer and don’t need it anymore, reminds us about a not so well known flip side to that saying that a bank only lends you the umbrella when the sun shines and asks it back when it rains. Your title might not be entirely correct since the customers are still there and so what they really have to seek are new products. No interest income? Go for fees! In questions about the environment and energy there is much need for some really independent and neutral advice, as the world might be wasting its last chances of fixing its climate change problems by falling for some well marketed but inefficient hybrid solutions. And in terms of the increasing global migration, why does not ADB develop a temporary worker program that meets everyone’s expectations and needs, then patent it, and charge for its use.