
[HERI Report No. 20] Reconstructing the National Finances: Shifting the Focus on ‘Balance’ to 'Health'
조회수 420651 2011.11.03 09:52:35How should the
budget structures and financial strategies be shaped to achieve sustainable development,
whose goal is to balance the economic, environmental and social development?
This question has been one of the major topics for public debate. The most
discussed solution is to arrange better welfare services and increase the
government funding for them. However, much homework still needs to be done
since it does not incorporate economic growth and environmental preservation
into the equation. Limits - Growth as Panacea Roh Moo-hyun
administration once published ‘Vision 2030’, a report on the estimated cost of
creating a better world in 2006. According to this report, increasing the level
of welfare services up to the OECD average would require more than one
quadrillion won in addition to the current budget. This naturally led to a
heated political controversy. Unfortunately, politicians turned ignorant toward
the report and no further discussions took place, such as on methods of procuring
necessary resources such as tax increases or the issuance of national bonds. The Sustainable
Development Commission under the Roh administration has expressed its concerns
that this report focused only on the balancing of economic and social
development without considering the environment and related policies. The
report was a mere confirmation of the high cost of achieving balanced
sustainable development. Regardless, the debate boils down to one question:
Should we modify the initial goals, or instead find ways to get the resources? Evidences have
proven that the society cannot continue believing that economic growth is the
solution to everything. For example, Korean national income has been on the
rise while social polarization has been worsened. Studies show that the average
quality of life in South Korea hovers around the 27th place among 39 OECD
countries. People are directly affected by the environmental crises that
economic growth cannot solve - the massive earthquake, tsunami, and resulting
Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster that occurred in neighboring Japan demonstrated
human helplessness in facing the tremendous power of nature. Stock markets
plummeted around the world while the market and petroleum prices skyrocketed in
the wake of the 2008 financial crisis that started in the United States. The
long-lasting financial crises in the United States and Europe have jeopardized
people’s belief in economic growth. As a result, even
the current South Korean government who self-professes as
"business-friendly administration” has been under the pressure of
promoting shared growth and common prosperity. In his last Independence Day
address, President Lee Myung-bak presented a new goal of governance:
Eco-systemic Development. Critics claim that the address presented the people’s
dire demand for mutual prosperity and the pressure of satisfying the demand
that the government feels. Lee has been emphasizing the implementation of
social responsibilities for corporations, especially the responsibility to
contribute in the achievement of Eco-systemic Development. In response,
corporations have been trying to analyze the meaning of Eco-systematic
development and come up with initiatives. What roles should the government and
citizens play in achieving Ecosystemic Development? Here, the question of money
rears its head again.