Word: backdoors
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...largely rural entrepreneurs were stalled, and officials sought to reassert authority. In this "great reversal," Beijing's Xiushui Market, a thriving shopping area popular with tourists, was effectively expropriated by the city. The entrepreneurial founder of Kelon, China's most successful refrigerator maker, had his company seized in a backdoor takeover by local officials who then ran it into the ground. Land grabs by officials intent on real estate development soared. Rural credit cooperatives backed away from entrepreneurial finance and morphed into "policy pawns and cashiers of local government." The government abandoned attempts to develop village-level democracy and instead...
Lindsey, meanwhile, argues that property taxes are a "backdoor tax." "I believe local officials should go to your front door to tell you they need to raise taxes," he says. "There are times when constituents will understand that they need [higher taxes] for better services, and they will adjust...
Calderon finally got his reform through by forging an alliance with the moderate wing of Lopez Obrador's party, some of whom have accused the leftist leader of being too authoritarian and confrontational. Following a series of backdoor meetings, the majority of leftist lawmakers not only ignored calls to blockade the podium again but actually voted in favor of the bill. The result was thus seen as a major political victory for the president, who built a consensus on a difficult issue and isolated the hard left. "With this reform the national economy wins; all Mexicans win," Calderon said...
...Caracas Backdoor Reforms On the final day of an 18-month period during which he was granted special decree powers, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez quietly enacted 26 new laws that--among other things--created local militias and expanded government control over areas ranging from private property to commerce and agriculture. The decrees revive aspects of a constitutional-reform proposal rejected by voters last December, spurring opponents to condemn Chávez for surreptitiously advancing his socialist agenda despite the people's wishes...
King Abdullah's seemingly generous offer of a billion dollars from OPEC countries (plus $500 million from his own treasury) to help poor countries cope is also nothing to be grateful for. It amounts to backdoor price discrimination: charging different customers different amounts to extract the maximum from each...