What If Haiti Is Simply Ungovernable?

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This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an Italian celebration of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. Today's Agenda Haiti's problems may not be ours to solve. Angela Merkel let the U.S. down. Accountants are comfortable with unicorns, but not Bitcoin. What If Haiti Is Simply Ungovernable? Amid the political chaos following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, there have been calls for the U.S. to send troops to restore calm. But would that really help? Some nation-states are not viable in their current form, writes Tyler Cowen . The politics are too unstable, the corruption too prevalent. Haiti's troubles are especially severe. In the absence of a sitting parliament, political legitimacy is scarce and disputes about leadership succession are hard to resolve. The head of the nation's highest court recently died of Covid-19. There's no prospect of a takeover by a military strongman, even assuming that was an acceptable alternative. Meanwhile, corruption is endemic. Foreign money, whether from the drug trade or foreign aid, has overwhelmed the domestic incentives to play by the rules. Haiti's political institutions have been corroded by bribes and rents.  Such problems do not always have solutions, which is a sobering thought for other countries facing political crises, and for American policy-makers. Once a model for a better world, Haiti is now a cautionary tale. Bonus Foreign-Policy Reading: The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is no cause for celebration in Iran. — Yours truly  Merkel's Betrayal Will Haunt Her White House Visit President Joe Biden will play the gracious host when Chancellor Angela Merkel comes to the White House this week: After all, it will be her final visit there as the most important American ally on the European continent. But lurking behind their smiles will be a sense of bitterness over the German leader's backing for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that will make her country beholden to Russian energy supplies. The project, vociferously opposed by the U.S., effectively gives Moscow the means to menace Ukraine and blackmail Europe. Merkel has argued that the pipeline is a private enterprise, not a geopolitical matter. But, as Andreas Kluth points out, she has alienated both the U.S. and her European partners by empowering Russian President Putin, who is hardly shy about using any leverage he can get.  For his part, Biden has declined to use American economic sanctions to block the project, but Congress might yet force his hand. That should make Merkel nervous in the final weeks of her leadership. Bitcoin's Latest Problem: The Accounting Department Why is it okay for corporations to invest in risky, volatile unicorns but not in cryptocurrency? Bitcoin advocates blame the bean counters. Although there are no official guidelines under the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) over how companies should account for digital assets, there is a consensus among auditors that cryptos should not be considered cash, or financial instruments, but "indefinite-lived intangible assets" because they "lack physical substance."  As a result, it is difficult for CFOs to book gains on its crypto assets. This mindset, Shuli Ren points out, is getting in the way of the broader adoption of cryptos. Bonus Finance Reading: Here's a smart way to save for things you might want some day. — Erin Lowry Telltale Charts Since the start of the second quarter, 10-year Treasury yields have fallen 40 basis points as the inflation fear trade that drove yields higher in the first quarter of 2021 unwinds. There is a real need, Marcus Ashworth argues, to stop sucking out all the available float from the U.S. Treasury and mortgage bond markets.   Further Reading Increasing the number of Americans willing to join the military should be a national priority. — Bloomberg's editorial board Why the most important number last week was $45.03. — Robert Burgess Disney+ has huffed and puffed, but it can't blow Netflix's house down. — Tara Lachapelle Hyper-partisan politics is bad for U.S. business. — Jonathan Bernstein Amid a rash of U.K. buyouts, a London private equity firm is offering potential shareholders a piece of the action. — Chris Hughes One of the great mysteries of our time and our species is why we work so much when we really don't have to. — Andreas Kluth Nancy Pelosi's husband did nothing wrong in exercising  call options on 4,000 shares of Alphabet Inc. stock. — Aaron Brown The Chinese government's attacks on the country's tech firms are against its own interests. — Niall Ferguson ICYMI A flying taxi startup is making noise about, um, making less noise.  The success of 'Black Widow' may be good news for theater owners. How will Tokyo's state of emergency affect the Olympics? Kickers Would you pay $1.6 million for a wristwatch... Or on a Super Mario 64?  New Yorkers still drying their shoes from last week's floods will be baying at the moon in 2023.   Notes: Please send trophies and red cards to Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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