Anderson Cooper, Intellectually Lazy or Just Not Analytically Gifted?

I’ve got the TV on in the background and CNN’s Anderson Cooper is reporting on the terrible state of affairs in Africa. He’s in the Democratic Republic of the Congo right now, which he declares is “In fact, the richest country in Africa.” He explains that it’s the richest country in Africa because they have a lot of minerals, but because of “crooks and corrupt businessmen,” “the profits never get to the people.” Um, right. The problem, as it turns out, is that the minerals (cobalt, copper, etc.) are “smuggled” out of the country so the government doesn’t get to collect taxes on them, which is why they can’t produce goods for the people. Yeah, that explains the terrible poverty there. It’s that taxes on exports of raw materials aren’t being collected.

I wonder whether Cooper will send us a report from Europe explaining that the reason that the Netherlands is so rich is because the country has a lot of minerals and other natural resources that the government efficiently taxes when they are exported, thereby getting funds to provide benefits to the people.