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Title: Opinion: Sanctions, drop in oil price best things that ever happened to Russia-Russia’s economy pivoting away from crony capitalism and energy-Russia’s economy pivoting away from crony capitalism and energy
Source: marketwatch.com
URL Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sa ... -happened-to-russia-2015-04-07
Published: Apr 7, 2015
Author: Matthew Lynn
Post Date: 2015-04-07 16:29:09 by Pericles
Keywords: Russia
Views: 2447
Comments: 30

Matthew Lynn's London EyeGet

Opinion: Sanctions, drop in oil price best things that ever happened to Russia

Published: Apr 7, 2015 12:18 p.m. ET

Russia’s economy pivoting away from crony capitalism and energy

A round of punitive sanctions designed to cripple the economy. A collapse in the price of its key commodity. A currency in freefall and a central bank hiking rates to emergency levels while a corrupt, authoritarian government embarks on foreign adventures at potentially huge expense. For the whole of 2014, the Russian economy was the most toxic in the world, with one calamity coming hard after another.

But here is something nobody expected. In the first quarter of this year, Russia was doing a bit better than anyone could have forecast. We learned last week that the economy managed to grow by 0.4% in the latest quarter, compared to the zero growth or the outright recession that most economists had pencilled in. The ruble USDRUB, -0.86% is the best-performing currency of the last three months. Even the Moscow stock index has started to recover.

In reality, sanctions and a fall in the oil price might have been the best thing to have happened to Russia since the invention of double-glazing. Why? Because the problem for a country rich in resources and well-educated, creative people has been an over-reliance on energy, and a tight-knit kleptocracy that distributes the wealth it generates. It has failed to create its own industrial economy.

But with sanctions keeping out imports, and the oil wealth drying up, it might be forced to do so — and paradoxically that might lead to a stronger recovery.

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#1. To: A Pole (#0)

Free Trade is for suckers....

Pericles  posted on  2015-04-07   16:29:27 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: Pericles, A Pole, All (#1)

Free Trade is for suckers....

So there should be no free trade among the 50 states in the U.S.?

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-07   16:44:09 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: SOSO (#2)

50 states are compatible and similar. Free trade between diverse economies can be destructive.

A Pole  posted on  2015-04-07   17:42:35 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#4. To: SOSO, A Pole (#2)

So there should be no free trade among the 50 states in the U.S.?

50 states are compatible and similar. Free trade between diverse economies can be destructive.

It is also a stupid question/statement since the Federal Govt redistributes taxes to build interstate highways and enforce laws and the common defense.

It is why the Founding Fathers initiated a closed economic system from outside while promoting free trade within - because the benefits of winners would be redistributed back into the common till.

Who will tax China to re-invest back into the USA? Currently, the USA borrows it's own dollars back after it shipped to China to do this.

Pericles  posted on  2015-04-07   18:27:04 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#5. To: A Pole (#3)

50 states are compatible and similar. Free trade between diverse economies can be destructive.

The states are only compatible because of the overarching Federal government laws. FYI society and cultural norms in CA are vastly different from those in Texas.

In what way(s) can free trade be destructive?

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-07   23:58:14 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#6. To: Pericles, A Pole (#4)

It is why the Founding Fathers initiated a closed economic system from outside while promoting free trade within - because the benefits of winners would be redistributed back into the common till.

This is a totally stupid, knee jerk comment. All that is required is to think outside the box and redraw you narrow boundaries. The failing is not in free trade but in human nature in general and the stupidity of those that think like you.

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-08   0:00:42 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#7. To: SOSO (#6)

It is why the Founding Fathers initiated a closed economic system from outside while promoting free trade within - because the benefits of winners would be redistributed back into the common till.

This is a totally stupid, knee jerk comment. All that is required is to think outside the box and redraw you narrow boundaries. The failing is not in free trade but in human nature in general and the stupidity of those that think like you.

The stupidity is in thinking your non answer is somehow a rebuttal. You have offered no practical reason to support free trade at all.

Pericles  posted on  2015-04-08   0:24:33 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#8. To: SOSO (#5)

FYI society and cultural norms in CA are vastly different from those in Texas.

Hmm, what about Texas and Yunnan?

A Pole  posted on  2015-04-08   2:56:10 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#9. To: A Pole, SOSO (#8)

As A Pole pointed out free trade with "like and like" is not a problem.

EU free trade with the USA. Sure. Canada? Sure. Mexico? Not so much due to their poverty and poor law infrastructure and with China? Suicidal.

Pericles  posted on  2015-04-08   10:45:06 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#10. To: A Pole (#8)

FYI society and cultural norms in CA are vastly different from those in Texas.

Hmm, what about Texas and Yunnan?

Exactly, what about them?

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-08   10:50:20 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#11. To: Pericles, Soso (#9)

As A Pole pointed out free trade with "like and like" is not a problem.

EU free trade with the USA. Sure. Canada? Sure. Mexico? Not so much due to their poverty and poor law infrastructure and with China? Suicidal.

You are incredibily mtopic in your view of the world and in your thought process. What about the North and South after the Civil War? Of the U.S. and England after the Revolution? Exactly what is "kike and like". Is it current"economic status? Societal values and morality? Is it race? Religion? Is the man in Yunnan fundamentally different than the man in Kountze? Now there are clear exception, namely the ISIS mentality. But by and large in theory free trade benefits everyone. Again, the failing is in human nature not in the philosophy of free trade. It is abundantly clear that when free trade works is allowed to work unencumbered by human failings it works better than anything our economic mechanism.

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-08   10:59:56 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#12. To: SOSO (#11)

But by and large in theory free trade benefits everyone.

Who proved that bull crap?

rlk  posted on  2015-04-08   11:57:23 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#13. To: rlk (#12)

But by and large in theory free trade benefits everyone.

Who proved that bull crap?

Why the U.S.A. every day with free trade among the 50 states. You need some edgikation, Boy.

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-08   11:59:09 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#14. To: SOSO, rlk (#13) (Edited)

Why the U.S.A. every day with free trade among the 50 states. You need some edgikation, Boy.

The USA imposed trade tariffs when it was founded. Internally, federal taxes re- distribute the wealth caused by imbalance of state to state trade and such a policy is not possible in an international system.

Pericles  posted on  2015-04-08   12:05:39 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#15. To: Pericles (#14)

Internally, federal taxes re- distribute the wealth caused by imbalance of state to state trade and such a policy is not possible in an international system.

Who proved that bull crap?

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-08   12:16:28 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#16. To: Pericles, rlk, A Pole (#14)

Internally, federal taxes re- distribute the wealth caused by imbalance of state to state trade and such a policy is not possible in an international system.

You too need some edgikation, Boy. Do you know the extent of FEDERAL taxation at the founding of the country and for many, many decades beyond? HINT: Minimal.

It wasn't until the passage of Prohibition that the Fed got wise to dipping into the pockets of John Q. Citizen.

Truly, you need to refresh your education (I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you had one).

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-08   12:20:09 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#17. To: SOSO, rlk, A Pole (#16)

It wasn't until the passage of Prohibition that the Fed got wise to dipping into the pockets of John Q. Citizen.

Free trade before WW2 reduced tarrif incomes which led to the switch in income tacxes.

Pericles  posted on  2015-04-08   17:00:18 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#18. To: SOSO (#13)

But by and large in theory free trade benefits everyone.

Who proved that bull crap?

Why the U.S.A. every day with free trade among the 50 states. You need some edgikation, Boy.

Trade between the states bears little or no similarity to free trade between nations. Free trade between states is synergistic rather than competitive. It is governed by a commonality and consistancy of economic principles, ethos, and values of currency that does not exist internationally. If you ask the hundreds of thousands of people in th U. S. who have lost jobs due to international free trade, I doubt that they would agree with you about its mutual beneficiality.

rlk  posted on  2015-04-08   22:03:20 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#19. To: Pericles, rlk, A Pole (#17)

Free trade before WW2 reduced tarrif incomes which led to the switch in income tacxes.

Are you kidding? Wow, I truly underestimated your ignorance of the history of your country. Here are the facts:

From 1873-1893 the was no individual Federal Income tax.

In 1894 an idividual did not pay a penny in Federal Income tax on anything less than $4,000 in then current income (i.e. - nominal dollars). Thereafter the tax rate was 2% on anything above $4,000.

From 1895-1912 there was no individual Federal Income tax.

From 1913-1915 the tax rate was 1% of the first $20,000 in then current income (i.e. - nominal dollars) rising to 2% from $20,000-50,000). In 1916 the tax rate was raised to 2% on the $20,000 (over $420,000 in 2013 dollars) or less, 3% on $20,000-40,000, 4% on $40,000-60,000.

In 1917 the tax rate was INCREASED to 2% on the first $2,000 (about $35,900 in 2013dollars) steadily increasing to 16% for $40,000-60,000. In 1918 the tax scheduled ramped up again to 6% of the first $4,000 (About $60,800 in 2013 dollars) steadily increasing to 35% at $50,000 and 40% at $60,000 (about $770,000 in 2013). By 1920 it was slightly reduced to 4% on the first $4,000 of nominal income (abot $45,900 in 2013 dollars) steadily ramping up to 31% at to $50,000 and 36% at $60,000.

In 1924 the brackets were reduced to 4% on the first $4,000 (about $53,700 in 2013 dollars) steadily rising to 23% at $50,000 and 26% at $58,000. In 1929, the beginning of the Great Depression Era rates declined to 1.5% of the first $4,000 (about $53,700 in 2013 dollars) on nominal income steadily rising to 18% at $52,000 and 20% at $60,000.

Rates jumped up again in 1932 to 4.0% on the first $4,000 (about $67,000 in 2013 dollars) steadily increasing in small increments to 30% at $50,000 of nominal income and 35% at $60,000.

Rates remained about steady through 1939 when they increased in 1940 to 4% on the first $4,000 (about $65,600 in 2013 dollars) of nominal income steadily rising in small increments to 44% at $50,000 and 48% at $60,000, however the was a 10% Defense surtax over and above the schedule tax rates.

Rates jumped again in 1941 to 10% of the first $2,000 (about $31,200) steadily rising to 59% at $50,000 and 61% at $60,000 of nominal income (about $937,000 in 2013 dollars).

Rates continued to rise through the war years and several years thereafter. By 1950 the rates were 20% on the first $2,000 (about $19,050 in 2013 dollars) steadily rising in small incresments to 72% at $50,000 and 75% at $60,000 (about $571,600 in 2013 dollars).

Shortly after the end of the Korean the tax rates 1954 were still at the level of 20% for the first $4,000 of nominal income (about $17,070 in 2013 dollars), 72% at $50,000 and 75% at $60,000 (about $512,000 in 2013 dollars).

N.B. - WWI was 1914-1918. Prohibition was from 1920-1933. WWII was 1939- 1945 with the U.S. formally declaring war in 1941. The Korean War was 1950- 1953.

Clearly the most rapid ramp up of Federal Income taxes was the period of 1917- 1928 the period from just before WWI ended and Prohibition started and continued ion into the Depression of 1929.

The next big run up in rates occurred started in 1939 and lasted through the end of the Korean War and a few years thereafter.

Free trade had nothing to do with either run up period. For the overwhelming most part the U.S. was a protectionist nation from its founding through 1934 long after the run up in taxes in 1917-1928. It wasn't until the late 1950s that the U.S. started to advocate less global protectionism and more Free Trade.

Yet some degree of protectionism is still the norm throughout the world. Most developed nations still maintain agricultural tariffs. From 1820 to 1980, the average tariffs on manufactures in twelve industrial countries ranged from 11 to 32%.

So lets look at U.S.tax rates since the 1950s, shall we?

Rates started to decline in 1955 and continued to do so through the 1960's. By 1970 the rates were 14% of the first $1,000 of nominal income steadily rising in small increments to 50% at $52,000 and 53% at $64,000 (about $342,700 in 2013 dollars).

By 1980 the rates were 0% on the first $3,400 steadily rising to just 49% at $60,000 (about $167,200 in 2013 dollars).

Gooooooooolly, Mr. Ed, the facts still do not support your contention that Free Trade led to increased individual Federal income taxes in the U.S.

What do you say to all of this now?

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-08   23:08:03 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#20. To: SOSO (#19) (Edited)

Free trade before WW2

Free trade before WW1 that is. Sorry for the typo.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/wwi-100th-anniversary-how-global-trade-changed- forever-1456773

The historian Niall Ferguson wrote that "the sinking of the Lusitania also symbolised the end of the first age of globalisation". And while not everyone agrees on the exact date, most acknowledge that WWI radically changed the course of global trade for decades to come.

How great was globalization for it to lead to the hell of the WW1 that pretty much set us up for the Nazis, the commies and WW2?

Pericles  posted on  2015-04-09   0:30:43 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#21. To: rlk (#18)

If you ask the hundreds of thousands of people in th U. S. who have lost jobs due to international free trade, I doubt that they would agree with you about its mutual beneficiality.

Some doors open while others close. It is not a zero sum game. How could anyone agrue that in theory it is best to acquire all of one's needs from the least cost reliable quality supplier? The problem is that human nature gets in the way in the form of subjective nationalistic interests, politics, ethical and moral values, etc. As for currency, this is merely an artifact of really little consequence in the overall scheme of things unless people make it so.

No doubt that the transition from a manufacturing to a service oriented economy has been difficult for the U.S. However you have to be blind or dishonest not to understand that in many ways We The People have shot ourself in the foot. We still fail to realize that our kids competition is other kids in the U.S. but all the kids in the world. And let's not even discuss the death spiral of the good old work ethic and values of honesty and self-sufficiency.

I repeat, the failures are not with the theory of Free Trade but with people.

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-09   15:02:56 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#22. To: Pericles (#20)

How great was globalization for it to lead to the hell of the WW1 that pretty much set us up for the Nazis, the commies and WW2?

Are you kidding? The main cause of the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party and thus WII was the Treaty of Versailles. Look it up.

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-09   15:05:42 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#23. To: SOSO, A Pole (#22) (Edited)

Are you kidding? The main cause of the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party and thus WII was the Treaty of Versailles. Look it up.

We had a freetrade utopia before WW1 and it still did not bring peace and in fact set the world up for both war and depression. Until 1913, customs duties (tariffs) and excise taxes were the primary sources of federal revenue. Yet, the freetrade globalization doctrine states that this needs to be eliminated or vastly reduced, hence the need for a revenue tax as a substitute.

It is of course a sign of the dementia that free traders who forced the rise in income taxes by eliminating trade tarrifs.

Pericles  posted on  2015-04-09   16:20:55 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#24. To: Pericles (#20)

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/wwi-100th-anniversary-how-global-trade-changed- forever-1456773

The link does not work.

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-09   22:28:12 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#25. To: Pericles (#23)

We had a freetrade utopia before WW1 and it still did not bring peace and in fact set the world up for both war and depression. Until 1913, customs duties (tariffs) and excise taxes were the primary sources of federal revenue.

Please document your sources for these statements. Facts seem to indicate quite the contrary of what you stated. The U.S> was hardly a Free Trade utopia.

"Were high import tariffs somehow related to the strong U.S. economic growth during the late nineteenth century? One paper investigates the multiple channels by which tariffs could have promoted growth during this period.(12) I found that 1) late nineteenth century growth hinged more on population expansion and capital accumulation than on productivity growth; 2) tariffs may have discouraged capital accumulation by raising the price of imported capital goods; and 3) productivity growth was most rapid in non-traded sectors (such as utilities and services) whose performance was not directly related to the tariff.(13)

At the end of the nineteenth century, though, the pattern of U.S. trade changed dramatically. For most of the century, the United States had a strong comparative advantage in agricultural goods and exported mainly raw cotton, grains, and meat products in exchange for imports of manufactured goods. But in the mid-1890s, America's exports of manufactures began to surge. Manufactured goods jumped from 20 percent of U.S. exports in 1890 to 35 percent by 1900 and nearly 50 percent by 1913. In about two decades, the United States reversed a century-old trade pattern and became a large net exporter of manufactured goods. What accounts for this abrupt change in the structure of U.S. exports?

My research suggests that natural resource abundance fueled a dramatic expansion of iron and steel exports, in part by enabling a sharp reduction in the price of U.S. exports relative to other competitors.(14) In this case, the commercial exploitation of the Mesabi iron ore range in Minnesota reduced domestic ore prices by 50 percent in the mid-1890s and was equivalent to over a decade's worth of industry productivity improvement in its effect on iron and steel export prices. The non-tradability of American ore resulted in its distinctive impact on the pattern of U.S. trade; whereas raw cotton was tradable, and hence the domestic cotton textile industry did not reap an advantage from having local production of cotton, iron ore and other minerals were difficult to trade, and therefore they were exported in final products, not in raw form."

In general, it is impossible to make a meaningful judgment on the impact of the Underwood-Simmons Tariff of 1913 because the entire international economic picture was shortly turned upside down by the outbreak of World War I. U.S products became in great demand throughout the world, making the question of protectionism moot. However, the next action on national tariff policy occurred after the war ended with the Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1922 which raised American tariffs on many imported goods in order to protect U.S. factories and farms.

There is one thing for certain though. Federal taxes on alcohol was a very significant portion of total Federal revenue in the early 1900s. When this source dried up because of Prohibition the Fed definitely acted to replace it with personal income taxes.

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-09   22:48:38 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#26. To: Pericles, rlk, A Pole (#25)

There is one thing for certain though. Federal taxes on alcohol was a very significant portion of total Federal revenue in the early 1900s. When this source dried up because of Prohibition the Fed definitely acted to replace it with personal income taxes.

Actually it happened a few years early than 1919.

"How Taxes Enabled Alcohol Prohibition and Also Led to Its Repeal

Share Tweet LinkedIn October 05, 2011 By Joseph Henchman Something like 4 million Americans watched documentarian Ken Burns's three-part series on Prohibition that aired this week on PBS. Full of historical details, one key point it raised that is generally not known widely is the impact of tax policy on alcohol prohibition.

Prohibition lasted from 1919 to 1933. One of the stumbling blocks advocates of Prohibition faced before 1913 was that the federal government was heavily dependent on taxes on alcohol. The passage of the income tax constitutional amendment that year allowed government the luxury of banning alcohol without reducing tax revenue.

From The Los Angeles Daily News interview with Lynn Novick, Burns's co- documentarian:

"I had no idea how important liquor was to the federal government," says Novick. "It started in the Civil War with the levy on beer and whiskey to help fund the war, and it never really went away. Some 30 percent to 40 percent of the government's income came from the tax on alcohol. So Prohibitionists realized that the only way they're going to have a ban was through income tax, which was a progressive cause and was really supposed to distribute wealth and to make things equitable during the robber baron era, where the wealth was being accumulated in a very small segment of the population."

The 16th Amendment of 1913, allowing Congress to levy a federal income tax, helped pave the way for Prohibition, but World War I helped stir up the pot. When the United States entered the war in 1917, anyone of German heritage was suspect. Since most brewers were of German decent, the Anti-Saloon League used this to equate migrants and drinking with being anti-American.

On the other side, as the Great Depression deepened in the 1930s, income tax revenues plummeted and there was a question about why we were foregoing all that tax revenue and jobs from alcohol sales and production. Burns himself talks about that around the 10 minute mark in this video put out by Reason TV:"

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-10   0:58:23 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#27. To: SOSO (#21)

If you ask the hundreds of thousands of people in the U. S. who have lost jobs due to international free trade, I doubt that they would agree with you about its mutual beneficiality.

Some doors open while others close.

You blithly dismiss the issue with one simple short rhetorical sweep.

The basis of trade is manufacturing of goods. You, and others, seem to think work should consist of shuffling papers once a week, then making speechs the remainder of the time as feudal lords occupying pretentious ersatz positions in a service economy. I have a flash for you. It doesn't work that way.

rlk  posted on  2015-04-10   2:15:56 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#28. To: rlk (#27)

You blithly dismiss the issue with one simple short rhetorical sweep.

No, I tried not to insult you. You seem to be stuck in the tired old Free Trade is a Zero Sum Game stupity. What about the jobs that were created elsewhere around the globe. Since many parts of the world are less capial intense as the U.S. more jobs were created than lost in the U.S.

Further your contention reveals an arrogance and smugness typical of an less than well educated knee jerk reactionary. "The basis of trade is manufacturing of goods." Your ognorance is vast. Too much for me to be interested in helping you out. You may have the last word as I am done with you on this thread.

потому что Бог хочет это тот путь

SOSO  posted on  2015-04-10   12:34:13 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#29. To: All (#18) (Edited)

You assholes touting free trade want to put people out of work then six months later want to sell those same people a new car, and wonder what the problem is in decrease in sales. When Bessie steel went under it destroyed the economy of western Pennsylvania as well as several other states who furnish coke for the steel industry so that we could build bridges with cheap Chinese imported steel. When GM had to go into competetion with cheaper imports and also made the decision to have parts made in Mexico, it played hell with the economy of several states where tooling and parts were made for GM cars. The new influx of parts have inferior reliability. Free trade is destructive.

rlk  posted on  2015-04-10   12:55:42 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#30. To: SOSO (#28) (Edited)

What about the jobs that were created elsewhere around the globe. Since many parts of the world are less capial intense as the U.S. more jobs were created than lost in the U.S.

I'm not interested in sacrificing the well being and economy of this country for the sake of creating jobs in other nations that have done little for themselves due to adoption of flawed political systems, flawed social psychology, lack of creativity, or inherent group genetic deficiency. If they want to advance themselves, let them do it by developing their own productivity and trade with each other. This country is not to be used as a sacrificial tit for the rest of the world to suck on. That includes people in this country who have done naught with their lives in terms of seriousness and are also using it as a tit to suck on through political means, either through the wefare system or though claiming to be making the sacrifice of going into public service as political officeholders.

rlk  posted on  2015-04-10   15:55:00 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


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