IMF predicts Russia's economy to grow in 2024. Did Germany sanction itself?
Good management, oil prices, higher wages and a war economy lift Russia.
Al Jazeera’s INSIDE STORY is one of my favourite shows. They interview or host debates on current topics, their guests generally well educated and less bombastic than those on U.S. TV.
The episode I’m featuring is ‘Why does IMF predict strong Russian growth despite sanctions?’. I’m sharing because I don’t want it to be lost in the many links I provide on Wednesdays in my Russia/Ukraine summary. It’s interesting and easy to understand, important attributes when dealing with finances.
The host is Adrian Finighan, and this is a better home for him than his previous employers the BBC and CNN. The guests are Chris Weafer, Erlend Bjortvedt and Anatol Lieven.
You can bookmark Inside Story here, or view their latest episodes.
Another good show on Al Jazeera is The Bottom Line. The latest interviews Cornel West who doesn’t hesitate to label Biden as a war criminal.
I suspect Russia is doing well economically because the sanctions are only imposed from a small part of the world, on which the Russians have never been very dependent. Most of the world has not imposed sanctions on Russia and they are, on most counts, quite self sufficient.
And while war has supported and promoted economies, it is hard to argue that is the case for the US which has really been at war since it invented itself, and where the levels of poverty and working poor are the worst in the developed world. The American war economy unfortunately makes the rich richer and does nothing for most Americans, except sow the seeds of rage and resentment.
Remember when Bugs used to stick the end of his carrot in Yosemite Sam’s gun……?