Fortune (February 22)
“Four years after Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s economy has entered a ‘death zone.’” Former Russian central bank advisor Alexandra Prokopenko, currently a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, believes “the Russian economy is eating its own muscle to survive as Putin’s war on Ukraine destroys future capacity.” The economy might not be ”headed for an imminent crash, but GDP has stagnated, oil revenue has been halved amid Western sanctions, and the government’s budget deficit is rapidly draining reserves.”
Tags: Budget deficit, Central bank, Crash, Death zone, Economy, Future capacity, GDP, Government, Invasion, Oil revenue, Prokopenko, Putin, Reserves, Russia, Stagnated, Ukraine, Western sanctions
The Economist (September 7)
Argentina’s reimposition of currency controls “confirms the horrible reality that Argentina has once again become a financial outcast.” Most are quick to blame the current president Mauricio Macri. “In fact much of the blame for Mr Macri’s failure lies with his populist predecessor, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who …. left behind a gaping budget deficit, artificially low utility prices, statistics that were brazenly manipulated and ruinously high public spending.”
Tags: Argentina, Blame, Budget deficit, Currency controls, Fernández, Financial outcast, Macri, Manipulated, Populist, Reimposition, Statistics, Utility prices
Washington Post (November 18, 2013)
Little is definitively known about global warming, but it would be wise to take pragmatic measures. “Putting a price on carbon—through a tax on oil, coal and natural gas—that reflects global warming’s costs… would promote energy efficiency and favor renewables.” But how would one determine the size of that carbon tax? “We don’t know global warming’s full effects…. But we do know the size of the budget deficit, and we do know that revenue from a carbon tax might help finance a simplification of the income tax. By addressing multiple problems, an admittedly unpopular carbon tax might command broader support.”
Tags: Budget deficit, Carbon, Carbon tax, Energy efficiency, Global warming, Income tax, Renewables, Revenue, Support
