I am not an economist

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 09/11/2020 at 18:41 • Filed to: economicslopnik

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Nor do I balance my checkbook. But these numbers, on the face of it, assuming they are correct, are interesting.

fintail > ttyymmnn 09/11/2020 at 18:48

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I’ve summed up Russia as “a gas station ran by the mafia”.

facw > ttyymmnn 09/11/2020 at 18:48

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Russia plays like it is a major world power, but really it has an economy the size of Italy, and large but poorly funded/trained military. It does of course have a shitton of nukes (and could launch at least some), which counts for a lot.

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn 09/11/2020 at 18:49

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The fact that Russia has been pretty much a basket case for ages is pretty well accepted. They had a bit of a boom when oil prices were high, but it didn’t result in any lasting prosperity or make any real impact outside the energy sector. 

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > ttyymmnn 09/11/2020 at 18:53

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I think that one of the only things that Russia has going for it is that it inherited all of the institutions (along with the people/experience ) from the Soviet Union.

It may have the same GDP as Italy or Texas, but Italy and Texas didn’t have the KGB, elite military squads or a well organized (albeit poorly funded/trained) military.

Those militaristic, political and cultural institutions have a serious yet un-q uantifiable value that allows them to project their power far more than other similarly funded nations.

ttyymmnn > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/11/2020 at 18:56

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And they’ve made a puppet out of the US president. 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn 09/11/2020 at 18:57

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I’ve never thought of Russia of having a very high GDP, everything I’ve seen on Russia is wealth is concentrated at the major population centers and for a very select few. The majority of the country is just trying to get by.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > ttyymmnn 09/11/2020 at 18:59

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Yep. But without the GRU/FSB and other legacy institutions, I doubt they could have figured that out.

Not many other 2nd world countries are capable of mounting that kind of sophisticated campaign because the experience , infrastructure and culture isn’t there.

ranwhenparked > fintail 09/11/2020 at 19:01

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Basically, yeah. I’ve also heard “gas station masquerading as a country” and “T hird W orld country with a F irst W orld military” (the later more in the Soviet era, I don’t think their military, though still quite large and still with some decently impressive equipment, is really quite up to 1st W orld standards nowadays).

Grindintosecond > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/11/2020 at 19:16

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Dont forget a territory wide Mafia supported by the territory’s leadership....who may be the mafia leadership.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 09/11/2020 at 19:17

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You could be describing  the USA or Australia as a whole with a statement like that. Arguably, Texas is a statistical outlier in the American wealth equation.

ranwhenparked > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 09/11/2020 at 19:30

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Well, every country, really, except super wealthy enclaves like Monaco or Liechtenstein .

My own state is, on paper, one of the wealthiest in the country, but that’s pretty much concentrated in a few ZIP codes, or, even, a few neighborhoods within those few ZIP codes. Most of the towns here are uneducated, garbage strewn,  impoverished, drug inf ested, post- industrial shit holes. But, hey, the incoming nominal president is from here, so we’ve got that going for us.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ttyymmnn 09/11/2020 at 19:30

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Texans?

My bird IS the word > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 09/11/2020 at 19:49

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Well...

ttyymmnn > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 09/11/2020 at 19:49

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No, the TX governor is too busy licking Trump’s ass. Though I do give him credit for instituting masks, which has had a profound affect on infection rates. Go figure. 

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > ttyymmnn 09/11/2020 at 19:52

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Does it take into account the billions Putin and his friends take from Gazprom? 

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > ttyymmnn 09/11/2020 at 19:53

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Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 09/11/2020 at 20:38

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The US GDP is $50,000. Even a relatively poor state like Mississippi has a GDP of $35,000. That’s a huge difference from 8,000-ish

A Boy and His Longtail > ttyymmnn 09/11/2020 at 21:47

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Haven’t US relations with Russia soured over the Trump presidency? I mean our troops our clashing more and more frequently in the Middle East, we are supporting opposing sides in two different civil wars, and the US is less reliant on foreign oil than before (which is Russia’s big money maker). I’m not going to claim to be an expert on the subject matter, but it seems if the Russians meddled with our election, they did so to their own detriment.

I dunno, that’s just my thoughts on the whole thing

ttyymmnn > A Boy and His Longtail 09/11/2020 at 22:23

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I think you have to look at how the administration is actively stopping any investigations into Russian influence in the election. My take is that Trump welcomes the interference because it might help him win, while Putin knows that he will have Trump in the palm of his hand for helping. Trump is too stupid and greedy for power to understand what is really happening. My $0.02. 

duurtlang > ranwhenparked 09/12/2020 at 02:02

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1st world is relative anyway. I’ve heard the US be called a 3r d world country with a 1st world economy. 

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ttyymmnn 09/12/2020 at 06:02

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We’ve advanced so much in the last 100 years...

ranwhenparked > duurtlang 09/12/2020 at 11:20

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Well, we've got 3rd world cities (Detroit, Camden, Cleveland, Gary, etc), and upstate New York, central and western Pennsylvania, and lower Delaware definitely have some 3rd world small towns. 

duurtlang > ranwhenparked 09/12/2020 at 13:46

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I think it’s more about the state of the government, democracy , judicial system, (access to) education and healthcare, wealth distribution, upward mobility and the like.