The Ukraine Took “Honourable Mention” Second Place in the World in Terms of Inflation

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Steve Hanke, professor at Johns Hopkins University, wrote in Forbes magazine that the real level of inflation in the Ukraine is 111 percent. All that one needs to assess real inflation is the simple application of standard time-tested economic theory (in this case, purchasing power parity). Hanke used that to estimate the current annual inflation in the Ukraine. The calculations used data from black market currency transactions collected during the last 12 months as part of a joint research project on forex problems at the Cato Institute and Johns Hopkins University. These shocking figures are positive only in the fact that inflation decreased compared with estimates made on 24 February… those calculations showed Ukrainian inflation running at 272 percent. Thanks to Washington Post columnist Matt O’Brien, this assessment received much attention. He agreed with the calculations of the author in his blog Wonk Blog in the online edition. Venezuela took first place in this list; it had the dubious honour of the country with the highest inflation. According to the author’s estimates, the estimated annual inflation there is 252 percent. Now, in addition to Venezuela, there is only one state in the world with three-digit inflation… the Ukraine, where annual inflation is 111 percent. This is much larger than the “official” 34.5 percent rate is. The recently approved expansion of IMF financing and restructuring of Ukrainian public debt, negotiations on which only started, rest on erroneous data. Hanke noted that since the programmes and negotiations start with false assumptions, this invariably leads to a flop.

6 April 2015

Russkaya Vesna

http://rusvesna.su/news/1428341055

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6 May 2014. Cato Institute Fucks Up! Take a Look at Their “Most Miserable Countries” List

Here’s what the Cato Institute calls “misery!”

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The Cato Institute, one of the more unfocused Far Right stink tanks out there, came out with a bogus “Most Miserable Countries” list. Before I give you the link (you MUST look at it… it’s a laugh-and-a-half), here are some of the comments to it:

• It’s very hard to take seriously a “study” that doesn’t include North Korea, Myanmar, Rwanda, etc. but does include South Africa and Jamaica. This nonsense has nothing to do with misery… it’s simply a measure of financial stability.
• Misery without any black African country? Meaningless list.
• Brought to you by the Koch Brothers.
• I can’t believe that a “respected” entity like the Cato Institute would publish such absolute garbage. Are the only two factors unemployment and interest rates? If so, maybe you should have called the article “The 25 toughest countries to get a business loan”. You want real misery? Visit Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Laos, Burma, or Yemen.
• Wow, I just lost 15 points off my IQ reading this drivel…
• I think there are a lot of worse things going on in the world besides high interest rates and unemployment.
• This article is junk and was pulled together in an hour. Interest rates are your key indicator of misery? Any other measurements worth noting?

Here’s the link. Look at it… the Far Righties eat up this shit! They do. For Orthodox people… Paffhausen and his motley crew of konvert commandos LOVE such arrant BS… they wanted to bring it into the mainstream of the Church. Aren’t you glad that the Holy Synod wised up and kicked his gnarly ass out?

What the Cato Institute is saying is, “The only measure of a country is how well they treat the rich”. If this is the best that the ‘baggers are capable of… the USA won’t need a foreign invasion… it’ll eat itself alive with greed, ignorance, and self-destruction for the sake of the Almighty Dollar. The American Way… turn it over… “Made in the People’s Republic of China”. Do note that those who made this sorry-ass list are the same ones who lust to send American industry abroad to fatten their boodle bags. None dare call it treason…

BMD

US Representative Dana Rohrbacher: “The Iraq war was a mistake”

Here’s what Iraq brought us… the Tea Party wants MORE of this… don’t forget to vote in November…

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Two GOP congressmen say most Republicans on the Hill now believe the Iraq war was a mistake, and “more than half the Republican caucus” believes the way in which the US entered the Afghanistan war was also a mistake. Reps Tom McClintock (R-CA) and Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA) made the comments at a discussion panel at the Cato Institute on Thursday. Going into Iraq “was a mistake because I thought we had to finish the job in Afghanistan”, Rohrbacher told the panel, echoing a popular Democratic talking point at the time. “In retrospect, almost all of us think that was a horrible mistake”, Rohrbacher said. “Now that we know that it cost a trillion dollars, and all of these years, and all of these lives, and all of this blood… all I can say is everyone I know thinks it was a mistake to go in now”. When asked by panel moderator Grover Norquist what percentage of Republican congressmen agree with that view, McClintock said, “I think everyone [in Congress] would agree that Iraq was a mistake”.

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=33780

Let’s keep this short and sweet. If the above is so, the American media isn’t reporting it. It DOES tell you all about the Tea Party, giving it all kinds of free airtime and attention. However, many sources believe that teabaggers are only 15 percent of the electorate. Yes… that’s enough to swing an election (especially in states with overly-large percentages of Mormons and Sectarians). You’ve all heard of Joe Miller from Alaska… well, one of the reasons that the Tea Party resonated in parts of Alaska society, enough to elect this posturing fanatic, is that Alaska has an over-representation of Mormons. In the general US population, 2 percent are Mormons; in Alaska, the figure is 4 percent. Mormons tend to be fanatic teabaggers… their “church” is well heeled, and present election law allows contributions to political candidates to be secret and candidates have no obligation to report expenses or donations to any agency. There’s Miller’s margin… a factor that doesn’t exist in most areas. It also wasn’t reported in the media. In short, the media ignores much of what goes on (there’s no “conspiracy”, it’s just a case of like-minded people with similar blind spots)… and what they don’t tell you is just as important to you as what they do tell you.

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

2 September 2010

Albany NY