Posted on 10/14/2010 8:59:16 PM PDT by tired1
bump for later read
Two big props to the Soviet economy were oil and gold. Much of their foreign exchange came from these two sources. Under Reagan, private gold ownership was restored which brought a flood of gold purchases, especially South African Krugerrands. Then, the Saudis agreed to increase oil production. The result-both commodities tanked in price, undercutting the Soviet economy and stimulating ours.
It didn’t help either that we effectively made China an ally at the same time. The American connection enabled the Chicoms to build up both their military and their economy, both of which at the time were in a rudimentary state. All the while, taxing the capabilities of their neighbor.
Where’s the costal elite? Those are Texans and a working class Greek? Where are the Harvard/Yale types? ( Oh, I forgot, having long lunches at the CIA )
Also, your reward for exceeding a production quota was an increase in the quota and possibly a shiny Hero of Socialist Labour medal.
Internally, those expenditure were thought of as ‘investments’. Just like in the US, Public Housing projects, High Speed Rail, Stimulus Debt, is thought of as investments. Basically, central planning is economics for losers. Something to do until the collapse.
I really couldn’t say. I thought the ‘08 election would be between Hillary Clinton and Newt Gingrich.
This is the first time I’ve felt we were in the fight in the last 22 years though, and she has never been to the Bohemian Grove.
Production quotas were often exceeded. Now if you actually wanted to walk in those plastic shoes, or eat those cans of ‘People’s Caned Meet Products. Factory 298’, is another thing.
Much like our People’s Schools products. All graduate and have certificates to prove it. Just don’t ask them to do any subtraction.
For my money, it would be Walter Cronkite and his duplicitous “reportage.” Gen. Giap said that the US media was a tremendous ally.
Don’t know.
That reminds me of a quote from PJ O’Rouke - “Communism collapsed because no one wanted to wear Bulgarian shoes.”
btt for later!
The ruble was inconvertable and they could have simply inflated as they had in the past. They could also have restructured foreign payments, as Russia subsequently
Well, all their satelite countrys around them rebelled and refused to cooperate as did most of the east bloc states, russia was unlikely to make it on it’s own without using Stalinistic methods, and they could probably not get away with that in the ninetis.
PROMIS technology.
(Yes, it’s spelled that way!)
CA....
The USSR had many weaknesses, but the most crucial tipping point came from our successful effort to drive down oil prices in the 1980s. The resulting collapse in hard-currency revenues ultimately bankrupted the inefficient empire. A detailed history of how that oil price management occurred is available in a book, “The Oil Card: Global Economic Warfare in the 21st Century.”
Ultimately, Gorbachev had to go hat in hand to borrow about $100 billion from Western governments to feed the Russian people in the final years of the 1980s. The strings attached to those loans and the treat of them being called due were a key factor in preventing Soviet troops from being sent in to crush the popular uprisings in Eastern Europe. Moscow lost control of its borders and ran out of money at the end of 1991.
The key question now: Are current high oil (and iron ore and bauxite) prices being managed upward to try and slow down the Chinese?
I remember that one and the one in which she is counting the stitches on her jeans.
All of you are only partially correct.
Yes, bad economics is the background. All Communist systems become increasingly inefficient, and despite whatever tinkering (so-called planning) is done, it will not improve.
But - what brought the Soviets down (and nearly brought the Chicoms down in May-June of 1989) are divisions and power struggles within the party itself. After the strong-man (ie. Mao/Stalin) destroys any rule of law, power naturally becomes dispersed among the bureaucrats who battle each-other over economic policy, power, control over the military, etc... In fact, they probably hate each other more than the outside enemy.
George Kennan knew this when he proposed “Containment” after WWII, and Reagan understood that, Totalitarian Gov’ts are, in fact, very weak internally.
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