Sunday, September 29, 2024

BWorld 736, Government corporations’ excess funds, rising interest payments, and the NGRP

Government corporations’ excess funds, rising interest payments, and the NGRP

August 29, 2024 | 12:02 am

 

My Cup Of Liberty

By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr.

https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2024/08/29/616597/government-corporations-excess-funds-rising-interest-payments-and-the-ngrp/

 

Last Tuesday, Aug. 27, a magnificent document was released by seven former Finance officials, the “Statement of Former Secretaries of Finance on the Mobilization of Excess GOCC Funds.”

 

The signatories and their terms of office as Finance Secretary were Cesar E. A. Virata (1970-1986), Roberto de Ocampo (1994-1998), Jose T. Pardo (Jan. 2000 – Jan. 2001), Alberto G. Romulo (January – June 2001), Jose Isidro N. Camacho (2001-2003), Margarito B. Teves (2005-2010), and Cesar V. Purisima (February – July 2005; 2010-2016).

 

The officials declared with authority that “As former Secretaries of the Department of Finance (DoF), we fully understand and support the DoF’s exercise of its authority to effectively utilize the excess funds of government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) to finance crucial government projects in areas like health, education, social services, and infrastructure. We believe this move will bring substantial benefits to the Filipino people. Mobilizing these excess funds will enable important public projects that can strengthen our economy and ensure long-term gains through more jobs, higher incomes, and reduced poverty.”

 

Such a vote of confidence in the policy of current Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto should quash any serious doubts about the efficiency and rationality of tapping the excess funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. or PhilHealth (P90 billion) and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. or PDIC (P110 billion), among others.

 

Congratulations, Messrs. Virata, De Ocampo, Pardo, Romulo, Camacho, Teves, and Purisima, for that concise and clear statement.

 

 

Disclosure: Former Secretary Gary Teves was my boss when I was working at the House of Representatives. He was a Congressman and Chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs in the 1990s. Then when he put up a private consulting firm, Think Tank, Inc., which I worked at from late 1999 to 2004.

 

PROPOSED BUDGET 2025


The proposed budget for 2025 is now undergoing review, agency by agency, both at the House and the Senate. The biggest expenditure areas in the budget are the departments of Public Works, Education, the Interior (including the Philippine National Police), Defense, Social Work, Health, Transportation, Agriculture, and the state universities.

 

For special purpose funds (SPVs), the biggest expense class, these are the allocations to local governments, the interest payment of our public debt, and subsidy to government corporations including PhilHealth (see Table 1).

 


Note the huge jump in interest payments, from P380 billion in 2020 to P430 billion in 2021, P503 billion in 2022, P628 billion in 2023, and a projected P670 billion this year. We spend hugely each year, beyond what domestic revenues can cover, so we have borrowed about P2 trillion/year from 2020 to 2023.

 

SPENDING REFORMS VIA NGPA AND NGRP


The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), as the disbursing office of the trillions of pesos in the annual budget as authorized and legislated by Congress, initiated reforms in public procurement via the newly enacted New Government Procurement Act of 2024 or NGPA (RA 12009). There is also a bill in Congress on the National Government Rightsizing Program (NGRP).

 

 

As an advocate of minimal government intervention and minimal taxes, I find these two measures worthy of support. The NGPA should lead to more transparency and reduced waste and corruption in government procurement of goods and services. Even non-participants and observers of government procurement contracts can have access to certain data via the NGPA microsite.

 

The NGRP is definitely needed, given the huge annual spending on government personnel services, which contributes to the high annual budget deficit and consequent large borrowings and high interest payments.

 

DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said in a press statement the other week, that she wanted a reclassification of vacant positions in government agencies to ensure optimal utilization of manpower resources across the bureaucracy. She added that, “It’s not just removing and consolidating the agencies but at the same time fix[ing] the positions, do[ing] reclassifications within departments and agencies… to have a bureaucracy that is agile and responsive, not a government that is too bloated and the service is not good.”

 

Go for this, Madame Secretary. I hope that Congress will prioritize this bill this year.

 

RISING INTEREST PAYMENTS


Yesterday the Bureau of the Treasury released the cash operations report for the year until July. I have compared those numbers with those from January to July of preceding years. Among the things I discovered were the following.

 

There has been a significant increase in revenues, from P2.27 trillion in 2023 to P2.61 trillion in 2024, even without any major tax hikes. That high-growth Philippines is creating more jobs means more tax-paying businesses and labor.

 

Government expenditures are not slowing down but are keeping up with the rise in revenues, which should not be the case because we are not in any economic, or health, or political crisis.

 

Interest payments, in particular, are rising fast. The P457 billion released in January to July implies an average increase of P65.3 billion/month. If this trend continues, then the full-year interest payment in 2024 will be P783 billion, not the P670 billion as programmed in the 2024 budget.

 

The deficit is still far higher than the pre-lockdown level. In 2019 it was P118 billion, while it was P643 billion this year (see Table 2).

 


We need more economic growth from the private sector and less spending and borrowing in the public sector to significantly reduce the public debt stock. The call for patriotism should ring louder in the hearts of government personnel, particularly the military and uniformed personnel whose annual pension is rising consistently. This is because they do not contribute for their own personal pensions, and the irrational indexation of their pensions with the salaries of active personnel.

 

Together, the private and public sectors should sustain high economic growth while instilling fiscal discipline and restraint. Then attaining credit ratings of “A,” and lowering the debt/GDP ratio to below 56% and the poverty level to below 10% by 2028, should come handily.
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Twitter Notes: Thomas Sowell quotes

I like Thomas Sowell, an American economist who is very vocal and consistent in advocating for individual freedom and free market. Some of his recent tweets below.
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Thomas Sowell Quotes

@ThomasSowell

 

1. With people across virtually the entire ideological spectrum being offended by inequalities and their consequences, why do these inequalities persist? Why are we not all united in determination to put an end to them? 

 

Perhaps the most cogent explanation was that offered by Milton Friedman:

 

A society that puts equality—in the sense of equality of outcome—ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom. The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom, and the force, introduced for good purposes, will end up in the hands of people who use it to promote their own interests.




 2. The dirty little secret of liberal politics is that it is not about the poor or "social justice" but is about the political careers and moral exaltation of liberals themselves. The actual consequences of liberal policies on the poor or others seldom receives anything like the amount of attention given to promoting these policies and demonizing the critics of these politics.

 

3. For those who have difficulty understanding the strange way words are used by politicians and the media, here is a glossary translating political rhetoric into plain English:

 

"crisis": any situation you want to change

 

"bilingual": unable to speak English

 

"equal opportunity": preferential treatment

 

"non-judgmental": blaming society

 

"compassion": the use of tax money to buy votes

 

"insensitivity": objections to the use of tax money to buy votes

 

"simplistic": an argument you disagree with but can't answer

 

"rehabilitation": magic word said before releasing criminals

 

"demonstration": a riot by people you agree with

 

"mob violence": a riot by people you disagree with

 

"a matter of principle": a political controversy involving the convictions of liberals

 

"an emotional issue": a political controversy involving the convictions of conservatives

 

"funding": money from the government

 

"commitment": more money from the government

 

"docu-drama": a work of fiction about famous people

 

"autobiography": a work of fiction about yourself

 

"federal budget": a work of fiction about government spending

 

"people's republic": a place where you do what you are told or get shot

 

"national liberation movements": organizations trying to create people's republics

 

"policy research": looking for statistics to support the position you have already taken

 

"stereotypes": behavior patterns you don't want to think about

 

"Reaganomics": media explanation of downturns in the economy

 

"robust economy": media explanation of upturns in the economy

 

"constitutional interpretation": judges reading their own political views into the Constitution

 

"politicizing the courts": criticizing judges for reading their own political views into the Constitution

 

"a proud people": chauvinists you like

 

"bigots": chauvinists you don't like

 

"anti-war movement": disarmament advocates who know the idea won't fly under its own name

 

"private greed": making money selling people what they want

 

"public service": gaining power to make people do what you want them to

 

"innovation": something new

 

"new innovation": something new by someone who doesn't understand English

 

"competency": competence, as described by the incompetent

 

"moderate Arabs": mythical beings to whom State Department officials make sacrificial offerings

 

"special interest lobby": politically organized conservatives

 

"public interest group": politically organized liberals

 

"accountability": holding teachers, public officials, and private businesses responsible for the consequences of their misdeeds

 

"chilling effect": holding journalists responsible for the consequences of their misdeeds.
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See also:
Twitter notes: Vivek Ramaswamy, September 07, 2024
 

BWorld 735, PhilHealth’s idle funds and health spending in Asia

PhilHealth’s idle funds and health spending in Asia

August 27, 2024 | 12:02 am

 

My Cup Of Liberty

By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr.

https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2024/08/27/616105/philhealths-idle-funds-and-health-spending-in-asia/

 

The arguments against the transfer of idle funds of PhilHealth to finance some unprogrammed appropriations are becoming more predictable, repetitive and unconvincing. I summarize below those major arguments.

 

No. 1, if those unprogrammed appropriations are indeed important, they should have been included in the regular programmed appropriations so they can get regular and not standby funding.

 

No. 2, much of the congressional “pork” budget was inserted in programmed appropriations, bumping off certain unprogrammed fund projects so that unprogrammed allocations increased to P731 billion from P282 billion in 2024.

 

No. 3, PhilHealth is a social health insurance fund and not a bank, and people’s premiums cannot be tapped for other government spending, and PhilHealth should not call the unused fund “savings.”

 

No. 4, high out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) in the Philippines, 46% of which are health expenditures, are the third highest in Southeast Asia and only lower than Cambodia and Myanmar.

 

 

Since those arguments are repetitive and bordering on being emotional, they are easy to rebut. In this column last month, “On unprogrammed appropriations and Secretary Ralph Recto” (July 30), I already provided some answers to the above claims. I wrote the following:

 

On No. 1, “The programmed appropriations, our expenditures, are so many that current and future revenues will not be able to catch up resulting in a huge budget deficit… huge interest payments that add more pressure on expenditures, in the first half of 2024 our interest payment was already P377 billion, likely to reach P750 billion in the full year 2024… The budget deficit for 2024 and 2025 would be at the 2023 level of P1.5 trillion.”

 

On No. 2, “out of the P731 billion in unprogrammed appropriations for 2024, the potential congressional pork barrel fund would be P225 billion on “strengthening assistance for government infrastructure and social programs.” The rest, or P506 billion, is earmarked for foreign-assisted projects (FAP), the Philippines’ counterpart funds, social programs for health and education, etc.”

 

On No. 3, people’s premium payment will not be used. Members’ contributions from 2021 to 2023 ranged from P106 billion to P158 billion. And the members get benefit claims from P85 billion to P153 billion over the same period. It is not members’ money that will be tapped by the Department of Finance (DoF) for unprogrammed appropriations, but money from gamblers and bettors (PAGCOR and PCSO), money from drinkers and smokers of legal products (alcohol and tobacco tax revenues), the average P80 billion/year over the same period (see Table 1).

 


 

On No. 4, out-of-pocket expenditures per capita in the Philippines of $91 per person in 2021 was actually higher than those in Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, India and Thailand. Valued in purchasing power parity (PPP) also in 2021, the OOPE per capita in the Philippines of $219 is again higher than those six countries.

  

I think those numbers on OOPE per capita refer only to National Government health spending (DoH, PhilHealth, UP-PGH, hospitals for AFP, PNP, Veterans, etc.). It’s possible that health spending by local government units is not included yet in the World Bank data. I refer to big hospitals owned and funded by cities and big municipalities.




Consider also this fact: Manila City has the greatest number of public hospitals per square kilometer of land. There are four big DoH hospitals (Jose Fabella, Jose R. Reyes, San Lazaro, Tondo Medical), the lone UP-Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and five or six city-owned hospitals.

 

Following the hypothesis or narrative that “more public health spending equals better health outcome,” can we argue and state with strong confidence that Manila City residents have the best health outcome, possibly the healthiest people in the Philippines? I doubt it.

 

The DoF is correct in tapping those idle funds of PhilHealth, especially money from gamblers, drinkers and smokers, to fund some unprogrammed fund projects. It is correct in avoiding to borrow another P90 billion, which when contracted at 6.4% interest rate (average for 10-year government bonds) would mean P5.76 billion in yearly interest payments alone, plus yearly principal amortization.

 

The detractors have spoken repeatedly, and they have presented no new arguments that will help the country reduce the deficit, reduce borrowings or reduce interest payments.

 

Onwards, the DoF should not stop tapping the idle funds of government corporations to reduce the deficit. In the long term, it should privatize some or many government assets, lands and corporations. Big-ticket items like NAIA land itself of 636 hectares and New Bilibid Prison land of 447 hectares since the DoJ is building big regional jails and abandoning the national penitentiary.

 

Privatization revenues should be used entirely to reduce the public debt stock, not earmarked for any department or public programs and projects.

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US-China 4, Comparison of military strengths

A good comparison with good data from Global Fire Power Utility. 



For the Financials,

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BWorld 734, Coal, nuclear and economic growth

Coal, nuclear and economic growth

August 22, 2024 | 12:02 am

 

My Cup Of Liberty

By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr.

https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2024/08/22/615410/coal-nuclear-and-economic-growth/

 

More countries have recently reported their second quarter (Q2) 2024 GDP performance. I can now update the performance for the first half (H1, Q1 and Q2) of the year and compare this with the same period over the last three years.

 

I found that the same trend is affirmed — Asia is experiencing medium to high growth except for Japan, while Europe is mostly slowing down, with GDP below 1% if not contracting like Austria, Germany, Ireland, Finland. In North America, Canada is following the European trend (see Table 1).

 


Many European countries are busy with priorities like saving the planet, saving net zero, saving Ukraine, saving illegal immigrants, saving DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). But saving their economies from slowing growth seems a low priority for them. The Philippines and other Asian nations should not follow their economic and political path.

 

The anti-coal expansion stance of environmental activists — exemplified by their disapproval of Therma Visayas, Inc. (TVI) in Cebu — is grounded on climate alarmism and favoritism of intermittent renewables. Energy policy and planning by many governments around the world are influenced by the alarmism movement.

 

The data on Europe’s degrowth* are a result of decades of climate and energy policies. There was a fast exit from coal, and even from nuclear power, in Europe, and a quick embrace of wind-solar power, led by the UK and Germany. The average growth for many European countries from 2013 to 2023 has been anemic — Germany and France 1.1%, the UK and Spain 1.6%, Italy 0.7%.

 

In contrast, Poland and Turkey, which produced 100 terawatt hours (TWh) and 118 TWh respectively in 2023 through the burning of coal, have had higher GDP growth over the same period.

 

Coal use in Asian countries has been rising, led by China, India, Indonesia, and South Korea. Japan has also been using much coal, but this is because they temporarily pivoted away from nuclear energy after the big earthquake and damage to the cooling systems of the Fukushima nuclear plant. Asian countries, except Japan, have had an average growth of 2.5% to 6% over the same period (see Table 2).

 


 

Again, there are many factors for a country’s GDP growth, high or low, and the use of cheap, reliable fossil fuel energy is just one of them — but it is among the more important factors.

 

This week several friends forwarded to me the column of Dr. Vic Limlingan which came out here in BusinessWorld, “Our misguided energy policy” (Aug. 19) and asked me to comment on it.

 

Well, the beauty of his piece is that he does not endorse climate and energy alarmism and does not support the use of more wind-solar power, and instead pushed for the use of more coal and natural gas in the country’s energy mix until 2040. Bravo, Dr. Limlingan.

 

But what I did not agree with is that he lambasted the energy plan under energy secretary Raphael Lotilla without realizing that the secretary is pushing for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the Philippines energy mix.

 

From the recent draft paper — “Philippine Nuclear Energy Program (PNEP) 2024-2050: A Roadmap Towards Clean Energy” — released in mid-July, the Department of Energy sees nuclear and other sources contributing 19.4 TWh by 2040, and 38.6 TWh by 2050, or an energy share of 6.9% of the total by 2040, and 8.7% of the total by 2050.

 

Germany cut its nuclear generation from a peak of 171 TWh in 2001 to only 7 TWh in 2023. This year it is down to zero as they shut down their last remaining nuclear plants last April. The UK cut its nuclear generation from a peak of 100 TWh in 1998 to only 41 TWh in 2023. Germany and the UK are on the path of degrowth.

 

In contrast, China started nuclear generation only in 1993 with 1.6 TWh and reached 435 TWh in 2023. More prominently, the United Arab Emirates started its nuclear generation only in 2020 with 1.6 TWh and reached 32 TWh in 2023. The UAE, China, and other Asian countries are on a path to high growth.

 

Secretary Lotilla deserves support, not condemnation, for an expanded energy mix that includes nuclear and imported LNG in the future.

 

Meanwhile Meralco has called on generating companies (gencos) to bid again for its 1,000 MW supply requirements beginning 2025. This is after a temporary restraining order was imposed by a Taguig Regional Trial Court which blocked the original bidding scheduled for Aug. 2 (600 MW) and Aug. 9 (400 MW).

 

Again, a Competitive Selection Process (CSP) is about obtaining the lowest prices for the consumers. It is not a climate/ecological choice, not a choice between imported vs indigenous gas. The interest of the consumer — for cheaper electricity with no blackouts — should prevail over corporate interests lobbying for favoritism towards indigenous natural gas.

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See also:


Deindustrialization 28, Germany's large job cuts

More on Germany deindustrialization while pursuing net zero.

Energy crisis and inflation push more German firms into insolvency, study says
By Reuters June 29, 2023
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy-crisis-inflation-push-more-german-firms-into-insolvency-study-2023-06-29/

Germany Faces Decade-High Record in Corporate Bankruptcies
Economic Challenges and Systemic Issues Drive 40% Increase in Insolvencies
The FastForward News Team 10 Jul 2024
https://fastforward.com.cy/breakthrough/germany-faces-decade-high-record-corporate-bankruptcies

German Green Raw Deal: First Half 2024 Insolvencies Skyrocket 30%, Near 10-Year High
By P Gosselin on 11. August 2024

Germany’s Company Insolvencies Seen Heading Toward 2017 High
Total for May is up almost a third from a year earlier
Economy shrank in second quarter and may hardly grow in 2024
By Zoe Schneeweiss August 9, 2024 

German businesses dismiss ‘crazy’ plan to charge more for electricity on cloudy days
Jorg Luyken  August 27, 2024·

Botched Green New Deal: Business Sentiment In Germany Is Now Free-Falling, “On The Brink”
By P Gosselin on 31. August 2024

Remix News & Views

@RMXnews  Sep 16, 2024

 

🇩🇪 AfD co-leader Alice Weidel calls German Chancellor Olaf Scholz the "chancellor of decline" to his face.

 

🔺500,000 jobs lost since Scholz became chancellor

🔺Auto supplier ZF will cut 14,000 jobs

🔺SAP will cut 10,000

🔺Ford 4,600

🔺Bosch 3760

 

And the list goes on...

 

https://x.com/RMXnews/status/1835416684292616699?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1835416684292616699%7Ctwgr%5E72e740d18e2b0d32c28987403f1901551c102bf7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Frmx.news%2Farticle%2Fwith-job-cuts-slamming-germany-berlin-hides-industrial-crisis-with-huge-government-hiring-spree%2F



VW could cut up to 30,000 employees in Germany
The German giant is simply no longer selling enough cars
SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

With job cuts slamming Germany, Berlin ‘hides’ industrial crisis with huge government hiring spree

Germany's industry is crashing while government workers and nurses are being hired, all which has served to distort the country's dire employment situation

SEPTEMBER 24, 2024
https://rmx.news/article/with-job-cuts-slamming-germany-berlin-hides-industrial-crisis-with-huge-government-hiring-spree/

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BWorld 733, MUP pension reform and ‘A’ credit ratings

MUP pension reform and ‘A’ credit ratings

August 20, 2024 | 12:02 am

 

My Cup Of Liberty

By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr.

https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2024/08/20/614899/mup-pension-reform-and-a-credit-ratings/

 


One important fiscal news last week was the move by the Department of Finance (DoF) to review the pension system of military and uniformed personnel (MUP).

 

The MUP is composed of eight agencies — the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Corrections, National Mapping and Resource Information Authority and Philippine Veterans Affairs Office.

 

The MUP pension system is unique for two reasons. One, while government doctors and nurses, government teachers and professors, government engineers and agriculturists, and so on contribute to their own pension via monthly deductions for GSIS, MUPs contribute zero, and so taxpayers pay for their pension. No. 2, the MUP pension is indexed to the salaries of active personnel, so a soldier or policeman who retired a few years ago with P75,000/month will get a pension equivalent to the salary of same-rank active personnel at P150,000/month. The amount rises yearly, is tax free and can be passed on to the spouse upon death.

 

I checked again the figures for MUP spending. They have basic pay, compensation common to all (longevity pay, subsistence allowance, clothing allowance, bonuses, etc.), compensation for specific groups (hazard pay, combat duty pay, combat incentive pay, etc.) and other benefits (retirement gratuity, terminal leave, PhilHealth contribution, etc.).

 

These are for compensations alone. Capex and operation and maintenance costs are excluded. When soldiers are sent to fight rebels, they are provided with tanks, trucks, helicopters, boats and other hardware so that their chances of beating the rebels are high, while their chances of dying in combat are low.

 

Look at Table 1 based on the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) from various years. Since the government is in perennial deficit and the MUP pension fund is nonproductive spending (no new roads, no new healthcare or education provided, etc.), the money to finance it is borrowed funds plus interest payments. So the computed total taxpayers’ burden (pension plus interest) ranged from P110 billion in 2020 to P129 billion in 2021, P136 billion this year and P150 billion next year.

 


To sustain the “patriotism” call in the country, the proposed bills at the House of Representatives and Senate should require active MUPs to contribute to their own pension. And pension indexing to current salary of the same rank personnel should be discontinued or at least be adjusted downward.

 

While spending on roads, bridges and education has social benefits, pensions are for personal benefits, and contributions should be personal, not social.

 

PHILIPPINES GETTING ‘A’ CREDIT RATINGS

Also last week, R&I rating agency upgraded the country’s ratings from BBB+, Positive (Oct. 7, 2023) to A-, Stable on Aug. 14. It was reported also in BusinessWorld, “R&I upgrades PHL credit rating to ‘A-’” (Aug. 15). So the Philippines has left the B league and is now at par with Thailand, and soon be at par with Malaysia (Table 2).

  


Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto celebrated it in their press statement as a “milestone achievement.” He said this was the first credit rating upgrade under President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and is proof that investors and creditors trust his way of running the economy. “Our refined medium-term fiscal program is our blueprint for our road to A rating,” Recto said. “This ensures that we can reduce our deficit and debt gradually in a realistic manner, while creating more jobs, increasing our people’s incomes, growing the economy further and decreasing poverty in the process.”

 

Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman in a separate statement said: “Let’s get all A’s. I am confident we can achieve an “A” rating for all credit rating agencies.” She could be referring to Fitch, Moody’s and S&P.

 

The economic team is on the right path at macroeconomic stabilization that can lead to more rating upgrades in the coming months. We need to sustain it and do more in fiscal consolidation, control some spending, reduce deficit and borrowings so that the public debt stock, the principal amortization and interest payment can be reduced also.

 

Significant reforms in the MUP pension will help achieve this. I believe that our MUP personnel have a high degree of patriotism and they will understand that they need to help the country by contributing to their personal pension someday and not further burden taxpayers. 

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Ukraine war 7, Sanctions don't work because they create new markets

Good discussion by Mike "Mish" Shedlock. Europe trade with Kyrgyztan jumped to the roof when sanctions were imposed vs Russia.
"lesson of the day. Sanctions don’t work because they create new markets." 

To Those Hard of Learning, Here’s a Repeat Lesson on Why Sanctions Fail

Mike “Mish” Shedlocke, September 26, 2024
https://mishtalk.com/economics/to-those-hard-of-learning-heres-a-repeat-lesson-on-why-sanctions-fail/


From the Draghi report, Russia dark fleet, the "unknown" in gray below. Posted and tweeted by Robin Brooks. 



then a reply by Mike "Mish" Shedlock

@MishGEA


Robin, it's hard not to be amused about your inability to learn anything.

Lesson of the Day: Sanctions Don’t Work Because They Create New Markets


From Mist's article last year,

How Russia Makes a Mockery of US Sanctions in One Picture

December 29, 2023 

https://mishtalk.com/economics/how-russia-makes-a-mockery-of-us-sanctions-in-one-picture/

Russia to Export Coal to India Via Iran. It’s a 4 Alarm Bells Fire

June 11, 2024

https://mishtalk.com/economics/russia-to-export-coal-to-india-via-iran-its-a-4-alarm-bells-fire/


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