UKRAINE’S ECONOMY IS A MESS IMHO: Ukrainians have the Highest IQ per dollar and

http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2014/03/ukraine-and-russiaWHY UKRAINE’S ECONOMY IS A MESS

IMHO: Ukrainians have the Highest IQ per dollar and best work ethic outside of the USA. An incredible piece of real estate and natural gas reserves. They are just broken from generations of peasantry, generations of communism, and a generation of economic uncertainty. Victims of a predatory post-soviet government. But they still soldier onward. (I love them),

WHY DO THEY SUFFER?

–“Dodgy economic policy, distaste for reform and endemic corruption have brought the country to its knees.”–

–“Corruption and poor governance…”–

–“The Ukrainian shadow economy is one of the biggest in the world—at around 50% of GDP, according to IMF research. Businesses operating underground tend not to pay taxes, further depriving the government of funds. And last week Ukraine’s new prime minister estimated that $37 billion had gone missing during Viktor Yanukovych’s rule.”–

–“Protecting the currency drained the central bank’s reserves, which tumbled from a high of $40 billion in 2011 to about $12 billion today. Last month the central bank admitted defeat and let the currency go. Currency depreciation, while necessary, will be an economic headache for Ukraine in the short term. About half of its public debt is in foreign currencies: as the hrvynia loses value, Ukraine’s debt burden rises.”—

–“The state gas company, Naftogaz, only charges consumers a quarter of the cost of importing the gas. Cheap gas discourages investment: Ukraine is one of the most energy-intensive economies in the world and domestic production has slumped by two-thirds since the 1970s.”–