Coston's Complaint: Is Washington D.C. Our Moscow?

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Is Washington D.C. Our Moscow?

What is happening in the Ukraine should concern the citizens of these United States. And I’m not just talking about the geopolitical consequences of Russian hegemony in Eastern Europe. No, I’m talking about the governing styles of an ex-Soviet KGB agent and the paternalistic, or should I say maternalistic, policies of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. Their styles are different, but the end game is the same: subjugation and deference by and for the ruling class.

Both men have an objective to silence opposition and control the populace. The only difference is Putin is comfortable being a man, while Obama embraces his softer, pink side. Both are narcissistic vipers ready to strike.

Will America become the next Ukraine? I say Washington D.C. is our Moscow. States are treated as mere satellites. We have a corrupt political oligarchy that confers power onto itself, while allowing bureaucratic apparatchiks impose rules and regulations that make it impossible for businesses to operate and at the same time turning citizens into criminals.

The federal government has turned States into beggars with easy money, which isn't hard to do since they have a printing press. Moscow has used the same strategy on the Ukraine, as reported by The Independent:

Russia tied Ukraine to a $15bn bailout deal in December, which is parcelled out by the month to maximise leverage, and periodically suspended whenever the opposition looked like getting the upper hand. But Russia’s real aim was to provide just enough money to support the old semi-authoritarian system (helping Viktor Yanukovych pay the police) and keep Ukrainian society post-Soviet, that is, still dependent on government.

The comparisons don’t stop there. See if you can recognize our future in the following excerpt by ABCNews:

GAS FOLLIES: Ukraine's state gas company, Naftogaz, charges customers only about 20 percent of what it pays for imported Russian gas. That means the government spends about 7.5 percent of the entire economy's output each year on a massive home heating subsidy aimed at keeping voters happy. That results in large budget deficits that the government must borrow to cover.

The International Monetary Fund tried to help Ukraine through its post-crisis troubles, with loan packages in 2008 and 2010. Each time, the IMF turned off the money tap after Ukraine refused to follow policy requirements including raising gas prices or cutting back sufficiently on generous government salaries and pensions.

CORRUPTION: A recent World Bank study of the economy cited "pervasive" corruption as a major factor holding back the economy. At street level, businesses are subjected to arbitrary treatment by officials and demands for bribes. Higher up, there is widespread public skepticism over the fortunes amassed by the connected, known as oligarchs. In particular, attention has focused on the career of Yanukovych's son Oleksandr, a dentist who according to Forbes Ukraine has amassed a $510 million fortune through various business enterprises.

Ukraine ranked 144 out of 175 countries in the 2013 corruption perception index compiled by Transparency International, an anti-corruption group, behind Papua New Guinea, Nigeria, and Iran.

RED TAPE: Business advocates say owners sometimes prefer paying bribes to obeying regulations and taxes that are so complicated and burdensome that they would be out of business if they complied. The country's complex business tax laws require 390 hours a year to comply with and take 54.9 percent of profits. That put Ukraine 164th out of 189 countries in ease of paying taxes in a World Bank survey.

BROKEN FINANCES: Ukraine's finances now are in such bad shape that it will have trouble paying its debts this year without outside help. With continuing deficits, it faces borrowing needs of between $7 billion and $10 billion this year. Its poor prospects mean it's unlikely to be able to borrow more on bond markets.