Russia’s Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin had some curious advice for citizens to help with the economic recovery in that country: drink and smoke heavily. Kudrin has told citizens that the government needs the taxes so they should party hearty, including the added benefit of “upholding birth rates.” It appears that you drink first and smoke later in the expansion of the Russian population.
Of course, Russia has a long problem with widespread addiction to alcohol and smoking. Yet, Kudrin insists “If you smoke a pack of cigarettes, that means you are giving more to help solve social problems such as boosting demographics, developing other social services and upholding birth rates . . . People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state.”
Notably, there have long been economic models that say that smoking can produce a benefit for a government by killing off citizens as they become less productive. Yet, Kudrin appears mostly interested in the taxes.
He seems to believe that there is still some room for growth in consumption despite the fact that the average Russian already consumes 18 litres of alcoholic beverages (mainly vodka) per year.
This is why Timothy Geithner is such a drag. Their economic czar is pushing the country to recovery through an endless TGIF party. Geithner is advocating growth through special-purpose investment partnerships with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The nice thing about the Kudrin plan is that, even if it does not work, you really don’t mind.
Source: AFP
Jonathan Turley
We absolutely love yor blog ɑnd findd mazny οf your post’s toο bee
just wha I’m looming fοr. Doeѕ ߋne offer guest writers tto wrtite
content fօr you personally? I wouldn’t mind creatng а
post or elaborating ߋn а loot оf tҺе subjjects youu write гelated tοo Һere.
Αgain, awesomke weblog!
This Russian guy must have spent time with the Irish ATM dude … they think alike …
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
“for tomorrow we die!”
~Isaiah 22:13
Very Biblical for a former communist. methinks.
“The nice thing about the Kudrin plan is that, even if it does not work, you rarely don’t mind.”
I think he may have been reading the blog and got his idea from this post here:
“Grandfather Arrested For Allegedly Smuggling Drugs To Grandson in Jail”
“It’s no wonder they were called, ‘The Good Old Days’!!
From cradle to grave…
Everyone Was Stoned!!!”
Sound like the Ronnie Trickle down plan, tax em….especially the middle class….
And now, Frank Rich showing that – yes – our “leaders” too can be insipid shortsighted venal jackasses.
Freedom’s Just Another Word
Obama! Looking your spineless direction . . .
Dashiell Hammett was an author of hard-boiled detective novels, not an economic advisor. But it is nice to see Russian “leaders” exhibiting the same degree of shortsightedness as displayed in many countries.