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leveymg

(36,418 posts)
39. Got much worse during the Larry Summers IMF "structural adjustment" period. Much worse.
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 10:33 PM
Jan 2013

Even with the shortages, 1991 was still a "socialist paradise" compared to the IMF restructuring period a few years later when the state subsidies were pared back to practically nothing, unemployment rose to 30-40 percent, and old age pensions became practically worthless. I still remember the photos from that wonderful period of capitalist awakening of retired widows selling their last remaining spoons and shawls to raise a few kopeks. Frightening, and unnecessary. A portent of the wider Austerities coming to America and much of the West, I'm afraid.

Russians are far worse off today than when the Soviet Union collapsed Cleita Jan 2013 #1
really? banned from Kos Jan 2013 #3
You assume that money is going to the greater population of the former USSR. Arctic Dave Jan 2013 #5
I don't know. What does household income look like (1980-2010)? banned from Kos Jan 2013 #14
All I could find was average monthly income of 720.00 Arctic Dave Jan 2013 #18
GDP is very innaccurate for showing quality of life and does not reflect the people's opinion. white_wolf Jan 2013 #6
May as well show a graph of the stock market - most people don't really benefit from that, either. reformist2 Jan 2013 #10
Excellent !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t RKP5637 Jan 2013 #29
I know they really miss sharp_stick Jan 2013 #13
It was a betrayal, however, to have the West insist Ken Burch Jan 2013 #20
Not according to Dmitry Orlov Jim Warren Jan 2013 #26
Well, of a Stalinist autocracy. nt Deep13 Jan 2013 #2
You can find random pictures like those in the US. Arctic Dave Jan 2013 #4
Good Lord, 1 in 5 American children currently lives in poverty. So if capitalism coalition_unwilling Jan 2013 #25
Yep! I've seen deplorable places in the US. If aired constantly it would make the RKP5637 Jan 2013 #31
Back in the early 80s, my then in-laws visited my ex and me, coming coalition_unwilling Jan 2013 #35
The propaganda that we are the best runs far, wide and thick in the US keeping the masses under RKP5637 Jan 2013 #38
A photo of a prostitute in 1991 in the USSR is a symbol of the failed socialist state. Brickbat Jan 2013 #7
A photo of a prostitute in 2013 in the United States is...what? white_wolf Jan 2013 #9
Exactly. Brickbat Jan 2013 #11
An HBO series bigbrother05 Jan 2013 #30
Those pictures are actually how it looked years before the collapse. reformist2 Jan 2013 #8
Pictures of a desperate people in the US. Rex Jan 2013 #12
Got much worse during the Larry Summers IMF "structural adjustment" period. Much worse. leveymg Jan 2013 #39
No wonder they needed a wall to keep their people from escaping. Nye Bevan Jan 2013 #15
But NOT a "socialist" system in any real sense. Ken Burch Jan 2013 #22
Not true, a democracy will likely reject socialism in favor of a market system. banned from Kos Jan 2013 #27
It goes back and forth on popular support for socialism. Ken Burch Jan 2013 #32
I could have sworn the USSR was a totalitarian Communist state Fumesucker Jan 2013 #16
A Russian's comparison of then and now: moondust Jan 2013 #17
Interesting. Is this your observations or from a source? Arctic Dave Jan 2013 #23
Admittedly, moondust Jan 2013 #34
Yeah, pretty much verbatim from what I hear. Arctic Dave Jan 2013 #37
You can tell a system is crumbling (i.e. capitalism) when its boosters start comparing it to...... marmar Jan 2013 #19
The Soviet Union was NOT "socialist" in any meaningful sense by 1991 Ken Burch Jan 2013 #21
Socialism is the control or ownership of the means of production banned from Kos Jan 2013 #36
What you are talking about is statism, not "socialism" Ken Burch Jan 2013 #40
OK, we have a fundamental disagreement on the definition of "socialism". banned from Kos Jan 2013 #42
Is this "socialist" in the sense of what the Soviets called themselves... JHB Jan 2013 #24
How come this forum doesn't have the brains or balls whatchamacallit Jan 2013 #28
Heh 2ndAmForComputers Jan 2013 #33
I know, it's baffling. Nye Bevan Jan 2013 #43
Do a search on "Russia new drug krokodil" and tell me again they are better off. nt Bonobo Jan 2013 #41
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