Russia is seriously running out of cash

[Independent voter]

I guess it's mostly due to the drop in the price of a barrel of oil?




http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/16/news...rves-depleted/

Russia is bleeding cash at an alarming rate.

After almost two years in recession, the country's rainy day fund has shrunk to just $32.2 billion this month, according to the Russian Finance Ministry. It was $91.7 billion in September 2014, just before oil prices started to collapse.

And it's getting worse. Analysts expect the fund will shrink to just $15 billion by the end of this year and dry up completely soon after that.


"At the current rate, the fund would be depleted in mid-2017, perhaps a few months later," Ondrej Schneider, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, wrote in a note this week.
The government's reserve fund is designed to cover shortfalls in the national budget at times of low oil and gas revenues.

Russia's 2016 budget is based on the assumption the country would be able to sell its oil for $50 per barrel.

But the average oil price in the first eight months of the year was less than $43 per barrel. Oil now makes up just 37% of all government revenues, compared to roughly 50% just two years ago.
The government will reveal next year's budget after a parliamentary election this weekend.
Related: Russia's economy has been in recession for 18 months

This slump means the government is having to tap the rainy day fund again and again. The government indicated that once the reserves are depleted, it may have to turn to its welfare fund. Kremlin says the welfare fund has over $70 billion in it. The fund is not intended to cover budget shortfalls, but rather to finance future pensions and large-scale investment projects.
Schneider said the assets in the fund are less liquid, so it might even be technically impossible for the government to withdraw from it aggressively.

Russia's central bank cut interest rates on Friday, to 10% from 10.50%, in a further attempt to kick start the economy.

The central bank still has $395 billion in international reserves, down from $524 billion in October 2013. The bank burned through more than $140 billion in foreign currency reserves between 2014 and 2015, trying to defend the ruble from collapsing.

The strategy didn't work and the bank slowly abandoned it. The ruble dropped to the lowest ever in January, when it was trading at 82 rubles per U.S. dollar. It is now trading at 65 rubles per dollar.
Related: Russians are getting angry about the economy
The slump in oil prices has hit Russia at the time it was already suffering because of economic sanctions imposed by Western countries over its role in the crisis in Ukraine.

They've cut off Russia's most important companies from European financing, banned imports of certain products and froze funds of key officials.

Russia retaliated by imposing import restrictions on European food products. That caused a headache to European farmers, but also pushed Russian inflation to double digit levels.

[NED funded]

I feel like Russia should give up and focus their efforts on bulding a stronger economy.

[Skroe]

I feel like Russia should give up and focus their efforts on bulding a stronger economy.

This kind of common sense is forbidden in Putinstan.

It shouldn't be shocking that a country with a $1.4 trillion GDP pissing off the world's two largest economies - the EU and US both with $17 trillion GDPs, and more importantly, in control of all the levers of power - suffers consequences as a result.

EU Sanctions will likely be renewed in January. US sanctions were recently expanded.

Breadlines or bust, people!

[Raptor With a Saber]

Wonder when putin will use some of his billions in personal cash to help his country.

[Hooked]

Are they 21 trillion in debt like we are with over 120 trillion in unfunded liabilities?.

[the game]

Maybe they should get a pay day loan.

[Skroe]

Are they 21 trillion in debt like we are with over 120 trillion in unfunded liabilities?.

You planning on having kids one day?

Congrats on your ~$350,000 in unfunded liabilities.

Don't play the debt game. It's dumb and you'll lose.

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Wonder when putin will use some of his billions in personal cash to help his country.

Well he's probably the richest man in Europe, and perhaps by far the richest man in the world.

So maybe!

I really hope that President Hillary's Sweet Revenge for the DNC hack is to have the the FBI, CIA and Treasury "Putin Team" put their past decade of research into the Vladmir Putin Global Criminal Enterprise online. Bush put the team together. Obama has had it doing it's work for years connecting the dots (and making occasional statements).

The Russian people are so hysterically cowed that they likely won't care, but the world deserves to see the extent that Putin and his people have looted and pillaged their terminally declined third world country.

[Caolela]

At least Russia would have bread lines. The U.S. cut its bread lines for the poor to the bone (SNAP/Food Stamps) so they could use the money for more gratuitous wars and pursuing world hegemony.

[Shibito]

At least Russia would have bread lines. The U.S. cut its bread lines for the poor to the bone (SNAP/Food Stamps) so they could use the money for more gratuitous wars and pursuing world hegemony.

Oh buhu a Russia thread derailed into a USA thread suprise suprise

[Skroe]

At least Russia would have bread lines. The U.S. cut its bread lines for the poor to the bone (SNAP/Food Stamps) so they could use the money for more wars and pursuing world hegemony.

If by "more wars and world hegemony" you mean "the elderly", then yes. The US spends more money on Old People than anything else.

The US loves it's stealth bombers, it's cruise missiles, it's global network of bases. But it's commitment to Grandma's pills, Grandpapa's new knee, and Mom and Dad's retirement, is about ten times the size in terms of spending.

You want more money for the poor? Let's start with cuts to Medicare and Social Security spending. They're the beast. Oh but wait... liberals never saw a dollar of social spending they never liked. All the more reason to strangle Universal Basic Income in it's demonic crib.

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Oh buhu a Russia thread derailed into a USA thread suprise suprise

He's just mad that Bernie Sanders' makebelieve revolution didn't survive into September, much less change the country in an enduring way.

This was a totally predictable outcome to anyone paying attention and not drinking the koolest of kool-aid.

The guy never even commented in these type of threads until his man lost badly and he wanted to "get back" at Sander detractors or something. It's rather cute.

[Theodarzna]

Spent all their money's paying Ultima to post here. They could have paid me half the price.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Does not surpise me. Putin seems to care way more about his power then anything else.

[ArguesWithStrangers]

You planning on having kids one day?

Congrats on your ~$350,000 in unfunded liabilities.

Don't play the debt game. It's dumb and you'll lose.

Quick math. That means I'm carrying..... $1,750,000 in unfunded liabilities. Booyah!

- - - Updated - - -

This kind of common sense is forbidden in Putinstan.

It shouldn't be shocking that a country with a $1.4 trillion GDP pissing off the world's two largest economies - the EU and US both with $17 trillion GDPs, and more importantly, in control of all the levers of power - suffers consequences as a result.

EU Sanctions will likely be renewed in January. US sanctions were recently expanded.

Breadlines or bust, people!

Does this mean my dreams of a sweet ass deployment to Eastern Europe are shall remain unfulfilled? Am I doomed to killing shiteaters on the far side of the world for perpetuity? There is no justice in this life...

[Caolela]

If by "more wars and world hegemony" you mean "the elderly", then yes. The US spends more money on Old People than anything else.

The US loves it's stealth bombers, it's cruise missiles, it's global network of bases. But it's commitment to Grandma's pills, Grandpapa's new knee, and Mom and Dad's retirement, is about ten times the size in terms of spending.

You want more money for the poor? Let's start with cuts to Medicare and Social Security spending. They're the beast. Oh but wait... liberals never saw a dollar of social spending they never liked. All the more reason to strangle Universal Basic Income in it's demonic crib.

- - - Updated - - -



He's just mad that Bernie Sanders' makebelieve revolution didn't survive into September, much less change the country in an enduring way.

This was a totally predictable outcome to anyone paying attention and not drinking the koolest of kool-aid.

The guy never even commented in these type of threads until his man lost badly and he wanted to "get back" at Sander detractors or something. It's rather cute.

So now it's shit on the elderly again, hmm, and that's suddenly going to fix the U.S.'s financial woes? The fact is Medicare and S.S. are some of the most efficient programs, far more so than the private sector, and S.S. is solvent for a couple of more decades. What you should be advocating is those making over $118k having to pay their fair share into the S.S. fund which they don't presently, which would solve any out-year funding issue completely.

And BTW, defense is the largest chunk of discretionary spending (something like 54% last I saw), 6x more than the next biggest area, Health and Human Services.

Jesus christ, it's a wonder some of you have sense enough to breathe.

I don't even know WTF you're talking about on your Sanders rant here. I never supported him and you know that Scroe, but you can't stop the pathological lying since that's usually all you've got.

[Skroe]

So now it's shit on the elderly again, hmm, and that's suddenly going to fix the U.S.'s financial woes? The fact is Medicare and S.S. are some of the most efficient programs, far more so than the private sector, and S.S. is solvent for a couple of more decades. What you should be advocating is those making over $118k having to pay their fair share into the S.S. fund which they don't presently, which would solve any out-year funding issue completely.

And BTW, defense is the largest chunk of discretionary spending (something like 54% last I saw), 6x more than the next biggest area, Health and Human Services.

Jesus christ, it's a wonder some of you have sense enough to breathe.

I don't even know WTF you're talking about on your Sanders rant here. I never supported him and you know that Scroe, but you can't stop the pathological lying since that's usually all you've got.

It's not the efficiency of Medicare and Social Security. It's the amount spent. They could be the most efficient programs in the world (they aren't nearly). It wouldn't matter. It's too much money on too something too narrow and effecting a rather narrow but inordinately expensive part of population. There are 40.3 million people over the age of 65. That's 12.5%. Half our budget for 12.5% of our population. Ridiculous.

We should spent our tax dollars on other things rather than the old. They should get about 12.5% of the budget.

These entitlements are also the fastest growing parts of the budget. The defense budget, in real terms, is about 25% lower than it was projected to be in 2010 under the Gates-Obama budget plan pre-BCA of 2011.

Want more money for education? What free college? The three headed dragon is Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.


And P.S., nice weasel route limiting the Budget to Discretionary Spending. The only distinction between that and the other 65% of the budget is that it's negotiated every year. But hey, you got your "bigger number" for defense, as if that would somehow major your argument.

[Testaxc]

Oh buhu a Russia thread derailed into a USA thread suprise suprise

I was just thinking that lol. Its not even on the second page yet. Jesus christ.

[LaserSharkDFB]

It's not the efficiency of Medicare and Social Security. It's the amount spent. They could be the most efficient programs in the world (they aren't nearly). It wouldn't matter. It's too much money on too something too narrow and effecting a rather narrow but inordinately expensive part of population. There are 40.3 million people over the age of 65. That's 12.5%. Half our budget for 12.5% of our population. Ridiculous.

We should spent our tax dollars on other things rather than the old. They should get about 12.5% of the budget.

These entitlements are also the fastest growing parts of the budget. The defense budget, in real terms, is about 25% lower than it was projected to be in 2010 under the Gates-Obama budget plan pre-BCA of 2011.

Want more money for education? What free college? The three headed dragon is Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.


And P.S., nice weasel route limiting the Budget to Discretionary Spending. The only distinction between that and the other 65% of the budget is that it's negotiated every year. But hey, you got your "bigger number" for defense, as if that would somehow major your argument.

I'm not very familiar with budget issues, but aren't those social programs that have already been paid into by the people now getting benefits out of it? Isn't that largely where the money is coming from? So it's not like you can take that pre-paid amount out of it at will, right? Not trying to argue here, just to get clarification.

(And really, we're just killing time until one of our paid Russian stooges comes in and denies everything. No, no, Daddy Putin has everything under control.)

[Caolela]

More of your disingenuous bullshit trying to argue foolishness. That chart is all spending combined, including mandatory, what the gov't must spend by law. Thus the medical and S.S. funds must be allocated, and S.S. is its own fund.

Mandatory spending is levels that are determined by eligibility rules. Congress decides eligibility and how much is spent based on how many people are eligible, because it is an earned benefit program. Not a free giveaway like military. S.S. is "entitlement" in the sense that those people are indeed entitled to receive the benefits they paid in on if/when needed. Just like a private retirement account or insurance.

Discretionary spending is something Congress has a choice to spend or not spend, and for the past several years has been the GOP controlling the House side and the purse strings, but "Democratic" (read: neo-liberal) snakes like the Obama and Clinton types have voted along with it. That means 6x more they've decided to shell out to their defense & military/security pals like a printing press to fund unneeded and illegal wars, rather than fund critical domestic budgets.






The same can be said of your "logic" on S.S. and Medicare.

So the U.S. is spending the largest part of its discretionary budget for illegal wars and world hegemony. Period.

[Theinquisition]

I'm not very familiar with budget issues, but aren't those social programs that have already been paid into by the people now getting benefits out of it? Isn't that largely where the money is coming from? So it's not like you can take that pre-paid amount out of it at will, right? Not trying to argue here, just to get clarification.

(And really, we're just killing time until one of our paid Russian stooges comes in and denies everything. No, no, Daddy Putin has everything under control.)

He'll cryban has already admitted previously that he is in Putin's payroll.

Seriously, he did.

[NED funded]

Taggin Putin supporters that I've seen thus far. @Cryban @Ultima. Also we are in a much better position than russia in all metrics.