Comments by "Sue W" (@SuezWSuezW) on "Econ Lessons" channel.

  1. Mother Teresa was born in Albania. She didn't grow up in an extremely rich place.
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  2. In later part of WWII Germans were using vehicles with wood-powered engines.
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  3. Yup. There's an interesting piece in the Guardian newspaper today, reprinting three articles from 1922, on this exact subject. The US went into an "America First" phase then too. The article is called: "Archive, 1922: US isolation and its impact on Europe".
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  4.  @DocJaeBass  Lenin said it, but yeah.
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  5. People within Russia are desperate for hard currency, USD or Euros. Older people have seen this movie before.
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  6.  @thorthunder6336  Not just surrendered (WWI) but was utterly defeated (WWII). The German leadership destroyed themselves and Admiral Doenitz surrendered.
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  7. After WWII they had gangs of women mending roads with hand tools.
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  8. Yes. And, sad to say, it kills some people in the target countries. Their leaders are inconvenienced to the point they have to pay more for their luxuries, and for hard $ they invest in drug dealing and cyber crime. (North Korea, Russia, Iran and Syria, to name but a few).
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  9. Yes, but in Russia it's on a massive, massive scale. In the Arctic, in Siberia, in Central Asia (the Aral Sea!!) and in the Far East. Plus nuclear contamination.
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  10. It was a metaphor, dear.
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  11. We had the exact same conversation with a woman from Crimea when Putin got in. She was very worried. We were a lot less alert; we thought stability was important. How wrong we all were. We realised our mistake by 2007; she is now a rabid Putin supporter with a Russian passport - but she got Canadian citizenship and lives in the Far East. We haven't spoken to her since she called us up a couple of days before the 2022 invasion with a line of propaganda straight from Russia Today; "Call all your friends in the West and tell them we are only hitting military targets!"
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  12.  @user-yq2wk6yg8s  Prigozhin, yeah. The late-head of the Wagner group.
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  13.  @williammasselink  Agreed. We await developments.
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  14.  @williammasselink  ..and send donations to the Ukrainians...
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  15.  @nicolasolton  Hard to say since the poor man has been dead for nearly a decade.
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  16. Cad-mium, but yeah, toxic metals.
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  17. It still costs them massively though. And that, economically speaking, is a problem.
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  18. Thank you Mark. Excellent questions. Let's hope we all have a better New Year!
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  19. 1944-1991 Mother Heroine medals given to women who had 10+ children. \2022, it was started again...
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  20.  @dawnandy7777  There have been recent rebellions in the Caucasus. (There are myriad ethnic and religious groups there.) At least one was to complain about Russian eco-cide and corruption. I did hear about the indigenous groups in the Arctic regions because they went to a circumpolar cultural festival of some kind a while ago.
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  21. A double wide on high ground might be more worthy of "investment" than a millionaire's beach house. Weather-dependant! But I take your point - and the millionaire usually doesn't put all his/her assets into one financial category.
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  22. This is very sad. A world-level catastrophe which could be avoided by better government. Famine doesn't happen in democracies.
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  23. So, it appears that the price of gasoline and diesel is going up enormously inside Russia. I'd be interested if anyone has information about that.
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  24. Yep it's a problem. The EU has been working on the "Right to repair" for a while, for this and other industries.
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  25. There's an interesting short novel by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on just that topic. The people of the town built a nice new college and when it was completed it was seized by the Party "For the Good of the Cause".
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  26. Would that be "Soviet-style" economics? All those collective unicorn farms and the annihilation of the small landholders/ ?
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  27. I'm sorry to say that it appears that Americans have voted to bring in an emperor in the name of Freedom. The failure of the ancient Roman republic is perhaps more of a parallel. A corrupt, charismatic showman (Julius Caesar) was elevated to the status of a king by popular acclaim.
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  28. Doubled the nation's debt? Not really, it went from 52.8 to 69.6% of GDP from 2015 to 2024. The deficit went up a lot though in that time (to $39.8 billion). I'm sorry that you use the term Marxist, though. The current federal government are many things, but not that.
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  29. People who do their "research" on Wikipedia would be an improvement, tbh. Right now, there are selfish nihilists who are targeting the gullible.
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  30. The Turkish economy is, like many countries in difficulties, using foreign currencies in parallel.
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  31. Yeah. The invaders could just "Declare victory and leave" in the words of Gwynne Dyer. Perhaps that's what Lukashenko was driving at when he said recently there were no more Nazis in Ukraine?
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  32. Modi's agents have assassinated dissidents in Canada.
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  33. Good for barter, branded bottled liquor. Use miniatures for small change...
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  34. There is no currency exchange in Russia that will take roubles and give you USD, obviously.
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  35. Well, it would last a couple of years if they can afford to heat it...
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  36. Actually India is a crony state; Modi does what's good for him and his pals.
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  37. Very good video. Otoh, post-war Ukraine will need massive investment to rebuild (and re-arm).
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  38. Good discussion. Ethics and morality are important. These are Ponzi schemes; someone can just lose everything or get rich for reasons they don't understand - this stimulates the human impulse to gamble. Riding on this are the proceeds of crime. I'm not at all in favour of the Chinese regime, but they have banned crypto currency. They know what it is, that they cannot control it, and know that it could be undermined (!) using quantum computing. (They've also seriously restricted the use of social media by children, but that's another story).
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  39. lol...
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  40. Nah, they could do it without cutting that if they paid more taxes. Plus their industry would get a boost. Win-win.
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  41. The lesson in war gaming is very interesting, thank you! (Spock may have said that but Stalin did say "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.")
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  42.  @heathermccall8015  Pete Seeger.
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  43. How much does it cost to print a bank note?
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  44.  @maritaschweizer1117  Because rapture1949 is weird?
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  45.  @maritaschweizer1117  Oh, I've been wired my whole life, luv! (English spelling is weird, I'll give ya that).
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  46.  @jarcadipane2849  Canada legalized marijuana too. Nothing changed except there are now 3 failing cannabis stores in my town. A gold rush with not enough gold. (Another economics lesson, fwiw.)
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  47. There a sad story around something that was sold as crypto, back a few years ago. OneCoin and was a complete fraud. The Bulgarian lady who promoted it didn't even understand that she'd basically just got a spreadsheet. She made oodles of money and then disappeared. Leaving all kinds of "unbanked" poor people very much poorer than before. This behaviour, along with buying lottery tickets and gambling, appears to be wired into the human brain. Something for nothing, manna from heaven, looting etc.
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  48. Always a problem.
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  49.  @veikovasko5603  Yes, the pattern will probably be a collapse into regional warlordism. Who controls the military (or what's left of them) is crucial.
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  50.  @williammasselink  So Russia's got 18 months left?
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  51. To my certain knowledge many people in Russia save money in dollars or Euros. In cash (sometimes forgeries), in their houses.
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  52. Google maps streetview is pretty shocking.
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  53. Some good ideas! In addition, make sure that children get enough good food to eat!
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  54. To quote British journalist Oliver Loughlan, "Americans have voted for a king in the name of freedom."
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  55.  @MikeOxlong-  I live in Canada. The new water service mains are made from some kind of plastic. Probably pex (according to the plastic pipe institute).
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  56. If America sneezes, the rest of the world gets pneumonia, some very severely.
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  57.  @romanzavsegolov4925  Thanks!
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  58. My understanding is that this is already happening. People will not save roubles.
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  59. Yeah, my farmer friend in Ontario, likewise. Also, he sent two of his kids to veterinary school!
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  60. lol...very good talk! As the saying goes - every word they say is a lie, including 'and' and 'but"!
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  61. Currencies that aren't tied to something in particular (gold, the dollar, whatever) are ultimately based on the home country's ability to tax its citizens in future.
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  62. "Baloney" answers to multiple-choice tests are known as "distractors".
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  63. Russian economy is not soaring, it's souring...
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  64. Canada is a rich country, but not funding its NATO obligations. 2% by 2032? I'm prepared to pay more taxes. Are you?
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  65. Protestantism vs. Catholicism? Both had the Black Death...
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  66. You say, you can't trust Russians but we clearly can't trust Americans either. In fact, humans are a tricky species. If anyone lets a dictator take over their country we will be always at war.
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  67. Which is why every Russian babushka has some under her mattress?
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  68. It's also about the population's capacity for suffering. If they just trudge along into Hell, they can last a while yet. But the longer it goes on, the worse will be the ultimate result for them.
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  69. The new gas pipeline to China is on hold. See Joe Blogs.
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  70.  @irishcanuck9489  Very good comments. I live in Eastern Ontario not far from the Quebec border. There is a lot of land around here that was in cultivation after European settlement but abandoned to bush sometime in the last 100 years. Much of it is now being brought back into use - quite a lot of investment in clearing, tile draining etc. Presumably that is a result of the increase in the price of corn. (Incidentally, Russia also produces potash, I think they exported it, one of the world's largest suppliers. Also, they have natural gas to spare, meaning that they should have the capability to produce nitrogen fertilizer too. In theory.)
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  71.  @irishcanuck9489  Yep. Also the Russian oil industry (well, all of their industry for that matter) are complete environmental disasters...and, as you say there's only so much MacGyvering they can do. (I do seem to remember that potash and nitrogen fertilizer was exempt from sanctions for obvious reasons - the world needs it).
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  72.  @irishcanuck9489  Seriously? Shipping from Russia by ship (and then rail) was cheaper than rail from Alberta? Some kind of Russian subsidies/dumping? Crazy. I live in E. Ontario. There are long eastbound freight trains with oil tank cars taking (presumably) crude oil past here. heading for New Brunswick. (Remember Lac Megantic?) Perhaps that will be less now that the new pipeline is open to BC from Alberta? I also live on the Seaway. Ships go up as far as Duluth, just starting up the new navigation season.
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  73. Life expectancy of Netherlands is 82.93 years...
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  74.  @axllii  If you are correct, then all the surrounding countries will see masses of refugees. Again.
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  75. Good call. I think Joe Blogs is saying similar things, but from external numbers. As always, Russians are hoarding hard currency under their mattresses.
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  76.  @butwhytharum  He was bankrolled by some "friends" - at least $13 billion from Saudi Arabia...
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  77.  @EconLessons  Also, the CPTPP is an interesting one. Obama administration used it as part of its "Pivot to Asia" then the next admin wouldn't go into it...The UK is in it now, China has applied to join...lol
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  78. Back in the 80's we hoped that China would mellow a little bit, but now they have a tyrant in charge.
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  79.  @Cougelly1999  ...b-b-but...*National Security*...!! It's gonna be interesting. I live in Canada and out provincial and federal government is taking Mr. Trump seriously - it's in his power to mess up up real good!
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  80. One thing I've been thinking about - if Putin is puttin' the squeeze on the oligarchs, stopping their thievery, then a considerable benefit will accrue to the State (since it owns most of the profitable enterprises). I think this is why there have been so many, erm, accidents happening to oil executives etc. They have continued their smuggling or theft and been caught. Putin even had a recent speech where he was castigating the "elites" so there's gonna be a crackdown for sure. Back to the virtues of the workers and peasants...
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  81.  @jarcadipane2849  I really don't understand why you lot seem to get so het up about LGBTQ etc.! (You mention it several times.) If your number is true, it's not surprising that fewer than 1% of Russians will say they are gender non-conforming - because of stigma. (It'll be about 1 in 20, just like everywhere else, in reality.) As for men competing on women's sports teams, the old USSR had a long history of finding people with unusual chromosomes and having them compete as women, drugged up to the eyeballs (as with all Russian athletes even to this very day). "I am not schilling for Russia." Yeah, sure you aren't. Your statement is full of the usual propaganda tropes. The US doesn't prevent news/information from getting into the US! That's a ridiculous claim. The main media outlets make money by "giving the people what they want" i.e. scandals, celebrities, and other vapid stuff. One can very easily use an internet connection to get all kinds of news and views; some of it is even true. (I can see that and I'm not even an American). Have a nice day!
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