Day 601
Lots of dead invaders
Here’s another way to look at it:
Autocratic populism can be defeated, even after a fair election, in a liberal democracy. But what about election-denying, anti-Ukraine, pro-shutdown far-right extremism? Dunno. It’s the job of my American friends contemplating the Republicans' savvy decision to choose a bomb-throwing far-right would-be Speaker with connections to a high-profile sex scandal to figure out that puzzle.
On the Ukraine jacket, Penny is in town for a couple of days to inject some zip into our weary war economy and boost morale. Z, who returned from a trip from Odesa, looked a little washed out during the public part of their pow wow.
Although we expect the recovery of the dollar equivalent of Ukraine's GDP from $157 to $170-180 billion (+8-12%), the share of the private sector of the economy (including sectors whose income is supported by government spending) will likely continue to decline to a measly $47 billion (-11%), from $53 billion in 20221.
Looking on the positive side, Penny knows a lot about the sort of graft that hobbles economic development by allowing well-connected insiders to profit from investment at the expense of genuine growth.