How to Solve the Economic Crisis in Russia?

chang chang at public.shenzhen.cngb.com
Sun Oct 18 23:42:17 PDT 1998


Dear Dennis, You wrote:
> Do you yourself work for a living on a farm? If you do, or have ever done
> so, you will find out that agriculture is one of the most backbreaking and
> exhausting professions you can ever have. It's pretty brutal work,
> especially in China, where agriculture is less mechanized than, say, the
> factory farms of the US or the EU, but even here in the US, farming
> isn't a whole lot of fun. It's not something which people will
> voluntarily do, especially after they realize how much more fre time and
> opportunity they have in the cities.

I understand. This is the reason why I said: "When grain is in short supply and the people are unwilling to engage in farmland cultivation, the government should cut down their relief funds to make them rather willing to take up this job." Therefore the Russian government should do its best to help the people who are willing to engage in farmland cultivation. This is the best way to acquire more grain. I believe, if the grain market price are high enough, a lot of Russian people will be willing to do this job.


> They should export high-value manufactured goods, just like Eastern
> Europe and protect their agricultural markets from competition, just like
> the US, the EU, and Japan do.

How can they do so? Could you explain more? It is easier said than done.


> Russia's problem is not sheer starvation,
> because they still produce plenty of grain, meat, fish etc. It's that they
> don't have a food processing industry which can compete with the West.
> They've got the technical resources to do this, they just lack the
> institutions.

Do you think the reporters are wrong? It is reported that there appears a great shortage of grain at home in Russia. When winter comes, the Russian people will probably suffer from hunger. This shortage of grain doesn't result from insufficient farmland. It is caused by insufficient manpower engaging in agricultural production and insufficient funds for developing agriculture in Russia. The Russian premier has appealed to international communities for grain aid. So I think maybe you are wrong. If just it's that they don't have a food processing industry which can compete with the West, the Russian people will not suffer from hunger. If they have grain, they will get a way to eat it whether they have a food processing industry or not.

Sincerely, Ju-chang He

SHENZHEN, P.R. CHINA Welcome to visit My Home Page at <http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/Exchange/3058/> or <http://www.geocities.com/~juchang/>

Dennis R Redmond wrote:
>
> On Sun, 18 Oct 1998, chang wrote:
>
> > What is "guidance of market"? When grain is in short supply and the
> > people are unwilling to engage in farmland cultivation, the government
> > should cut down their relief funds to make them rather willing to take
> > up this job.
>
> Do you yourself work for a living on a farm? If you do, or have ever done
> so, you will find out that agriculture is one of the most backbreaking and
> exhausting professions you can ever have. It's pretty brutal work,
> especially in China, where agriculture is less mechanized than, say, the
> factory farms of the US or the EU, but even here in the US, farming
> isn't a whole lot of fun. It's not something which people will
> voluntarily do, especially after they realize how much more fre time and
> opportunity they have in the cities.
>
> > Should the Russian people encourage the export of their food when there
> > appears a great shortage of grain at home in Russia? In China, a lot of
> > workers are working hard for the export of various consumer goods. How
> > many salary do they get? A worker only get one hundred US Dollars every
> > month or even less! You will not believe it, but this is true.
>
> They should export high-value manufactured goods, just like Eastern
> Europe and protect their agricultural markets from competition, just like
> the US, the EU, and Japan do. Russia's problem is not sheer starvation,
> because they still produce plenty of grain, meat, fish etc. It's that they
> don't have a food processing industry which can compete with the West.
> They've got the technical resources to do this, they just lack the
> institutions. As for Chinese workers, many of them get much, much less
> than $100 a month, especially in the rural regions (and China is, of
> course, still 70% rural).
>
> -- Dennis



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