> Man is this overstated. Switching over to monetized
> benefits is not eliminating "the last remnants of the
> Soviet-era socialist welfare system." It is, e.g.,
> paying people money to take the metro instead of
> letting them take the metro free.
I don't know, I am guessing. What would happen if responsibility for another 29 million of the most socially vulnerable people is shifted to regional Governments? Apparently regional governments don't have money to meet their obligations.
I can't understand why Russian government would want to cut benefits, in what is probably the best year for oil prices.
Ulhas