Lessons from Georgia

https://townhall.com/columnists/john...orgia-n2594670

Lessons from Georgia

John Stossel | Posted: Aug 25, 2021 12:01 AM

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Georgia (the ex-Soviet Republic, not the U.S. state) is now a remarkable success story.

Its economy is growing at 5% per year, and the country ranks ahead of the United States in economic freedom.

Yet, 20 years ago, Georgia was even more miserably poor than the rest of the former Soviet Union.

So, what can America and the rest of the world learn from Georgia's progress?

A lot, says my executive producer Maxim Lott. He's spent the past several months in Georgia and made a StosselTV video about it.

All former Soviet states are poor because the communists had grabbed everyone's private property and put it under government control.

They thought they were smart enough to run the economy. They did things like order Georgians to produce tea. Soon, 95% of tea in the Soviet Union came from Georgia.

But Georgia is not the best place to grow tea.

After the Soviet Union collapsed, "People started to taste Indian tea and realized that tea is actually better," says Georgian politician Zurab Japaridze. "Nobody wanted Georgian tea."

That industry, and most others, vanished when Soviet support ended. "Three-fourths of the Georgian economy disappeared," he says.

Central planners are never smart enough to run something as complex as an economy.

Fortunately, in Georgia, an eccentric libertarian, Kakha Bendukidze, became economy minister in 2004. He made "everything private, as much as possible."

Georgia scrapped 90% of licensing and permit requirements. That reduced corruption.

"Every license means interaction with officials. Every interaction with the official can be an open door for a corrupt request," explains Fady Asly, chairman of Georgia's International Chamber of Commerce.

Before those reforms, "Corruption was so rampant!" says Asly. "A high-ranking official told me: 'I have a friend who's very honest. We would like him to chair of the anti-corruption commission, but he has to pay someone $10,000 to get this job.' The future chair of the anti-corruption commission had to bribe someone to get the job!"

Georgia has come a long way since then. With fewer rules to obey and licenses to get, there are fewer reasons to bribe. Transparency International now says Georgia is less corrupt than all its neighbors. The country also fired its entire police force, customs office and tax service, and diminished government agencies by half.

This created a "huge boom," says Asly. "Georgia turned from a failed state to a very successful state." Its economy grew 10% a year.

Buildings that had been burned were restored. McDonald's and KFC arrived. Some prosperity came to Georgia.

"This was kind of a libertarian utopia for four years," says Iva Nachkebia, national coordinator for Georgia's branch of Students for Liberty.

But then the politicians decided that since things were going well, they would get in on the action. Instead of leaving markets free, they gave privileges to cronies.
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"They chose 10, 15, 20 businessmen who were close to the government," says Asly. "And they started protecting them at the expense of their competitors."

Since the protected businesses got big tax breaks, businessmen like Asly couldn't compete.

"After losing a couple of million dollars," says Asly, "I decided to stop the business."

Economic growth slowed. Now the economy grows at half the rate it once grew.

Japaridze thinks Georgia re-embraced big government because "people did not actually understand" why Georgia's economy improved. Years of Soviet propaganda kept people from learning about markets.

He says that mentality must change for Georgia to develop. Either "you want to take responsibility about your life, or you are fine with being a slave and having some kind of a master who will provide you with your needs."

He's right, but I question whether "years of Soviet rule" are what made the difference. There's plenty of hostility toward free markets among privileged Americans who've never heard Soviet propaganda.

The overall lesson from Georgia, says Asly: "Government should be very small. It should just regulate the minimum."

Thank you for a god read - DF
There is a[place for reproducing articles for the readership!

https://townhall.com/columnists/john...orgia-n2594670

Lessons from Georgia

John Stossel | Posted: Aug 25, 2021 12:01 AM

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Georgia (the ex-Soviet Republic, not the U.S. state) is now a remarkable success story.

Its economy is growing at 5% per year, and the country ranks ahead of the United States in economic freedom.

Yet, 20 years ago, Georgia was even more miserably poor than the rest of the former Soviet Union.

So, what can America and the rest of the world learn from Georgia's progress?

A lot, says my executive producer Maxim Lott. He's spent the past several months in Georgia and made a StosselTV video about it.

All former Soviet states are poor because the communists had grabbed everyone's private property and put it under government control.

They thought they were smart enough to run the economy. They did things like order Georgians to produce tea. Soon, 95% of tea in the Soviet Union came from Georgia.

But Georgia is not the best place to grow tea.

After the Soviet Union collapsed, "People started to taste Indian tea and realized that tea is actually better," says Georgian politician Zurab Japaridze. "Nobody wanted Georgian tea."

That industry, and most others, vanished when Soviet support ended. "Three-fourths of the Georgian economy disappeared," he says.

Central planners are never smart enough to run something as complex as an economy.

Fortunately, in Georgia, an eccentric libertarian, Kakha Bendukidze, became economy minister in 2004. He made "everything private, as much as possible."

Georgia scrapped 90% of licensing and permit requirements. That reduced corruption.

"Every license means interaction with officials. Every interaction with the official can be an open door for a corrupt request," explains Fady Asly, chairman of Georgia's International Chamber of Commerce.

Before those reforms, "Corruption was so rampant!" says Asly. "A high-ranking official told me: 'I have a friend who's very honest. We would like him to chair of the anti-corruption commission, but he has to pay someone $10,000 to get this job.' The future chair of the anti-corruption commission had to bribe someone to get the job!"

Georgia has come a long way since then. With fewer rules to obey and licenses to get, there are fewer reasons to bribe. Transparency International now says Georgia is less corrupt than all its neighbors. The country also fired its entire police force, customs office and tax service, and diminished government agencies by half.

This created a "huge boom," says Asly. "Georgia turned from a failed state to a very successful state." Its economy grew 10% a year.

Buildings that had been burned were restored. McDonald's and KFC arrived. Some prosperity came to Georgia.

"This was kind of a libertarian utopia for four years," says Iva Nachkebia, national coordinator for Georgia's branch of Students for Liberty.

But then the politicians decided that since things were going well, they would get in on the action. Instead of leaving markets free, they gave privileges to cronies.
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"They chose 10, 15, 20 businessmen who were close to the government," says Asly. "And they started protecting them at the expense of their competitors."

Since the protected businesses got big tax breaks, businessmen like Asly couldn't compete.

"After losing a couple of million dollars," says Asly, "I decided to stop the business."

Economic growth slowed. Now the economy grows at half the rate it once grew.

Japaridze thinks Georgia re-embraced big government because "people did not actually understand" why Georgia's economy improved. Years of Soviet propaganda kept people from learning about markets.

He says that mentality must change for Georgia to develop. Either "you want to take responsibility about your life, or you are fine with being a slave and having some kind of a master who will provide you with your needs."

He's right, but I question whether "years of Soviet rule" are what made the difference. There's plenty of hostility toward free markets among privileged Americans who've never heard Soviet propaganda.

The overall lesson from Georgia, says Asly: "Government should be very small. It should just regulate the minimum." Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

Excellent piece. I’m surprised you posted this. I thought you disliked Libertarians.

Too bad the big government socialists and crony capitalists took back control. There’s a lesson here for America, but it will never be heeded.

Excellent piece. I’m surprised you posted this. I thought you disliked Libertarians.

Too bad the big government socialists and crony capitalists took back control. There’s a lesson here for America, but it will never be heeded. Originally Posted by Tiny

no issues towards economic libertarians, its the social libertarians i have issues with.

no issues towards economic libertarians, its the social libertarians i have issues with. Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

Too funny, that article sounds like it was written by a die hard TRUMP supporter. One of Trumps major successes, maybe his BEST success was eliminating literally thousands of pages of business killing regulations.


Yes, I agree this was a great article, I am just amazed that you are the one who posted it. Did someone hijack your account??? lol

eye don't understand why Tiny and GaGambler were shocked that I posted this article.

what am I missing what you see in me?

Too funny, that article sounds like it was written by a die hard TRUMP supporter. One of Trumps major successes, maybe his BEST success was eliminating literally thousands of pages of business killing regulations. Originally Posted by GaGambler

it was written by John Stossel, he's a very well known libertarian writer/tv host.

Yes, I agree this was a great article, I am just amazed that you are the one who posted it. Did someone hijack your account??? lol

no one hacked my account.

it was written by John Stossel, he's a very well known libertarian writer/tv host.



no one hacked my account. Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

I have always considered Tiny a libertarian, maybe a left "leaning" libertarian, but a libertarian none the less.

No offense intended, but I have always considered you somewhere between a liberal and a progressive, not quite a "woketard" but "woketard adjacent" at the very least lol

If Tiny had posted this link I would not have been surprised in the least, coming from you, yes I am VERY surprised. Maybe there is hope for you yet. lol

Excellent piece. I’m surprised you posted this. I thought you disliked Libertarians.

Too bad the big government socialists and crony capitalists took back control. There’s a lesson here for America, but it will never be heeded. Originally Posted by Tiny

I thought it was one or the other? I thought it was an excellent opinion pieces well.

https://townhall.com/columnists/john...orgia-n2594670

Lessons from Georgia

John Stossel | Posted: Aug 25, 2021 12:01 AM

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Georgia (the ex-Soviet Republic, not the U.S. state) is now a remarkable success story.

Its economy grew 10% a year.

Buildings that had been burned were restored. McDonald's and KFC arrived. Some prosperity came to Georgia.

"This was kind of a libertarian utopia for four years," says Iva Nachkebia, national coordinator for Georgia's branch of Students for Liberty.

But then the politicians decided that since things were going well, they would get in on the action. Instead of leaving markets free, they gave privileges to cronies.


"They chose 10, 15, 20 businessmen who were close to the government," says Asly. "And they started protecting them at the expense of their competitors."

Since the protected businesses got big tax breaks, businessmen like Asly couldn't compete.

"After losing a couple of million dollars," says Asly, "I decided to stop the business."

Economic growth slowed. Now the economy grows at half the rate it once grew.

Years of Soviet propaganda kept people from learning about markets.

He says that mentality must change for Georgia to develop. Either "you want to take responsibility about your life, or you are fine with being a slave and having some kind of a master who will provide you with your needs."



The overall lesson from Georgia, says Asly: "Government should be very small. It should just regulate the minimum." Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

What? No bailout?Too small for quantitative easing.

Quantitative easing (QE) is a form of unconventional monetary policy in which a central bank purchases longer-term securities from the open market in order to increase the money supply and encourage lending and investment. Buying these securities adds new money to the economy, and also serves to lower interest rates by bidding up fixed-income securities. It also expands the central bank's balance sheet.

Who decides what the minimum regulation should be? How about just being. I . . . AM . . . SOMEBODY. BLACK LIVES MATTER. I am one vote. Not three fifths of a person.



Three-fifths compromise | Definition, Date, History, Significance, & Facts | Britannica

https://www.britannica.com/topic/thr...ths-compromise

Notwithstanding the initial disagreements over slavery at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the framers of the Constitution continued to privilege the maintenance of unity of the new United States over the eradication of slavery by resolving to again diffuse sectional tensions over the matter. As they went about creating a new scheme of government, the delegates from the small and large states were divided on the issue of the apportionment of legislative representation.

They're not going to look to us as an example of how a Republic should work.

eye don't understand why Tiny and GaGambler were shocked that I posted this article.

what am I missing what you see in me? Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

You gave me the impression of being somewhere between moderate conservative and plain old conservative. I don't know what the Georgia gambler saw in you. But liberal to progressive? I'm offended for you.

I have always considered Tiny a libertarian, maybe a left "leaning" libertarian, but a libertarian none the less.

No offense intended, but I have always considered you somewhere between a liberal and a progressive, not quite a "woketard" but "woketard adjacent" at the very least lol

If Tiny had posted this link I would not have been surprised in the least, coming from you, yes I am VERY surprised. Maybe there is hope for you yet. lol Originally Posted by GaGambler

But I most definitely owe Dilbert an apology.

As my feeble excuse I will blame the fact that I haven't been on the boards much of late and I quite obviously got Dilbert confused with a liberal/progressive which he most definitely is NOT.

My bad and I can't even begin to tell Dilbert and the rest of you how embarrassed I am over the fuckup. I wish I could blame it on being drunk, but I am stone cold sober. Ok. How about I blame it on being sober? lol

9500 shuld apologize for his Communist worship of Che', Lenin, marx and mao.

no issues towards economic libertarians, its the social libertarians i have issues with. Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

eye don't understand why Tiny and GaGambler were shocked that I posted this article.

what am I missing what you see in me? Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

it was written by John Stossel, he's a very well known libertarian writer/tv host.

no one hacked my account. Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

Well, You've posted some negative things about Libertarians from time to time, including starting the infamous "Libertarians Suck" thread,

https://www.eccie.net/showthread.php?t=2751355

As to economic libertarianism, I remember one thread you started questioning whether we should care about the debt. Is Dilbert a believer in Modern Monetary Theory, the pet project of the greatest economic mind in the U.S. House of Representatives, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez? Or being from Louisiana is he just inclined to let the good times roll? My theory is that it's neither, you just throw things out from time to time to stir things up. Which I'm more guilty of than you.

Your beliefs about nuclear energy however seem heartfelt. I'll admit that if the progressive politicians get rid of fossil fuels it may be the only viable option for base load electricity. But given the subsidies and government intervention required to make it work because there are cheaper alternatives, it's against the principles of economic libertarianism. And it favors big government and big business, exactly what Stossel argues against in the OP.

But I'm nitpicking. If I were the Libertarian Party Commissar, I'd definitely accept you as a member, despite your issues with social libertarianism.

But I most definitely owe Dilbert an apology.

As my feeble excuse I will blame the fact that I haven't been on the boards much of late and I quite obviously got Dilbert confused with a liberal/progressive which he most definitely is NOT.

My bad and I can't even begin to tell Dilbert and the rest of you how embarrassed I am over the fuckup. I wish I could blame it on being drunk, but I am stone cold sober. Ok. How about I blame it on being sober? lol Originally Posted by GaGambler

You don't owe him an apology. Dilbert posts things once in a while that sound like they came from the Democratic Party Platform, although I think mostly he's trying to shake things up. And if I'm wrong I give him credit for not mindlessly believing everything his favorite politicians and media sources tell him to believe.

I thought it was one or the other? I thought it was an excellent opinion pieces well. Originally Posted by eccieuser9500

Most politicians of both political parties will sell their souls for campaign contributions, that is, they'll do exactly what Stossel describes, catering to big-business crony capitalists. And they love to grow government because it gives them more power.