KarlaBA said:
Yes, it is clear to me now that almost all the posts on this thread having nothing to do with whether or not YPF will perform better under state contol than it did under Repsol control. The posts are almost all about how a few of you expats hate the CFK gvmt basically because the gvmt isn't making decisions according to your US-centric view of how things ought to be done (and by that I mean that CFK isn't making BsAs into a Manhattan with tango and cheap steak and wine). Since you hate the CFK gvmt, then every decision the gvmt makes is interpreted by you as dilusional or childlike (exactly the same sentiment the anti-Obama right wing fanatics exhibit in the US). I'm sure the irony is lost on you.
Aw, we don't all worry about the same things you do, how mean! Look, the thread was about what's going to happen to this country. No one asked for definitive answers about the future, everyone gave their opinions. All you have done is argued against a strawman (your assumption that we were talking about YPF and how bad it was for YPF) in a condescending manner which is neither constructive nor relevant to the thread.
As for my US-centric views and whether CFK wants to turn BsAs into Manhattan or not, I don't know...I have never been to America, so I wouldn't know about Manhattan to begin with. So much for your personal references about me. I would suggest you stick to the topic being discussed at hand.
KarlaBA said:
Please stop about Aramco, you are embarrassing yourself with your ignorance. Saudi Arabia is doing vastly better now than it was 15 years ago. In case you don't remember, the country was deeply in debt 20 years ago and was considered a basket case. There has been massive development of industry, debt paid down, vast improvements in training programs for citizens, etc. over the past 15 years. All this in the in face of explosive population growth and basically an internal rebellion against the Saud family. Before you get all gushy about UAE, take a look at the size of the economies of KSA and UAE. to make an analogy, the UAE is to Monaco in size and relationship as KSA is to France.
Lol. Right. And you would know this because of your first hand experience in Saudi Arabia? By the way, the country was considered (and to some extent is still considered) a "basket case" throughout its existence, that is a fact. It is also a fact that Aramco's takeover left a sour taste for potential and present investors, leaving most international investment at bay. That is why Saudi Arabia is trying to attract foreign investment any chance they get.
Last time Saudi Arabia did great was during the oil boom of the 70s, and Saudi Arabia has amassed wealth again in the last 8 years (oil prices started rising again because of the cartel that is OPEC the end of 2003). That is all fine and dandy but I specifically mentioned the unemployment problem, f**ked up infrastructure and reduced foreign investment, issues you completely overlooked. But I guess we all have our own ways of looking at things.
The funniest one was when you mentioned "internal rebellion". I don't know what specifically you're referring to. The eastern Shiite rebellion that they have been dealing with for years or the joke that the authorities in Saudi Arabia had to deal with during the so-called "Arab Spring". If its the former, it reached its height in 1979 when the seige of the Grand Mosque (where the Kaaba is) was blamed on Iran and the Shiite minority of Saudi Arabia. And the latter never panned out because eventually only 50 people showed up to protest, and they were rounded up by the police very discreetly and peacefully. As for terrorism, that has never been a major problem in Saudi Arabia's economic, and oil centers. And they have been dealing with it in different forms for a very long time, thanks partly to Osama bin Laden and more importantly to the Mutawwas of Saudi Arabia who have always been against the Saud family.
KarlaBA said:
Yes, it only takes 10 years to turn around a bankrupt country with 50% poverty, in which all the commanding heights of the economy have been swindled off to private investors. Surely you can't truly believe what you wrote. Think of the least encumbered gvmts in the world (Singapore comes to mind), and they can't even make the changes you are asking for in 10 years. Are things really the same in Argentina as they were in 2002? Come on, for 95% of the population, things are vastly better. And remember all this was done without credit; no gvmt borrowing and no private borrowing. That is very impressive to be honest. Even Brasil can't make this claim.
I guess you have a way of misinterpreting and misreading things even when you quote it in your post. But anyway, what I said was that they would be constantly getting better. Or at least trying to. Not crawl back into the hole they came out of. Now, that in no way implies that the economy should have been completely turned around. If that is what it means in your world, I am glad I don't live there. And you said, even governments like Singapore's can't make the changes that I am asking in 10 years, what changes would those be exactly? Because I can't remember asking for anything specific. However, I would love to hear your assumptions on what I am thinking.
