FTN: Year in Review
Happy New Year to all our readers
Dear readers,
I want to wish all of you a happy new year. I hope that the end year brings you nothing but happiness and health.
Similarly, my hope is that by the end of the year, we can all remember 2022 as a year of peace and progress.
Having said that, I wanted to begin the new year by commenting on some of my 2021 articles for FTN.
Biden’s Stimulus Program: Inflationary Risks
Written on February 11, 2021, this article was our first time alerting about the inflationary pressures that the Biden stimulus program was going to have on the United States economy.
At the time, most economists and policymakers were saying that the program was not inflationary, despite all the evidence in the world, showing how ideological academia has become.
“If the pandemic had never occurred, the country's economy would be $900 billion larger today. Therefore, a stimulus program that seeks to compensate for this shock should be around a trillion dollars. In contrast, with President Biden's proposal, the stimulus would be three times greater than the external shock produced by the pandemic.
Therefore, Biden's economic stimulus would be counterproductive for the American economy; since the stimulus would not be focused on offsetting the effects of the virus, but on increasing the consumption possibilities of said economy well above the balance prior to the pandemic. The stimulus will end up “overheating” the American economy, increasing the inflation rate in that country.”
No Senator Warren, Businessmen do not Cause Inflation.
Written on December 27, 2021, this article summarizes the vicious cycle that rising inflation always jump-starts. The same inflation that politicians create, they then try to fix by making an even bigger mistake. According to Senator Warren, there is an easy way to decrease inflation: price controls. Senator Warren did not learn a thing about Venezuela, the USSR, Argentina, etc.
“According to Senator Warren, inflation is not a monetary phenomenon caused by an unexpected spike in aggregate demand. Instead, she is pushing the idea that consumer prices are rising because of arbitrary decisions made by businessmen.
In a letter sent to the CEOs of Kroger, Albertsons, and Publix, Warren said: ‘Your company, and the other major grocers who reaped the benefits of a turbulent 2020, appear to be passing costs on to consumers to preserve your pandemic gains, and even taking advantage of inflation to add greater burdens.’
The economic ideas of Senator Warren are completely at odds with standard economic thinking. Instead, her views are fairly similar to the ones expressed by socialist governments like the Venezuelan. Just like Chavez in 2012, Senator Warren seems to think that businessmen can simply raise their prices whenever they want.”
Argentinian Government Proposes Price Controls
Written on October 25, 2021, I wanted to include this article in my 2021 review so that my American friends do not feel that I am not just paying attention to their policymakers.
In fact, if there was a ranking of countries based on the economic illiteracy of their policymakers, Latin Americans would be at the top, by far.
“A few days ago, the government of Argentina declared its plan to impose price controls on more than 1,000 household consumer goods, from dairy and frozen foods to school supplies and household items.
According to the socialist President Alberto Fernández, this measure is necessary to combat Argentina’s inflation, which stands at 50 percent per year.
Argentina's secretary of internal commerce, Roberto Feletti, argued that the price control policy would result in a scenario where businessmen would obtain profit ‘by quantity and not by price.’"
We Must Stand with Ukraine
Written on December 6, 2021, this article included conversations I had with activists, journalists, and academics from Ukraine. This was inspired by my desire to give a voice to the Ukrainian people in response to Russia’s desire to determine Ukraine’s fate as if the Ukrainian people did not exist. The Ukrainian people are the only ones who should decide the destiny of their nation, no one else.
“It is clear that the United States and Europe should maintain and even increase their military, diplomatic and economic commitments to the Ukrainian government and its people. They need to increase the risks and costs of a potential escalation from part of the Russians, which can only be done by strengthening Ukraine.
This is drastically different from today’s idealist approach, pretty much aimed at appeasing Russia. What this approach fails to understand is that nothing will appease Russia, as they see Ukraine’s independence as a threat to the geopolitical interests of Russia.
This is why I agree with the latest article of Mike McFaul, who served as Obama’s ambassador to Moscow, where he said that the U.S. should “devote more time and resources” to Ukraine. He then added that in today’s situation, it is impossible to expect a stable relationship with Russia.”
Below, I will leave you with links to all the articles I wrote in 2021 for FTN:
No Senator Warren, Businessmen do not Cause Inflation
Chile Elects Socialist President
In memoriam of Linda Whetstone
SFL Alumni in Ukraine Condemn Russia’s Aggressions
On International Anti-Corruption Day, SFL alumni discuss corruption in their countries
EU Observers Flag Many Irregularities in Venezuela’s Election.
Chinese Tennis Player is Missing, Raises Political Concerns
Venezuela’s Latest Sham Election
U.S. Inflation Keeps Rising, What Now?
International Criminal Court opens Investigation into Venezuela
Argentinian Government Proposes Price Controls
Lebanon: on the brink of collapse
The Complexities of a Vaccine Mandate
Findings from Latest US Inflation Report
Biden’s Foreign Policies Angers Europe
Venezuelan Government and Opposition Resumed Negotiations
Gold is being used as currency in Venezuela
Federal Reserve is concerned with U.S. inflation rate.
Special Economic Zones: Latin America’s Future?
The Mental Toll of the Pandemic
Maduro Regime Seizes Offices of El Nacional
Foreign Aid is Not the Solution for Venezuela
Venezuela Packed its Supreme Court, and It Went Wrong.
A Conflict is Emerging in the Colombian-Venezuelan Border
Despite US Sanctions, China is Buying Oil from Venezuela
Venezuela is Running Out of Diesel
The Venezuelan Economy: Closer to Moscow than Havana
Biden’s Stimulus Program: Inflationary Risks
COVID has Strengthened Authoritarian Regimes Around the World
All Carrot, No Stick: Biden Reportedly Set to Negotiate with the Venezuelan Regime
Trump’s War on Democratic Norms
By Jorge Jraissati
Jorge Jraissati is a Venezuelan economist and freedom advocate. He is the Director of Alumni Programs of Students For Liberty, an NGO advancing the ideas of a free society in over 100 countries. Beyond SFL, Jorge is a research consultant for IESE Business School, an economist from the Wilkes Honors College, and the President of Venezuelan Alliance, a policy group specialized in the Venezuelan humanitarian crisis. Jorge is a weekly columnist at Freedom Today Network.
