[🇵🇰] Pakistan ‘is bankrupt’ and ‘sinking deeper every year’: Atif Mian

[dalit]

Pls highlight high value products to these countries. Hand made rugs, handicraft and fruit don’t count as none of them are high-value enough to offset all the imports that we have been accustomed to

Let's face it. We don't have any valuable exports. We didn't even invest in an educated workforce.

 

[4MikeEcho]

Pakistan ‘is bankrupt’ and ‘sinking deeper every year’: Atif Mian​

BR Web Desk
February 12, 2024
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Atif Mian, a noted Pakistani-American economist and currently a professor of Economics, Public Policy, and Finance at Princeton University, has said that Pakistan “is bankrupt” and “sinking deeper every year”.

In a series of tweets on Sunday, the economist highlighted the impact of the February 09 General Elections for Pakistan that remains engulfed in a myriad of economic challenges including “inflation, growth, debt and investment.”






“Pakistan’s economy has consistently fallen behind globally – last year was one of the worst, with the economy actually contracting,” he said. “Every macro fundamental is flashing red: inflation, growth, debt, investment, to name a few.”

Criticising the government’s inability to generate revenue, Atif said the federal government has no money.

“It cannot even afford to pay the salary of a peon or a soldier without borrowing,” he said.

The economist said Pakistan’s entire tax revenue is consumed after paying provinces their share, pensions to retirees, and interest on debt.

‘Nonsensical’: economist Atif Mian slams Pakistan govt’s policies

“Inflation cannot be controlled when the entire government is run on deficit,” he said.

Whereas, “growth is impossible when government has no money to invest in the future, and lack of growth makes every problem worse,” he said.

“The country is bankrupt. It is sinking deeper every year,” he exclaimed while highlighting the state of affairs in the South Asian country.

“I have never seen such despondency. So many wanting to leave, established firms are no longer comfortable investing.

“Yet no leader has a viable economic plan for the future,” he said.

“People are mad – and they have every right to be. 442,353 children died in Pakistan just last year due to poverty, which is almost half a million dead kids every year.”

The General Elections 2024 have been marred with unclarity as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), to date, has not announced the results of all constituencies.

Meanwhile, the economist warned that after the latest elections, the distance between the ruler and the ruled has never been wider.

“Do they understand how dangerous that is?” he questioned.

“There is an attempt – once again – to cobble together a compromised group.

“No one has a plan to fix the economy. But even if they magically did somehow, they cannot do anything because they have lost all trust in their people they are foreigners in their own land,” concluded Atif.

Doesn’t take an economist to realize that our debt has been rising at 10-12% per year since 1970 and that compounding over time has led the debt to go from $3BN To $130BN. Import controls went away some time in the 90s so we have been addicted to imports and paying for them from borrowings for an entire generation. I don’t have all the year’s data but certainly in the last decade our imports are double of our exports.

No leader (military or civilian) has been able to flatten this trajectory: if this economist is to be believed, we should be sinking no more than 1994, or if I were to be generous, life is going to be no worse than it has been in the past. Its been a bad trajectory with no leader having the courage to correct it. All they do is wait for the next aid package (from the US or IMF).

What could have been controlled was to have better governance/law order so companies that were running didn’t feel they should move to Bangladesh to be competitive.

 

[dalit]

Doesn’t take an economist to realize that our debt has been rising at 10-12% per year since 1970 and that compounding over time has led the debt to go from $3BN To $130BN. Import controls went away some time in the 90s so we have been addicted to imports and paying for them from borrowings for an entire generation. I don’t have all the year’s data but certainly in the last decade our imports are double of our exports.

No leader (military or civilian) has been able to flatten this trajectory: if this economist is to be believed, we should be sinking no more than 1994, or if I were to be generous, life is going to be no worse than it has been in the past. Its been a bad trajectory with no leader having the courage to correct it. All they do is wait for the next aid package (from the US or IMF).

What could have been controlled was to have better governance/law order so companies that were running didn’t feel they should move to Bangladesh to be competitive.

Local Pakistani businesses are mostly running off to UAE.

Let's face it, who would want to invest in a place where the generals are calling the shots and we don't know how tomorrow looks like.

 

[Old School]

There will be a color revolution in Pakistan soon. The puppet masters have become loose cannons for even their overlords.

 

[dalit]

There will be a color revolution in Pakistan soon. The puppet masters have become loose cannons for even their overlords.

It is very telling.

 

[Lulldapull]

Why not then using the same logic by using the Irani experience and open the Indian border to flood the market with all other goods? Indian Punjab is alone sufficient for agricultural goods, for instance. But that would be too much of an ego problem.

60% of our meager budget gets used up for Crude/ LNG/ Diesel/ Motor oil/ Greases and importing polymer beads for making plastic bags/ goods in house/ local industry. Engro uses gas as feedstock for making ammonia/ fertilizer. Khuda ka shukar hae at least we buying discount hydrocarbons now. Doing business with Indians is a political decision. It's the same with these Irani turani.....but at least we smuggling bhai, vurna we can't even survive. We don't got dollars to pay the Qatari and UAE/ Sawdi anymore. Smuggling/ barter zindabad!

 

[Lulldapull]

Bhai I read news few months back that we now buying about $3 billion in fuel/ gas from Iran and our enterprising jharrnail turn it around and sell it to our ghareeb awaam for $10 billion. Taqreeban Rs 38 ka liter at source in Iran and at the petrol pump in Karachi sells for Rs 300......... Subhaanallah ......

 

[ghazi]

60% of our meager budget gets used up for Crude/ LNG/ Diesel/ Motor oil/ Greases and importing polymer beads for making plastic bags/ goods in house/ local industry. Engro uses gas as feedstock for making ammonia/ fertilizer. Khuda ka shukar hae at least we buying discount hydrocarbons now. Doing business with Indians is a political decision. It's the same with these Irani turani.....but at least we smuggling bhai, vurna we can't even survive. We don't got dollars to pay the Qatari and UAE/ Sawdi anymore. Smuggling/ barter zindabad!

Ture !