Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Egypt's Problems Are Insurmountable


Egypt’s New Cabinet Faces Overwhelming Economic Troubles -- Ahmed Kamel, PJ Media

Mired in political and economic dilemmas, the new government taking the helm following a year of unfulfilled pledges is faced with highly sensitive problems: fuel subsidies and a mammoth state budget deficit top the long list of issues facing Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi.

The economic situation will be the toughest challenge facing the new government: the state budget exceeds LE200 billion ($28.5 billion), while a high unemployment rate and inflationary pressures are taking their toll on the cash-strapped country.

Subsidy schemes, wages, and debt servicing devour 75 percent of the government’s outlays annually, according to the Finance Ministry. As 40 percent of Egyptians live on less than $2 per day, fuel and other staple subsidies are a must to maintain social peace.

Read more ....

My Comment: And we in the West are always complaining about our own economic problems .... this sort of puts everything into perspective.

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