which country is the stupidest?

[phuketrichard]

Each year governments around the world seem to compete with one another to come up with the dumbest and worst policies possible. But which one is the stupidest?

The two main measurements we look at are greatest damage done to personal freedom and economic activity.

We’re also looking at the biggest relative decline in the past year, not merely the worst government in absolute terms—otherwise North Korea would have topped the list for the past few decades.

This year we’ve seen a significant move in the digital world towards spying, censorship, and limitations of free speech amongst many of the top contestants.

1. Russia

Undoubtedly the first country that comes to mind, with its decision to invade Ukraine.
In response, capital has fled and the ruble has plummeted. Over $55 billion in reserves have been used so far to prop up the currency.
The damage to the economy has been so great that Apple alone is now worth more than the entire Russian stock market. (Investors—pay attention to this).
The government has responded with even more stupidity, as it has attempted to crack down on dissent by requiring bloggers to register with the government and most recently banning the use of the word "crisis" in public.
This is a country that has gone from bad to worse with incredible speed this past year, and Russians have some very tough times ahead of them with the economy in severe recession.

2. Venezuela

Failing to foresee the consequences of one’s actions is a common flaw amongst politicians around the world, but with none is it as obvious as in the case of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
Completely ignoring the laws of supply and demand, he imposed strict price controls, which resulted in shortages across the board, including even basic necessities such as toilet paper, flour, cooking oil, and sugar.
In the time since, Venezuela’s government has gone to ludicrous lengths to respond to shortages. They’ve tried everything—except allowing prices to be set freely

3. Argentina

With one of the highest inflation rates in the world right now, at roughly 40%, another economic disaster is the case of Argentina.
Despite officials’ attempts to misrepresent inflation statistics and targeting of economists who try to publish more accurate figures, no one is fooled.
Thanks to the country’s Supply Law introduced earlier this year, companies have been prohibited from setting their prices too high, generating too much profit, or producing too little.

4. Thailand

Anyone familiar with the Thai government’s scheme of subsidizing rice purchases from farmers could have told you it would fail. For in the space of a single year, the program cost $12.5 billion to wastefully stockpile 18 million tons of rice that is now rotting away in government warehouses.
Thailand’s position as the world’s leading rice exporter is not the only thing that toppled as a result of this obtuse policy. The country experienced yet another coup when the government was toppled by a military junta back in May.
Shortly thereafter the military imposed martial law.

5. United States

Once thought of as the Land of the Free, the country has now dropped to 12th place in last year’s Economic Freedom of the World Index, behind the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
Government debt levels soared to unprecedented $18 trillion this November, and nothing is being done about it, with unfunded liabilities well over $200 trillion.
As a percentage of GDP, official debt now exceeds 100%. Of course, the only reason they’re able to run such a prodigious debt is because the rest of the world buys Treasuries and uses US dollars.
2014 showed the US government taking a giant, steaming dump on the generosity of foreigners, chasing away friend and foe alike.
They were caught spying on their own allies. They extorted foreign banks (a single fine against French bank BNP Paribas totaled $9 BILLION).
They used credit rating agencies as political pawns (downgrading Russia back in April).
They destroyed their own balance sheet and that of the Federal Reserve. (The US is totally insolvent, and on a mark to market basis, the Fed is nearly insolvent).
And they passed insane regulations, then arrogantly commanded the rest of the world to comply.
Most notably, key provisions from the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act were implemented in 2014.

My vote goes for America,

Thank u obama

[Soi Dog]

1. Russia
The damage to the economy has been so great that Apple alone is now worth more than the entire Russian stock market. (Investors—pay attention to this).

The thing is, as disastrous as Putin's decisions of late have been, he always has the potential to take things further still. He may strike out militarily again if he feels really desperate. The Russian currency and stock market could easily fall by another half...and then by half again before it's all over. Investors who jump in too early thinking they are scooping up bargains may get burnt quite badly. The investors who luckily time it right will be very happy fellows....some day.

Venezuela gets my vote. FUCK THE UNITED STATES is not really a strategy for governance and economic development. I only wish their impending financial collapse happened while Hugo Chavez was still alive and in power. Unfortunately, he will still be seen as a hero there when the country is in total free fall, which doesn't appear to be far away.

Iran wouldn't be far behind on my scale. Great people and great culture nearly destroyed by the egomaniacle, religious nutjobs in power.

[potty]

getting back the Ukraine is much liked by Russians, even his opposion says they would have done the same.

[Samouth]

If barak obama isn't a good president, why did he still gain the majority of vote for his second mandate? I am just curious. I don't know much about USA.

[phuketrichard]

in america, u no longer vote for who will do the best job as president
but who will cause the least amount of problems/trouble

[Soi Dog]

If barak obama isn't a good president, why did he still gain the majority of vote for his second mandate? I am just curious. I don't know much about USA.

Don't assume the views of the outspoken American extremist wacko contingent on this forum are a full representation of the general US populations attitude about their president. About 40% of the people will support Obama in whatever he does. Another 40% or so will despise him and seek to find fault regardless of what he does. The remaining 20% (undecideds or independents as they are often referred to) are the ones who decide elections, and their votes will sway back and forth depending on the general state of the economy and other factors that affect them personally (immigration, tax rates, foreign policy/military issues, healthcare, etc.).

[wackyjacky]

Well Russia is certainly the stupidest 'smart country'. They take absolutely no advantage of all their advanced degrees and scientific achievements running an extraction economy w/no diversification, usually only seem in the 3rd world. Add to that the fact that most men drink themselves into an early grave & they get the gold medal. Good article here: http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2015/0 ... story.html "THE DRAMATIC collapse of the Russian ruble last month cast a stark, unflattering spotlight on the economy of one of the world’s most important countries. In recent years Russia has become almost a petro-state—a nation of roughly 140 million people, many of them highly educated, whose wealth comes mostly from the blunt-force industries of resource extraction, and whose economy rises and falls on individual fluctuations in the price of oil or natural gas. When the price of oil started to slide, the ruble was suddenly vulnerable.

Other growing nations, like China, India, and Brazil, have diversified, building wealth from a wide base of technology and manufacturing. You can see this as you walk down the aisles at your local Best Buy, where the shelves are stocked with computers made in Chengdu and hard drives from Thailand, and again when you drive down the street, alongside cars made in Germany and Korea. But Russia has thrown off no such great global technology products. It’s unthinkable that you’d seek out a Russian laptop, or make a call on a Russian cellphone, or watch a movie on a Russian flat-screen TV."

[Bitte_Kein_Lexus]

Good point wackyjacky, but that isn't something which makes stupid for this past year. Since Soviet times, Russia has mainly focused on heavy industry as opposed to light industry (consumer products). They do produce a lot of stuff, but it's not always that visible to western consumers. Speaking of which, would you rather buy a Thai missile or a Russian one?

But good point. Russia's dependency on natural resources played a large part in the 98 crash and it's surprising that they don't overtly attempt to diversify. But then again, natural resource dependency and the cyclical crashes it creates affects many other countries such as Canada, Norway and even the US. To name just a few... Countries who produce TVs on the other hand feel the squeeze when no one buys them...

[wackyjacky]

The problem lie not with innovative ideas, it lie here (from the same article): "But Graham’s findings suggest that this may not be enough. “Putin says, ‘We must diversify our economy, and we will do that,’ ” Graham said recently. “Well, to do that...they have to make all kinds of changes to their legal system, their patent system, the position of their investors. Technology doesn’t take off by itself. It has to have all kinds of supporting ingredients.”

[frank lee bent]

i will comment on this when i have a light year to reflect- stupidity- especially on a large scale is infinite.
i will consult physics to find an apt citation.
stand by.