Andrew E. Kramer wrote about Russia’s own…spin on stimulus:

• Oil prices have stayed level in recent times, causing Russia’s economy to stall.
• In an effort to stimulate the economy Russia is considering releasing business owners who were guilty of “economic crimes” from gulag prisons.
• In Russia a business owner has a better chance of ending up in a gulag than a common burglar does.
• This is largely due to corruption. One business owner who sold leopard-print fabrics was locked up for “copyright infringement”. His inventory was given to a competitor who sold them for a fat profit. The business owner somewhat dryly points out that it’s unclear who owns the copyright to leopards.
• Russia may be onto something. Several of those guilty of white-collar crimes have actually become fairly successful entrepreneurs even in prison. They probably could give Russia’s economy a jolt.

Read more about the conditions of the gulags, other examples of those who were arrested for “economic crimes” and more over here.

Source: The New York Times

Via: Marginal Revolution