IMF narrative change on subsidies for energy (and food).
They changed their narrative from
Subsidies BAD
- to -
Subsidies GOOD
First up, here is the IMF's previous stance on subsidies, earlier this year (web page is copyrighted 2022):
"Why do we care about fossil fuel subsidies?
Subsidies are intended to protect consumers by keeping prices low, but they come at a high cost.
Subsidies have sizable fiscal costs (leading to higher taxes/borrowing or lower spending), promote inefficient allocation of an economy’s resources (hindering growth), encourage pollution (contributing to climate change and premature deaths from local air pollution), and are not well targeted at the poor (mostly benefiting higher income households).
Removing subsidies and using the revenue gain for better targeted social spending, reductions in inefficient taxes, and productive investments can promote sustainable and equitable outcomes. Fossil fuel subsidy removal would also reduce energy security concerns related to volatile fossil fuel supplies. …"
https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/climate-change/energy-subsidies
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And here is the IMF's current stance on subsidies, a couple weeks ago:
"Governments need to subsidise the cost of food and energy for the poorest members of society, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has told the BBC.
People around the world are struggling with the rising cost of living.
Kristalina Georgieva said support needs to be provided "in a very targeted manner, preferably by providing subsidies directly to people". …
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61523624
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ZeroHedge warns about globalist Universal Basic Income / subsidies:
"Universal Basic Income? IMF Calls For Governments To Subsidize Food And Energy
Inflationary and stagflationary crisis events open up a lot of doors and create a lot of convenient opportunities for globalists obsessed with the ideology of total centralization. A key aspect of the “Shared Economy” agenda put forward by the WEF is the concept of UBI (Universal Basic Income). If the government becomes the primary pillar of the economy and the primary source of necessities for a large portion of the population, then this makes public defiance of government mandates much less likely.
When the government becomes our nursemaid, how many people will be willing to bite the hand that feeds them?
… Another reason for the IMF to co-opt the discussion on solutions is to also divert blame for the problem. It is the very central banking policies that the IMF promoted for years that led directly to the inflation crisis we are dealing with today. Georgieva continues to promote the lie that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a main factor causing global inflation, even though inflation was hitting 40 years highs in the US well before the war ever started, and has been a constant weakness within Europe and other parts of the world for years.
While sanctions on Russian oil and gas will certainly add to instability in the future, it was central banking policy that created the bulk of this disaster in the first place.
The latest statement from the IMF may also reveal the expectations of globalists on the inflation front going forward. With multiple institutions from the WEF, World Bank, the UN, the IMF and the BIS all predicting worldwide food shortages this year, it's clear that inflation is going to get far worse. Georgieva's recommendations for subsidies on food and energy should act as a warning signal; the IMF would not be suggesting UBI-like measures unless they thought the economic crisis would be dangerous enough to compel the public to demand government monetary intervention on such a comprehensive scale. It might not seem like it, but a large number of people are fully aware that stimulus measures and government spending only lead to higher prices. They would have to be extremely desperate to ask for more of the same while hoping for different results.
Anyone still not prepared for a bottleneck in the supply chain and even higher costs needs to take the threat seriously. The globalists are telling you what is about to happen, and if you hope to remain free, UBI is not an option."
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/universal-basic-income-imf-calls-governments-subsidize-food-and-energy
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This anon's background is international oil & gas, if anyone is interested about the topic.