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Saudi oil revenue has already sunk below government expenditures[1]. The just-announced 2016 budget has a deficit of $87 billion[2]. That's 7 years to go unti
by joezydeco 11y ago
Saudi oil revenue has already sunk below government expenditures[1]. The just-announced 2016 budget has a deficit of $87 billion[2]. That's 7 years to go until the reserves are gone.
And how much does the House of Saud hand out to its citizens to keep things calm and orderly? What happens when that money starts to dry up?
[1] http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-saudi-budget-expected-to-be-squeezed-by-low-oil-prices-1450915313 http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-saudi-budget-expected-to-be-...
[2] http://english.alarabiya.net/en/special-reports/saudi-budget-2016/2015/12/28/Saudi-Arabia-to-unveil-2016-budget.html http://english.alarabiya.net/en/special-reports/saudi-budget...
- mapt 11y agoThey bleed out savings while slowly ramping back down to the vicinity of the levels that they handed out 15 years ago. This is a traumatic process, sure - but it's not like they were uncomfortably poor 15 years ago, and they (unlike some others, I'm looking at you Venezuela) have plenty of buffer with which to keep their populations comfortable until a few years after their rivals stop drilling.
- moistgorilla 11y agoGoing from rich to poor is significantly harder than staying poor.
- mapt 11y agoAll they need to do is outlast maybe 20% of the rest of the oil producers, enough to raise prices back up.