There’s always that person every couple of weeks has their “contractor contacts” come along and tell them there’s a new rate in place and their just waiting to get paid…
Seriously? This has gone of for years. I’ve worked on oil and gas crews as an engineer and let me tell you what my guys would never do, work for free. These guys travel for the money, and some for the money alone. So working off the “promise” of higher wages for more than a week or so, just isn’t going to happen. So when I see posts like this: MarkZ I have been in touch with a number of contractors …projects that were moth-balled and stalled now suddenly have funding in place…2 contractors in Iraq…believe they will see their rate…(about $3.90)…this week for their projects… All I can do is call BS! You don’t even start a major project unless there’s money up front, so to expect these guys to be working off promises of increase in rates is absurd.
Then there’s the WTO discussion. Does Iraq have to be a member of the WTO to revalue? Nope. What advantage does being in the WTO even provide them?
- Improved access to global trade, industry, and economic opportunities
- Increased competitiveness
- Reduced trade barriers
- Improved foreign investment environment
- Development and expansion of progress achieved in financial services
But, these benefits also depend on how effectively Iraq can address it’s current economic challenges, including unemployment (which is low), inflation (under control) and the dependency on oil revenues. The WTO’s global system lowers trade barriers through negotiation and applies the principle of non-discrimination. This can result in reduced costs of production, reduced prices of finished goods and services, and ultimately a lower cost of living. And then we get posts like this: Frank26 Is Iraq a member of the WTO? ‘Well, Frank you say they’re a member of the WTO, they qualified for it.’ But do you see any official paper that tells you they’re a member of the WTO. ‘No.’ Why not? Until you see the new exchange rate. ‘But you don’t have to have a high exchange rate to join the WTO. Why do you say something like that?’ Because commitments were made in contracts that were guaranteed by Sudani for all these people through the WTO investments for the economic reform of Iraq. Frank, Frank, Frank, Frank (count that 22 more times) why would you say “guaranteed”? Knowing there are back door deals between countries all the time you still say anything is guaranteed when so many countries are involved. Why do people believe this? We’ve talked about circle intel, here’s the example: MarkZ “[Guru] Frank said…Iraq is working out of 2 sets of books. One at 1310 and one with a float of over $3.00 US” MarkZ: I wholeheartedly agree with [Guru] Frank. It’s the only thing that makes logistical sense. They’ve said this for a couple years, who does this make sense to at all? Why would a country use two sets of books? So we have contractors getting promised special rates, a country rocking two sets of books, lower denoms in the ATM’s, and let’s not forget admission into international organizations that they’re keeping secret until further notice. It all sounds plausible until you start putting it all together and see how ridiculous the claims are. Again, I am for this investment, don’t mistake it one bit. I just don’t buy into the nonsensical comments that people keep using as excuses to espouse their “information” as valid. This will happen, but no amount of guarantees or propped up intel will make this move any faster. We need to stop looking for hope in every comment or article we read and have a real plan for whatever circumstances arise as things develop.
BWM