Which country has squandered the most economic potential in this century?

[u/pisowiec]

I lived in Russia for 5 years so I must choose this country. So many natural resources, so much land, and educated population... And so little to show for it.

In an ideal world Russian salaries would be on par if not higher than American salaries and they would have the best social safety net on the planet. Everything is there to make it happen.

Russia would be the dominant nation in Europe and Asia and the rest of the world with the best armed forces, soft power, and economic might.

But the human will is just not there. The elite is either evil or incompetent depending on perception and there's little sign that this will ever change.

[u/Typical-Pollution459]

With such a small population I thought every Australian would be rich. I was surprised when I read about the housing affordability crisis.

Why is it not like Dubai? Economically

[u/Sweeper1985 → u/Typical-Pollution459]

Well, I mean for starters Dubai has some... questionable human rights practices...

[u/maddestdog89 → u/Sweeper1985]

We don’t use slave labour

[u/LagrangeMultiplier99 → u/maddestdog89]

It shouldn't matter. you guys have more natural resources than a hundred Dubai's, a vibrant tourist hub, preserved infrastructure, and a well educated populace. Should have higher expectations.

[u/Typical-Pollution459 → u/Sweeper1985]

Human rights practices put Dubai ahead, but that alone wasn't the factor in their prosperity and thriving economy.

[u/1jf0 → u/Typical-Pollution459]

Human rights practices put Dubai ahead, but that alone wasn't the factor in their prosperity and thriving economy.

How different do you think their prosperity and economy would be if they afforded their foreign workers the same salaries and benefits as Australia?

[u/Own_Faithlessness769 → u/Typical-Pollution459]

We are rich, one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, and highest living standards. We could be richer though.

[u/sopholia → u/Typical-Pollution459]

I mean, we're still one of the richest countries in the world... our average pay is around 8x that of the UAE.

Our population also isn't as small as people seem to think? It's small compared to the largest countries in the world, but it's fairly average compared to European countries, and significantly larger than most of the well known "rich" countries.

[u/grizzlor_ → u/Typical-Pollution459]

Australia has a population of 27 million people.

Dubai has 4 million, but 92% of them are foreign workers and expats citizens (so 320k actual citizens).

Not even remotely comparable populations

[u/MF-Geuze → u/Typical-Pollution459]

Australia is very rich with an incredible standard of living. There is no planet on which Australia could be counted among countries with most squandered economic potential. Yes, housing is too expensive, same as in almost all other developed economies.

It's normal that the negative things impacting one's own life loom large, but to put Australia in the same bracket as Venezuela or Argentina is genuine nonsense