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A comment on Oil plunges below zero for first time with May contract ending. Parent comment

Re:Oil plunges below zero for first time with May contract e... by harikb on Monday April 20, 2020 @10:44AM (#22924215)
Dictators/Kings can survive on a very tight budget btw. It takes a long long time for those structures to crack. The only reason they would leave town would be something related to the virus (like other western rich folks are doing now)
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Re:Oil plunges below zero for first time with May contract e... by DuskStar on Monday April 20, 2020 @10:48AM (#22924244)
IIRC Saudi Arabia is a massive welfare state with significantly subsidized food, power, water and more - all paid for by oil. People might be more willing to revolt because of that going away than they would have had it never been a thing in the first place.
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Re:Oil plunges below zero for first time with May contract e... by ptero on Monday April 20, 2020 @10:56AM (#22924342)
Survive in a small enclave in a third country with a small group of servants, sure. Survive as dictators, I am not so sure -- it requires keeping troops and those in key positions happy, which is expensive. My 2c
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Re:Oil plunges below zero for first time with May contract e... by henrikschroder on Monday April 20, 2020 @07:36PM (#22930137)
Rules for Rulers by CGP Grey is a fantastic lesson in how this works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs
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