Barry Artiste Op/Ed
You know the world economy is in trouble when the Saudi’s , who have more money than God are feeling the pinch. There are many unanswered questions, how Saudi Arabia spendy Billion dollar Resort projects may be in jeopardy, especially since these resorts were for the well heeled westerners to visit, who now are in the same boat.
Heaven forbid, there may be a run on Kraft Dinner at the local Saudi Grocery store, with Vacations in Economy Class to the desert resorts, like Somalia, because that is most likely as cheap a vacation a Saudi can get.
Will Chevy Mini Van’s replace Bentleys on Saudi Streets, if so perhaps GM can finally get out of it’s financial woes and Charge the Saudi’s 100,000 dollars for a Minivan, just tell em supply and demand by soccer Moms in North America, as Saudi belt tightening is to become the norm, maybe it is high time we put it to em, after all fair is fair.
Of course it is possible that this may just mean the average joe Saudi who abhors getting their hands dirty with manual labor, will have to let go all of their third world labourers who they have always hired to clean their toilets, groom their backyard and cook their meals.
What is the world coming to when a Well Heeled Saudi now, may have to cut their own grass or make themselves their own sandwich or switch TV channels with a remote? A travesty, I tells ya!
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=d32aa2e1-384b-4491-8ad1-9af78a3dc48f
Credit crunch even hits Saudi Arabia as $2.7 billion spent shoring economy
Reuters Published: Sunday, October 26, 2008
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia plans to extend 10 billion riyals ($2.7 billion) in credit to low-income citizens as Gulf Arab oil-producers step up efforts to contain the fallout from the global financial crisis.
Saudi King Abdullah ordered that the additional funds be deposited in the Saudi Credit Bank, which was established to extend interest-free loans to Saudi citizens with limited resources to help them overcome financial difficulties.
The move comes on the heels of an emergency meeting of Gulf finance ministers and central bankers held in Riyadh on Saturday which was aimed at better coordinating the response to a global downturn that threatens to brake their region’s six-year economic boom.
Tags: Saudi Arabia | economy | opinion | World | chevy | CREDIT | luxury cars | bentleys
I’m assuming the exaggerations are based on a general antipathy toward Saudis, but you really are missing the mark here.
While some Saudis are certainly rich, the majority are not. In fact, according to this piece from the UAE’s Gulf News, some 30% of Saudis are living below the poverty line.
Saudi attitudes toward manual labor have been changing over the past six or seven years. You can find reports of more and more young Saudis taking jobs that they had shunned in the past–like auto mechanics, hotel clerks, etc. Saudi women, in particular, have been demonstrating that no job is below them as they lobby for societal permission to work as maids.
You might be surprised, too, how many less-than-glamorous cars populate the streets of the Kingdom. During my last visit there, in October of last year, there were far more Toyotas than Lamborghinis, more off-brand and cheaper Indonesia mini-vans than Chevys.
If you’re interested in taking the rough edges off your stereotypes, you might like to visit my blog, Crossroads Arabia. Saudi Arabia has plenty of problems, but it is actually working to fix them.