Face Mask, Garlic, and Price Control: Ukraine's Government Fights off H1N1 Virus

[leonidas]

There's been a lot said about political mess during "an outbreak of swine flu". However, I've not heard anyone criticizing the government's economic policy under the exigent circumstances. I've never seen so many price controls imposed in less than a week.

In the last two weeks the Tymoshenko government went completely awry with price controls when prices for medical supplies and food reached all-time high levels. The government spread a panic among Ukrainians by announcing that Ukraine had an outbreak of swine flu in the Western regions and it would be soon enough that the whole nation would be infected with the epidemic and deadly swine flu. Those words were actually the real words that came out of the mouth of one top government official in prime time on all major TV channels.

It's no-brainer to guess what happened next to a demand for all medical supplies that could somehow help to fight off the imminent virus... You can click here if you want to read more.