this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2026
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How did finances in socialist countries work? (lemmygrad.ml)
submitted 1 month ago by reallybigShell@lemmygrad.ml to c/asklemmygrad@lemmygrad.ml
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Sorry if this a little silly of a question I haven't read much on the topic, but in a centrally planned economy, if everyone is a worker of a state owned business, how did the government have a budget surplus? Did they only rely on exports and tourism for state finances, because I can't think of other ways to generate state revenue surplus. Thank you for your answers.

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[–] EmmaGoldman@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago

The Soviet Union typically maintained very minor (margin of error) surpluses and deficits of no more than about 0-3% of GNP up until the late 80s when the powerful Soviet economy could no longer entirely offset the global economic crisis that started with the 70s Oil Crisis and had already been plaguing the West for over a decade.