For three decades, Mubarak’s borrowing only enriched him and his ruling clique while impoverishing and repressing the rest of Egypt. Corruption was rife, but not just the covert type: public money was openly used to support many businesses under flimsy pretexts like “fostering economic growth” and “creating employment.”
30年来，穆巴拉克的借款肥了他自己和他的统治集团，同时却让埃及陷入了水深火热。穆巴拉克治下的埃及腐败猖獗，称得上明火执仗：公共资金打着“振兴经济增长”、“创造就业机会”这样的拙劣旗号被用来支持商业活动。腐败与管制一起伤害着埃及的竞争力、市场开放程度以及中小企业。