Though barter is the common currency throughout Ukraine, the state's quasi-monopoly of so many items still suffocates small farmers.

ECONOMIST: Ukraine��s farms

The bloated size of the government suffocates the economy.

CNN: Can Ghana's economy prosper against the odds?

Sadly, Zimbabwe exemplifies what has gone wrong in so much of Africa since its various nations achieved independence from European colonialists: arbitrary and oppressive rule, kleptocratic governments (often made more bloated by Western foreign aid) and crushing taxation that suffocates entrepreneurship.

FORBES: Fact And Comment