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I have said this many times. I feel, as an American, many people are tired. WE have no insight into the vast sums of money that are being spent by the DOD and

I have said this many times. I feel, as an American, many people are tired. WE have no insight into the vast sums of money that are being spent by the DOD and where it is going. I see debt climbing and I have to ask myself, do I want my country to spend money on other countries or maybe focus on cleaning up our own house first? I would rather America focus on putting its own house in order, wasted spending, corruption, cartels, China buying up land, and the erosion of our education system. Many of us no longer feel the juice is worth the squeeze in supporting Europe. We have done enough over the last 100 years. Yes we have benefit some from their troubles, which they caused, but that doesn't mean we have to continue to support them.

agumonkey 2y ago
Most western countries are indebted way above the normal limit. I'm only a newb, but afaik, the global monetary system was wired this way. And US was said, being the currency reserve of the world, to have no problem with large debt. In reality, what I heard is that US inflation gets passed onto the world through dollar dominance. (not an unusual move for Trump to invert the logic to gain political point painting himself as the savior). You never considered it was just a story to justify shaking "allies" ? I don't know what the truth is, but it smells like it. And so far there's no announcement about investing in education or health, it seems quite the opposite, isn't it ? I sincerely don't understand how there can be any trust invested in Trump and his speeches. So far all he's done is creating meme coins and reviving the ruble. thanks for your answer nonetheless
- DamnYuppie 2y ago
  It takes time to turn a big ship. Why would I be excited to see more spending into government agencies until I am sure of how they are operating and what they are spending money on. Once things are cleaned up then you can start spending money as needed to get the results you want. It feels everyone is near jerk like, you actions didn't improve everything immediately so they were wrong. The reality of all of this will play out over the next few years.
  - flaburgan 2y ago
    But cleaning can't be done Musk's way. The whole system is kinda stable because everything is linked together. To start from scratch without anything in the meantime is just suicide. It's like if a scientist what not giving food to an animal for a month to test if really food is needed. Well, he will conclude that food was needed, but now the animal is dead.
  - etc-hosts 2y ago
    Pol Pot tried that with Year Zero. It turned out poorly.
    - DamnYuppie 2y ago
      Counter point Bill Clinton fired 377,000 Federal workers in the 90's and it turned out ok. Well aside from the Glass–Steagall legislation but that was legislation, still hurts though.
      - agumonkey 2y ago
        Multiple groups agree that Clinton efforts were well planned, reviewed and bipartisan https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/21/clinton-trump-federal-workers-jobs/79306710007/ https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/21/clint... https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/clinton-trump-federal-workers/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/clinton-trump-federal-work... Dismantling everything in the hope of finding alleged problems is witch-hunt level of political action.
      - rapjr9 2y ago
        That was done carefully with planning over six years through hiring freezes, retirement offers, and announced layoffs: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/21/clinton-trump-federal-workers-jobs/79306710007/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/21/clin... Not random shotgun immediate firings. Your weather forecasts are about to become less accurate because of some of these firings and planned improvements in them are not going to happen: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/01/weather/noaa-weather-forecast-layoffs/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/01/weather/noaa-weather-forecast... Go ask a farmer or pilot how much they depend on weather forecasts.
actionfromafar 2y ago
You are in luck! You will get more Chinese Gold Citizens buying up collapsing stock and any savings will be plowed right back into tax cuts. (For those with billions of course, not you.)
vitali 2y ago
One thing to note is that you are looking at this as a government cost, whereas it’s seen as a massive mechanism of hard and soft power, with immense economic and political benefits for the US, including being able to do whatever it wants wherever it wants. A significant amount of the wealth of the US depends on that soft/hard power dynamic. Break one, break the whole. But I agree with you. The US spends too much on military and intelligence budgets and not enough to and for its citizens. And this has led to the misery of so many Americans. The land of the plenty has not much to give to the ones that need it most. And on the other hand, the immense asymmetry of (non-nuclear) military power between the US and the rest of the world should ring alarm bells across every nation right now. Especially so in the EU, UK and Canada. Why is this massive military budget and complex supported by sacrificing public services, healthcare, education, and social services, and through higher taxation of the relatively poorest? And why is it not supported through taxation of corporations and the richest of the super-rich? And for me, the most important reason for why I found today so upsetting: What is true dishonour if not to betray a friend in need?
- agumonkey 2y ago
  Well I'd argue that there was no such thing as 'friend' in the mind of people hosting that event. It was clearly abusive mobster negotiation tactics, immoral power play and profit extraction.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - stavros 2y ago
    Then you're agreeing with the GP that this is dishonour.
  - DamnYuppie 2y ago
    One party greated the other cordially in a suit. One showed up to meet the President of the United States in leisure attire! One had made an agreement with Secretary of State and then reneged on it publicly. This same individual then decided to threaten the President of the United Sates. Who exactly was acting like a mobster? There is nothing immoral about getting paid for services or products. If you don't like it go somewhere else. Why is it that everyone expects hand outs from America but never once ask what can they do for America? It is Ukraine who is exploiting the American people for free arms. Finally an America stood up to their ridiculous behavior, the petty dictator was kicked out of the White House.
noduerme 2y ago
What we got, and get, out of supporting Western Europe at the end of WWII was that otherwise, the entire continent would have been run by the Soviet Union. Not just that, we got a valuable trading partner, and our rebuilding put an end to hundreds of years of European wars. Not that you might care about the moral aspect of it, but we also finished Nazi Germany and prevented that horror from taking over the world. What we got out of expanding the alliance to Eastern Europe was a further bulwark against Russia, which has always been an expansionist totalitarian empire that enslaves or kills anyone who disagrees with the dictator. It's no different now than it was under the czars. Europe is basically America's backyard now, and Russia wants it. Giving up your backyard because your violent neighbor threatens you for it, doesn't make you strong, it makes you weak.
- DamnYuppie 2y ago
  I am aware of the long history we have with Europe and how it came to be. Yet I am in the present and I no longer care what we look like to the rest of the world. I see problems at home and these are far more concerning to me then Russia taking over Europe. China is a much bigger enemy of America's in the Pacific. We should be focusing our defense spending there. Let Europe stand for Europe. No matter what happens America will be blamed and shamed, we didn't spend enough, we didn't xxxx enough, if only America had done yyyy zzzz wouldn't have happened, and on and on. So I am all for putting Americas interests first. Also I find your last sentence to be the antithesis of what I am talking about. Why does America look weak? Wouldn't Europe look much weaker??? It feels like gaslighting, like someone will call you names so you need to come and die for us! It gets old.
  - agumonkey 2y ago
    Regarding the ukraine war I don't remember any tangible criticism regarding the US. That would be way too hypocritical considering Europe aid has been too slow. At least nobody in my circle was asking more of the US. I really think you're being played. Also so far market are down, prices are up. Was it the best administration to deal with problems ? I understand the parent last sentence differently. Considering America's might, giving in to a mediocre aggressor seems weak. It's not that you have to do it, but it was the previous foreign policy / aura of the USA. Leader of the free world IIRC. Now you're free to change course. But it would be wise to operate smoothly.
kergonath 2y ago
> I see debt climbing and I have to ask myself, do I want my country to spend money on other countries or maybe focus on cleaning up our own house first? I would rather America focus on putting its own house in order, wasted spending, corruption, cartels, China buying up land, and the erosion of our education system. Not helping Ukraine won’t solve any of that, though. Regardless of the US policy regarding Europe, I am willing to bet that military spending will keep ballooning now that the broligarchs are in power and fighting to redirect public spending to their pockets. Ultimately, I understand your sentiment, but this course of action will not lead to what you hope. If anything, everything will get worse because the people in power have no interest in fixing the issues you mentioned.
- CapricornNoble 2y ago
  >I am willing to bet that military spending will keep ballooning now that the broligarchs are in power and fighting to redirect public spending to their pockets. Why would you think that military spending would go up, given the tasks the executive has currently issued, and diplomatic direction indicated vis-a-vis other world military powers: https://apnews.com/article/trump-pentagon-cuts-8-troops-budget-09ed8f0f5ae92a93b3c1705c9d2dcc1c https://apnews.com/article/trump-pentagon-cuts-8-troops-budg... https://www.axios.com/2025/02/13/trump-china-russia-military-spending https://www.axios.com/2025/02/13/trump-china-russia-military...
  - kergonath 2y ago
    Because there is too much money to be made. Thiel et al. stand to win too much to let it pass. It’s like with SpaceX: in theory Musk is all for smaller government, in practice he wants the government to serve him. Representatives and senators get a lot of political credit for the military-industrial complex, as well.
throwaway_20357 2y ago
I fully understand this sentiment. After all, combined more than $6tn (!) have been spent on the rather ill-advised engagements in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. It's unfortunate that the US invested so much in these affairs that there is little capacity or willingness left now when it matters.
- DamnYuppie 2y ago
  So help me understands Europe's reasoning for not keeping its spending commitments to NATO during peace time? We still met ours, still met all our obligations despite ongoing wars. I agree now things really matter but why should America be on the hook for wartime sacrifices when Europe couldn't be bothered to do the easy part in peace time? No one ever answers this simple question. They all just down vote me which is fine but if there is a rebuttal to this let me know.
  - exodust 2y ago
    You got my upvote! If there's one good thing that comes out of Trump's position on Ukraine, it's Europe stepping up its own security and strength. This will be good for Europe and America in long run. I watched the Trump Zelensky show today. I dunno about you, but I detected a possible calculated confrontation. I don't think Vance is a good actor. He took it to 11 too quickly. These days the media demands wartime strategy be played out in real time detail. How is that beneficial for actual strategy? To counter this, Trump may be leaning into the media circus by playing some sort of ambiguous good cop bad cop card. Smacking Zalensky while buttering Putin's muffins and arguing against world leaders, might be what's needed to penetrate Putin's emotional bubble. A kind of Trumpian trojan horse. Fascinating stuff. I know many here wouldn't give Trump such tactical credit, but if he were short on tactics he wouldn't have won two presidential elections.
    - TimTheTinker 2y ago
      That's funny, I thought Zelensky was the one who came in calculating. He had already agreed to the "deal", but (a) insisted on not signing it remotely, but instead flying all the way to the US; (b) waited until he was on camera with Bush and Vance; (c) changed his tack and tried to get Trump and Vance to agree to more than what had been previously discussed, thus baiting them into confrontation; (d) hopped on a plane within 2 hours, when Trump had stated publicly "all he needs to do is come back and say 'I want peace'"; (e) headed straight to the UK where almost all the EU leaders were already waiting and had a photo op done. It really looks like a carefully crafted narrative was planned and carried out to intentionally smear the current US administration.
libertine 2y ago
One of the things that was highly propagandized was the "deep state" relationship with big oil and the whole conspiracy theories of billionaires influencing policy and pushing for war to get access to oil. I get that people got into this narrative. What I don't get is that you're now supporting a new groups of tech billionaires influencing policy to get access to rare earth, to the point of threatening to annex USA allies like Canada, and Greenland, and doing deals with Russia to capitulate Ukraine. Yet Americans seem to be cozy with this idea, and support it, when in reality it's the same. In fact, it's worse because it's not even a conspiracy theory, it's out in the open. Imagine if Biden or Obama had the Black Rock folks behind them when they took the presidency, it would drive some folks up the wall. The same folks don't mind having the Twitter Guy, Bezos, Zuckerberg... Can you help me understand why?
- ashoeafoot 2y ago
  Cause when a country switches to tribal warmode, its all about flying elsewhere so the locust can feed again.
Paradigma11 2y ago
Fair enough. But doing so 3 years into a war with a now half dead Russia is a different matter. It was the US and UK that took a leadership role in the beginning of the conflict ("for as long as it takes.."). It must be pretty convenient to have a big ocean between yourself and the consequences of your actions.
- etc-hosts 2y ago
  I follow the writings of Ben Aris, who focuses mostly on analyzing energy and capital markets in Russia. He writes prolifically about Russia at https://www.intellinews.com/eastern-europe/ https://www.intellinews.com/eastern-europe/ (and other places, at a lower URL path) He believes that Russia's economy is not doing wonderfully, but not nearly as bad as the Western press says it is, and that whoever runs Russia is probably willing to put up with some pain a lot longer than Ukrainians can put up with no power no water no food, etc. https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3A%40bneeditor%20russia%20economy&src=typed_query&f=live https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3A%40bneeditor%20russia%20...
  - Paradigma11 2y ago
    I dont think pain is the possible problem, total collapse is. Russia does everything to hide any pain and problems. Banks are forced to accept loans from soldiers and military adjacent companies while being prohibited from calling them in. The capital controls. The private sector is mostly gone, there is no local car manufacturing any more. 21% interest rates with an official 10% inflation. The increasing lack of official economic data being released... Hard to tell, and I am not convinced if even the Kremlin has a good overview. In the end it does not matter that much. If Russia is really that robust then they wont stop attacking and if they are bluffing then Ukraine should not stop defending itself.
rcpt 2y ago
How much "wasted spending" do you know about? What fraction of foreign owned land is Chinese?
- DamnYuppie 2y ago
  That is what we are trying to find out! We have no idea how much wasn't wasted so we are going looking. We can't get clear answers on how many land transactions ultimately go back to the CCP, so we are trying to find out! This is about increasing transparency. We may find out hey it is all amazing and we are super efficient with your money, that would make us happy.
- DamnYuppie 2y ago
  An update on this it looks to be 200,000 acres at the moment. Which is 80,937 hectares or 809 square kilometers.
ashoeafoot 2y ago
A great nation can do two things at once. The problem is the unreformable oligarchy turning into a sour gilded age zhe moment the Soviets falteted. Cant have a democracy with what are nobleman at heart at the helm.

agumonkey 2y ago

Most western countries are indebted way above the normal limit. I'm only a newb, but afaik, the global monetary system was wired this way. And US was said, being the currency reserve of the world, to have no problem with large debt. In reality, what I heard is that US inflation gets passed onto the world through dollar dominance. (not an unusual move for Trump to invert the logic to gain political point painting himself as the savior). You never considered it was just a story to justify shaking "allies" ? I don't know what the truth is, but it smells like it. And so far there's no announcement about investing in education or health, it seems quite the opposite, isn't it ? I sincerely don't understand how there can be any trust invested in Trump and his speeches. So far all he's done is creating meme coins and reviving the ruble. thanks for your answer nonetheless

DamnYuppie 2y ago
It takes time to turn a big ship. Why would I be excited to see more spending into government agencies until I am sure of how they are operating and what they are spending money on. Once things are cleaned up then you can start spending money as needed to get the results you want. It feels everyone is near jerk like, you actions didn't improve everything immediately so they were wrong. The reality of all of this will play out over the next few years.
- flaburgan 2y ago
  But cleaning can't be done Musk's way. The whole system is kinda stable because everything is linked together. To start from scratch without anything in the meantime is just suicide. It's like if a scientist what not giving food to an animal for a month to test if really food is needed. Well, he will conclude that food was needed, but now the animal is dead.
- etc-hosts 2y ago
  Pol Pot tried that with Year Zero. It turned out poorly.
  - DamnYuppie 2y ago
    Counter point Bill Clinton fired 377,000 Federal workers in the 90's and it turned out ok. Well aside from the Glass–Steagall legislation but that was legislation, still hurts though.
    - agumonkey 2y ago
      Multiple groups agree that Clinton efforts were well planned, reviewed and bipartisan https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/21/clinton-trump-federal-workers-jobs/79306710007/ https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/21/clint... https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/clinton-trump-federal-workers/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/clinton-trump-federal-work... Dismantling everything in the hope of finding alleged problems is witch-hunt level of political action.
    - rapjr9 2y ago
      That was done carefully with planning over six years through hiring freezes, retirement offers, and announced layoffs: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/21/clinton-trump-federal-workers-jobs/79306710007/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/21/clin... Not random shotgun immediate firings. Your weather forecasts are about to become less accurate because of some of these firings and planned improvements in them are not going to happen: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/01/weather/noaa-weather-forecast-layoffs/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/01/weather/noaa-weather-forecast... Go ask a farmer or pilot how much they depend on weather forecasts.

actionfromafar 2y ago

You are in luck! You will get more Chinese Gold Citizens buying up collapsing stock and any savings will be plowed right back into tax cuts. (For those with billions of course, not you.)

vitali 2y ago

One thing to note is that you are looking at this as a government cost, whereas it’s seen as a massive mechanism of hard and soft power, with immense economic and political benefits for the US, including being able to do whatever it wants wherever it wants. A significant amount of the wealth of the US depends on that soft/hard power dynamic. Break one, break the whole. But I agree with you. The US spends too much on military and intelligence budgets and not enough to and for its citizens. And this has led to the misery of so many Americans. The land of the plenty has not much to give to the ones that need it most. And on the other hand, the immense asymmetry of (non-nuclear) military power between the US and the rest of the world should ring alarm bells across every nation right now. Especially so in the EU, UK and Canada. Why is this massive military budget and complex supported by sacrificing public services, healthcare, education, and social services, and through higher taxation of the relatively poorest? And why is it not supported through taxation of corporations and the richest of the super-rich? And for me, the most important reason for why I found today so upsetting: What is true dishonour if not to betray a friend in need?

agumonkey 2y ago
Well I'd argue that there was no such thing as 'friend' in the mind of people hosting that event. It was clearly abusive mobster negotiation tactics, immoral power play and profit extraction.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- stavros 2y ago
  Then you're agreeing with the GP that this is dishonour.
- DamnYuppie 2y ago
  One party greated the other cordially in a suit. One showed up to meet the President of the United States in leisure attire! One had made an agreement with Secretary of State and then reneged on it publicly. This same individual then decided to threaten the President of the United Sates. Who exactly was acting like a mobster? There is nothing immoral about getting paid for services or products. If you don't like it go somewhere else. Why is it that everyone expects hand outs from America but never once ask what can they do for America? It is Ukraine who is exploiting the American people for free arms. Finally an America stood up to their ridiculous behavior, the petty dictator was kicked out of the White House.

noduerme 2y ago

What we got, and get, out of supporting Western Europe at the end of WWII was that otherwise, the entire continent would have been run by the Soviet Union. Not just that, we got a valuable trading partner, and our rebuilding put an end to hundreds of years of European wars. Not that you might care about the moral aspect of it, but we also finished Nazi Germany and prevented that horror from taking over the world. What we got out of expanding the alliance to Eastern Europe was a further bulwark against Russia, which has always been an expansionist totalitarian empire that enslaves or kills anyone who disagrees with the dictator. It's no different now than it was under the czars. Europe is basically America's backyard now, and Russia wants it. Giving up your backyard because your violent neighbor threatens you for it, doesn't make you strong, it makes you weak.

DamnYuppie 2y ago
I am aware of the long history we have with Europe and how it came to be. Yet I am in the present and I no longer care what we look like to the rest of the world. I see problems at home and these are far more concerning to me then Russia taking over Europe. China is a much bigger enemy of America's in the Pacific. We should be focusing our defense spending there. Let Europe stand for Europe. No matter what happens America will be blamed and shamed, we didn't spend enough, we didn't xxxx enough, if only America had done yyyy zzzz wouldn't have happened, and on and on. So I am all for putting Americas interests first. Also I find your last sentence to be the antithesis of what I am talking about. Why does America look weak? Wouldn't Europe look much weaker??? It feels like gaslighting, like someone will call you names so you need to come and die for us! It gets old.
- agumonkey 2y ago
  Regarding the ukraine war I don't remember any tangible criticism regarding the US. That would be way too hypocritical considering Europe aid has been too slow. At least nobody in my circle was asking more of the US. I really think you're being played. Also so far market are down, prices are up. Was it the best administration to deal with problems ? I understand the parent last sentence differently. Considering America's might, giving in to a mediocre aggressor seems weak. It's not that you have to do it, but it was the previous foreign policy / aura of the USA. Leader of the free world IIRC. Now you're free to change course. But it would be wise to operate smoothly.

kergonath 2y ago

> I see debt climbing and I have to ask myself, do I want my country to spend money on other countries or maybe focus on cleaning up our own house first? I would rather America focus on putting its own house in order, wasted spending, corruption, cartels, China buying up land, and the erosion of our education system. Not helping Ukraine won’t solve any of that, though. Regardless of the US policy regarding Europe, I am willing to bet that military spending will keep ballooning now that the broligarchs are in power and fighting to redirect public spending to their pockets. Ultimately, I understand your sentiment, but this course of action will not lead to what you hope. If anything, everything will get worse because the people in power have no interest in fixing the issues you mentioned.

CapricornNoble 2y ago
>I am willing to bet that military spending will keep ballooning now that the broligarchs are in power and fighting to redirect public spending to their pockets. Why would you think that military spending would go up, given the tasks the executive has currently issued, and diplomatic direction indicated vis-a-vis other world military powers: https://apnews.com/article/trump-pentagon-cuts-8-troops-budget-09ed8f0f5ae92a93b3c1705c9d2dcc1c https://apnews.com/article/trump-pentagon-cuts-8-troops-budg... https://www.axios.com/2025/02/13/trump-china-russia-military-spending https://www.axios.com/2025/02/13/trump-china-russia-military...
- kergonath 2y ago
  Because there is too much money to be made. Thiel et al. stand to win too much to let it pass. It’s like with SpaceX: in theory Musk is all for smaller government, in practice he wants the government to serve him. Representatives and senators get a lot of political credit for the military-industrial complex, as well.

throwaway_20357 2y ago

I fully understand this sentiment. After all, combined more than $6tn (!) have been spent on the rather ill-advised engagements in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. It's unfortunate that the US invested so much in these affairs that there is little capacity or willingness left now when it matters.

DamnYuppie 2y ago
So help me understands Europe's reasoning for not keeping its spending commitments to NATO during peace time? We still met ours, still met all our obligations despite ongoing wars. I agree now things really matter but why should America be on the hook for wartime sacrifices when Europe couldn't be bothered to do the easy part in peace time? No one ever answers this simple question. They all just down vote me which is fine but if there is a rebuttal to this let me know.
- exodust 2y ago
  You got my upvote! If there's one good thing that comes out of Trump's position on Ukraine, it's Europe stepping up its own security and strength. This will be good for Europe and America in long run. I watched the Trump Zelensky show today. I dunno about you, but I detected a possible calculated confrontation. I don't think Vance is a good actor. He took it to 11 too quickly. These days the media demands wartime strategy be played out in real time detail. How is that beneficial for actual strategy? To counter this, Trump may be leaning into the media circus by playing some sort of ambiguous good cop bad cop card. Smacking Zalensky while buttering Putin's muffins and arguing against world leaders, might be what's needed to penetrate Putin's emotional bubble. A kind of Trumpian trojan horse. Fascinating stuff. I know many here wouldn't give Trump such tactical credit, but if he were short on tactics he wouldn't have won two presidential elections.
  - TimTheTinker 2y ago
    That's funny, I thought Zelensky was the one who came in calculating. He had already agreed to the "deal", but (a) insisted on not signing it remotely, but instead flying all the way to the US; (b) waited until he was on camera with Bush and Vance; (c) changed his tack and tried to get Trump and Vance to agree to more than what had been previously discussed, thus baiting them into confrontation; (d) hopped on a plane within 2 hours, when Trump had stated publicly "all he needs to do is come back and say 'I want peace'"; (e) headed straight to the UK where almost all the EU leaders were already waiting and had a photo op done. It really looks like a carefully crafted narrative was planned and carried out to intentionally smear the current US administration.

libertine 2y ago

One of the things that was highly propagandized was the "deep state" relationship with big oil and the whole conspiracy theories of billionaires influencing policy and pushing for war to get access to oil. I get that people got into this narrative. What I don't get is that you're now supporting a new groups of tech billionaires influencing policy to get access to rare earth, to the point of threatening to annex USA allies like Canada, and Greenland, and doing deals with Russia to capitulate Ukraine. Yet Americans seem to be cozy with this idea, and support it, when in reality it's the same. In fact, it's worse because it's not even a conspiracy theory, it's out in the open. Imagine if Biden or Obama had the Black Rock folks behind them when they took the presidency, it would drive some folks up the wall. The same folks don't mind having the Twitter Guy, Bezos, Zuckerberg... Can you help me understand why?

ashoeafoot 2y ago
Cause when a country switches to tribal warmode, its all about flying elsewhere so the locust can feed again.

Paradigma11 2y ago

Fair enough. But doing so 3 years into a war with a now half dead Russia is a different matter. It was the US and UK that took a leadership role in the beginning of the conflict ("for as long as it takes.."). It must be pretty convenient to have a big ocean between yourself and the consequences of your actions.

etc-hosts 2y ago
I follow the writings of Ben Aris, who focuses mostly on analyzing energy and capital markets in Russia. He writes prolifically about Russia at https://www.intellinews.com/eastern-europe/ https://www.intellinews.com/eastern-europe/ (and other places, at a lower URL path) He believes that Russia's economy is not doing wonderfully, but not nearly as bad as the Western press says it is, and that whoever runs Russia is probably willing to put up with some pain a lot longer than Ukrainians can put up with no power no water no food, etc. https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3A%40bneeditor%20russia%20economy&src=typed_query&f=live https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3A%40bneeditor%20russia%20...
- Paradigma11 2y ago
  I dont think pain is the possible problem, total collapse is. Russia does everything to hide any pain and problems. Banks are forced to accept loans from soldiers and military adjacent companies while being prohibited from calling them in. The capital controls. The private sector is mostly gone, there is no local car manufacturing any more. 21% interest rates with an official 10% inflation. The increasing lack of official economic data being released... Hard to tell, and I am not convinced if even the Kremlin has a good overview. In the end it does not matter that much. If Russia is really that robust then they wont stop attacking and if they are bluffing then Ukraine should not stop defending itself.

rcpt 2y ago

How much "wasted spending" do you know about? What fraction of foreign owned land is Chinese?

DamnYuppie 2y ago
That is what we are trying to find out! We have no idea how much wasn't wasted so we are going looking. We can't get clear answers on how many land transactions ultimately go back to the CCP, so we are trying to find out! This is about increasing transparency. We may find out hey it is all amazing and we are super efficient with your money, that would make us happy.
DamnYuppie 2y ago
An update on this it looks to be 200,000 acres at the moment. Which is 80,937 hectares or 809 square kilometers.

ashoeafoot 2y ago

A great nation can do two things at once. The problem is the unreformable oligarchy turning into a sour gilded age zhe moment the Soviets falteted. Cant have a democracy with what are nobleman at heart at the helm.