While I’m openly in favor of supporting Ukraine, it’s important to note that the vast majority of this type of military aid is provided in kind.
So really, it’s a proposal to give US Defense contractors $100b+ to replenish and restock the DOD with new kit and munitions for the old kit and munitions that we’re providing to Ukraine. Which then get into the use accounting tricks e.g. depreciation values, etc.
The annual military aid to Israel is a little different, it’s more like a loss leader coupon: give Israel money that they have to spend with US Defense contractors, which then also incentivizes them spending their own budget on complementary systems that can be integrated with those systems, munitions, support contracts, etc.
Although in this case, I believe it’s primarily munitions and other kit that the DOD already has in warehouses.
This is oversimplified, but I just see these headline figures always being confused for pallets of cash.
I don’t live in Ukraine. I need healthcare now. Let Blackrock and Vanguard fund Ukraine.
Did you have healthcare before Russia invaded Ukraine and started murdering babies? Was it even on the cards?
It’s not an economic factor either. US health costs are much higher than other developed nations. It spends 17% of GDP, almost double of Germany (next highest).
Spending is without the positive outcomes. Infant mortality of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births (17,000 extra dead babies a year Vs an average.rate), for context you are worse than Russia with 4.9 but better tha Chile 5.9). 23.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 births being 3 times higher than most wealthy nations.
The economic considerations are that you have a lot of heath businesses. If you socialised medicine and reduced spend, you may improve health outcomes but how would they pay for the very nice buildings they have loans for?
Finally, US doesn’t want universal healthcare as a society. Whilst they may be financially wrecked by costs and live shorter more painful lives, that is far preferential than seeing the low income family get the same free cancer treatment for their child.
Did you have healthcare before Russia invaded Ukraine
Yes, I did until they sent me a letter informing me that they were booting me off my Medicare for All plan and converting it into artillery shells for the Kherson offensive.
We aren’t getting it eitherway, so in the meantime, at least some of our weapons are being used to defend against an imperial power, instead of to advance one.
Sweet! So it’ll help the rich get richer and won’t help any of us who don’t work on the defense industry. Love it!
I’d try to explain the geostrategic and humanitarian benefits to helping one of the world’s largest bread baskets defend against imperial conquest by an mafia run gas station, or do a deeper dive into Putin’s desire to reconquer the old USSR satellite states, or the associated risks if he was successful, but I don’t think you really care to have you opinion shaped by analysis and the realities of great power poltics, so I’ma leave you be.
I fully support giving aid to Ukraine. Just not so sure about funding the destruction of Palestine by a country with one of the world’s strongest economies
Do I support giving arms to Israel? No, but that wasn’t the point of my post. It was an very high level explainer to head off the inevitable portrayal of this as a direct cash transfer.
Did you you seriously just describe your own comment as “very high level”?
How about helping your own fucking citizens first?
Bro I’m for foreign aid but this is getting insane.
Give me .01 percent of that and I’d be set for life. Where’s the aid for Americans?
Can’t forgive student debt can’t pay for healthcare yet we can have war, ffs
The government actually has infinite money
Not that I’m saying we should throw money into these wars, but rather that we should have no issue taking care of healthcare and student debt.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
The government actually has infinite money
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Sort of. The US government has created the extraordinary privilege of dollar hegemony, which lets them issue money ad nauseum at the expense of the rest of the world. This privilege ends when the rest of the world stops underwriting this debt, as is slowly happening under the broad name of dedollarization.
“defense” industry lapdogs absolutely drooling at the steak Genocide Joe’s dangling over their heads
