Do you support a "blank check" for the Russia/Ukraine war?

[lightbulb27]

So far the cost to USA alone is $91 Billion... which goes to the Military Industrial Complex... and lots of jobs. By the way, maybe you should be investing in these successful businesses that make weapons of war... or getting a job at one.

Anyways, that's a lot of money... like... you could have solved a lot of other problems with that $91 billion, and that's just in 9 months. So let's say, 10 billion a month on average.

General Mark Miley just spoke about how USA will continue supporting Ukraine with whatever it takes.

Problem is... there's 200k Russian troops being trained and deployed soon, probably within 2 months and the war will take another turn. e. g. There's no end in sight...

So... how far are you willing to go in funding the war... because you are paying for this out of the inflation in your dollars.

This is part of this cost is the inflation you experience now and in the future. You are paying for this war, just like the Iraq/Afghanistan/Vietnam war... via your standard of living.

...

Cost is only one factor, I get that... I don't need to hear about how terrible the war is and how it's Russias fault. Irrelevant.

"In times of war... prepare for peace!"

Republican - there's a limit to funding, it's X

Democrat - there's a limit to funding, it's X

Republican - give them a blank check, get the job done

Democract - give them a blank check, get the job done

Until they call me up for duty... then I pull the plug

Other

[glennos89]

Funding any war is a criminal thing to do in my oppinion. No mather what side you are on!

The biggest 2 reasons why there were so many wars after world war 2 is mainly because of 2 country's in this world who time after time after time again and again keep funding these wars are the USA and Russia!

The 2 of them are the main reason why so many terrible suffering has been going on and that are just facts! There obsession with being the most powerful is the soul reason why there have been so many victims who died just because theyvgot stuck in the middle of this. Only because of the sick obsession of power and money that both regimes leaders have.

The fact that there are still people in the USA and Russia that are willing to send troops and money to fund these idiotic wars is mind bending to me.
I honestly wonder if there are people in both country's who take the time to ask themselves how many of there own troops and their family's are broken or destroyed because of injury's and death caused by these terrible wars outside their borders.

To these nationalists people I just wanne say 1 thing... "WAKE THE FUCK UP" and start understanding that we are all humans from the same fucking planet and nationalism is only creating devidence. It's great that we all have our own culture and habits but in the end of the day we are all the same from the inside!!! No mather what race, believes, religion we have... we are still humans in the end of the day seeking for peace, love and survival

Nationalism is the dumbest thing ever! And ofcourse you are allowed to be proud of your herritage! But when your willing to sacrefice money for Funding these war crimes that are taking place now and in the past then that makes you a CRIMINAL aswell.

Your willingness to add funds to meaningless wars is the only reason why so many people died and suffer so far these days and the days ahead of us. Anyone willing to make that terrible desciscion should be really ashamed of themselves because you are to dumb to understand that your the reason for the fact that this world, our society is so disfunctional right now!

You are just a slave of the system and you are perfectly mindcontrolled by your own corrupt governments that are simultaneously make your life harder then necessary because... while you are supporting them, they dont give a shit about you or your support. To them you are just a replaceable tool

[MCheetah]

Other - I'm Independent and don't support a blank check for the war. But I know the US is just doing this as leverage, so it's more like a "loan" to Ukraine than anything. The US is basically buying out that country by saving its ass from Russia.

And you DAMN WELL KNOW if things were different and the US was at war with China and we had Russia or Saudi Arabia supporting China with money and weapons, the US would be talking about nuking them at this point. So while I don't support Russia on this, I'd be pissed off at the US if I was Russia, too. The US funding a proxy war is essentially like being in the war, itself. And it's really none of the US' business.

International people should just know, it's not everyday civilians supporting this (on either side). It's corrupt government officials, and Putin. Most American, Ukrainian, and Russian civilians do not want a war at all, and are the ones paying the biggest price for it, while these smug oligarchs sit in their ivory towers.

The TL;DR: The US shouldn't be giving Ukraine ANY money at all! It's none of the US' business and people at home are still suffering, post-COVID.

[RealMarek]

Ukraine just changed labor laws to ban unions and eliminate other worker protections. If there are any men left in Ukraine after NATO fights to the last Ukrainian, they will work for the neoliberal globalists for cheap.

[Aerissa_Jade]

If Russia wasn't using rape as a weapon of war, I'd support pulling the plug... but that atrocity alone has my support for it to continue endlessly. I even support giving Ukraine weapons to attack Russia in their own land. Hit Moscow with dirty bombs/chemical/biological weapons and escalate it endlessly. Hell give Ukraine nukes, let them nuke Moscow.

WHATEVER it takes to stop the rape of girls and women in Ukraine, no limit to the escalation. Even if it leads to the total destruction of the planet and a nuclear winter. This world is not worth keeping humans alive on, if we cannot protect the girls and women in Ukraine from being raped by the Russians.

Being raped is worse than being killed, death is better than that. Death of all humans is better than allowing it to continue. There is no greater war crime than using rape as a weapon of war.

The UN should be dissolved as it is a joke that has no power and wastes billions of US money.

Terrorist attacks of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons should be indirectly let loose on all Russian population centers by Ukrainians who have had family members raped and willing to do suicide attacks for revenge.

Melt the rapists faces off with some nice biological or chemical weapons.

No direct US attacks unless Russia attacks first... but I have no problem with terrorist attacks on Russians killing tens of millions of those useless rapists. For all I care, kill a 140 million Russian's. I'm good with that too, anything to stop the rapes of girls and women as a weapon of war.

Give them more support, far more than is currently being given.

[lightbulb27]

I understand how you feel. It's why a lot more national pressure from citizens should be applied to end it. politicians can't solve it.
you mean like aircraft, ships, missiles, and nukes they used to have...

[Aerissa_Jade]

Pretty much, what they used to have. Even though they couldn't use the nukes they gave up. Given enough time they could of made them usable. I doubt Russia would of invaded had they still had those nukes and made them usable.

The only other solution that I think would be acceptable is to evacuate the eastern half of Ukraine, let the US, Europe and others take unlimited number of refugees in as permanent citizens. If there is almost no one left in the Ukraine, let Russia have it, after leaving radioactive waste all over the eastern half, so it now becomes a radioactive wasteland that no one wants. Then Russia can have its defensive barrier it wants so badly.

Same for Crimea too, just make it wasteland no one wants, withdraw people to more civilized countries and let Russia have it.

Then Russia can claim victory, they get everything they ever wanted.

[Revvl]

Putin, Biden and Zelenskyy are all getting rich and laughing at us.

[Soteris]

I mean.. This sounds like a bargain to me. 91 billion dollars to cripple your international rival for pretty much forever? Americans would kill to be able to do this during the cold war. And this is really the real difference between the proxy war in Ukraine as opposed to USAs unfortunate history as an invading imperialist around the world. You are actually getting something meaningful for this, AKA Russias destruction.

As for how much money 91 billion dollars is. For you and me, that is an astronomical sum. For USA as a country, that is about the sum for a major construction project. For example, California High-Speed Rail phase 1 is a segment of high speed train railway measuring 520 mi and has a middle cost estimate of 92-94 billion dollars. It is not really a significant amount in regards to making major changes in USA unless you qualify major change as another 520 mi of high speed rail.

So yeah, USA is getting its wet dream fulfilled by shafting Russia on an incredibly cheap budget of ONLY 91 billion dollars (so far). It is by far the best you could have asked for.

[lightbulb27]

true, that's so far...
It's amazing to hear "the left"... sound like some of the "right" of the past. Why does the left in this case, so crave Russia destroyed? So many of the "left" I'd met over the years were anti war, anti nuke... Greenpeace attacking whaling ships, etc.. make love not war... lol. This is a whole different mindset flipped from the 1960's.

[Soteris]

I never really considered myself part of the left but even if I was, I doubt many people on the left is ideologically opposed to defending against invaders and ruining countries that have harmful influences around the world. The stability and prosperity around the world will be better if Russia is taken down a couple of pegs.

[DoctorSex]

One cannot cripple Russia. Russia is a gas station.

[Soteris]

@DoctorSex Consider Russia a crippled gas station then.

[abc3643]

Yes.

Yes, I do.

You are old enough to remember the Cold War.

The Cold War FINALLY came to an end for a myriad of reasons, but one huge reason was the "blank check" Congress gave the US military build-up in the 1980s; expenditures that the Soviet Union simply could not match. This is why Gorbachev became premier and there was a thaw in US-Soviet relations. That led to the Soviet Union being more open and, in essence, giving the green light to all the changes that happened after the Iron Curtain fell at the end of the 1980s.

The same thing will happen here.

The Russians cannot keep up with NATO. They armor and military technology are behind and they do not have the economic resources to keep fighting.

What will happen is that the Russians will give up but "save face" by keeping Crimea, something an emboldened Ukraine might go after and get back if the West approves. Ukraine might also then join NATO, but that might not happen as part of a negotiated settlement.

[RolandCuthbert]

I just don't get it. Where were you when we spent 2 trillion on Iraq?

None of these arguments make any sense. "We should not fund the war because it is too expensive"? You mean we should only fund wars we can afford? Again, what about Iraq and Afghanistan? And what is worse, we lost so much more in those conflicts because of the cost of human life. And maybe, just maybe, when you are at the point of funding a war, you are doing it for much more than some economic consideration. Or at least you should. Seeing that no one should want to fight or support a war in the first place.

Here, we haven't sent one single soldier to fight in this war. Just money, yet the trump supporters are complaining and pretending this is about some actual objective concern about costs, when in fact it is about their leader's obsession with Putin.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/cRpeJpBYXVs

[lightbulb27]

I haven't stated my opinion, I want to understand what Americans think. Before Biden was elected I was sitting around thinking..."how is Biden going to justify spending trillions of dollars"... because that is what every president has to do to keep the system afloat,... keep adding to the debt by creating more money. Infrastructure was one answer, war the other. I didn't anticipate it going so bad as it has.

Note: Trump also said negative things about Putin in other interviews. But MSNBC... I watch at times, ... is highly left biased and will only paint the picture they want to convey, just like Fox does for Biden.

As well... he's not relevant... he's not in power.

[RealMarek]

This war could have been avoided by forcing Ukraine to follow the Minsk accords. The US wanted this war. No, I do not support it. It is highly inflationary for the West and, because the West took the unprecedented step of confiscating foreign reserves, it is spurring dedollarization of the global economy, which will eventually cause unspeakable suffering in the US. But don’t worry, our elites will be just fine.

[lightbulb27]

It's a worthy study for most to examine what happened back then.
Agree it's highly inflationary, and the west wants that. The have to have inflation... money printing. If it wasn't this, it be something else.

[RealMarek]

Yes, it was inevitable sooner or later. Recent actions of the regime are accelerating the inevitable.

[NathanDavis]

it does not really matter if I support or I do not support a thing... the US military budget is always going to be up to the trillions of dollars INVESTED, trillions of dollars, whether I accept the benefits of it or not they are going to do it

and I would not isolate this one thing and get picky about military budgets, because the US does plenty of questionable things "with my money" just so I can rest more peacefully at night, without the worry of a bomb landing at my bed or other threats and I do not complain about that, I just go to rest peacefully most nights

I try to be consistent and congruent with my complaints and not conveniently selective, not to be outraged by some things but ignore others alike

[exitseven]

No, especially since the money was laundered through the crypto currency exchange that just went bankrupt. Solinsky got a cut and many politicians got ac cut. Most went into funding campaigns. this is one of the reasons democrats were able to outspend Republicans in many elections.

[Anonymous]

No but the government can't let Russia know how far us backing will go. Its kind of like when Obama announced he was deploying extra troops to Afghanistan to increase security and fight the taliban while at the same telling the taliban the troops would be withdrawn within a year.

[Dargil]

The Ukraine government is badly corrupt. They would loot a blank check. We need to supply equipment not money.

[lightbulb27]

I'm referring to a blank check to provide weapons, and funding.

[Dargil]

We can choose what they need and what we can afford. But don't spend money.

[Leopard23]

200k Russian conscripts who lack modern weapons and body armour. Must be tough for Russian conscripts when they encounter Ukrainian troops with body armor, kevlar helmets, military boots, m16A4s & m4s with acog sights and grenade launchers and all they got is a ww2 tin helmet and if they lucky a 1950s ak47 or if unlucky a ww1 moving nagant.

[NerdInDenial]

Where’s the 91 billion dollar figure coming from, just curious? War is and will always be a very lucrative business. This conflict has erased the mirage that Soviet-made products are superior to Western weapons. It’s a win for NATO. This is a proxy war that will end the threat of a perceived near peer threat. However, this is driving the Russians closer to nuclear options.

Almost all countries are experiencing inflation; so, it’s not going to affect the US.

[lightbulb27]

91 billion don't know, I've heard diff numbers, but it's billions. We just issued another 37 billion I heard.
food next year should be much more expensive and that generally leads to civil unrust.. globally... and more war.

[Oigit]

It's not our conflict and we shouldn't be sending money or military aid over there from the start. But the exact something can be said about Vietnam, Korean War and many other conflicts our government pushes us into. But idiots will still push for us to police the world and play superman. Of course the do so with zero intentions of enlisting and fighting in the conflicts they push for.

[Jamie05rhs]

If Putin is giving a blank check, we have to give a blank check as well. Anything less than victory is unacceptable. Everything is at stake here. The principles of international law, sovereignty, and human rights. Everything.

[WindAtMyBack]

Do what it takes to get the job done. The US can outspend Russia. We showed that in the past. The cold war ended because of that and things were going good for a while.

But some people forgot that the cold war ended. Some people didn't learn the lesson of their predecessor. They will have to learn all over again.

There is one thing about Russia that can't be changed. They are in a shitty location. When they try to expand to make it not as shitty, there is resistance.

[Weapon77]

I selected OTHER because I'm Libertarian, and I am sick of this crap. We either need to go to war and actually help people stop Russia, or we need to stay the hell out of it. Half measures will only hurt our economy and make us weak enough that if Russia actually wins their war, we will be easier targets. So many people are so caught up thinking politically that they forget to think tactically and forget most or all of what is written in the Art of War.

[Jay3344]

Independent - we are spending way too much to support Ukraine. Support is warranted but why not work towards peace? Peace talks could be more fruitful than dumping tax dollars into weapons of death

[Anonymous]

Nobody is winning this war, lots of people are dying, the little infrastructure they have is being destroyed.

Neither Russia nor the Ukraine can afford theses kinds of losses with far below replacement birth rates and terrible economies.

The Ukraine would have been better off giving into Russia's demands then stabbing them in the back later, when the opportunity came to secured NATO membership anyway.

[Surely]

I agree with @aerissa_jade. What good is the United Nations if they can’t keep Putin in check. The only thing that they seem to do is try to disarm the US citizens and take our money 💰! They should be able to organize and go put Putin on trial for the criminal that he is.
As for the money. How can we support the rest of the world. Especially the ones that hate us.

[Pohjolan]

Just escalate the material aid and finish off this war.

Fighter jets, cruise missiles, tanks, ATACMS, gunships, etc.

Punch Putin in his throat and ask if he wants more or if he is content with being a super wealthy guy ruling over the world's largest country.

[Avicenna]

Hell no. It’s time for a full audit of what’s been disbursed already done q

[alice55]

Republican - give them a blank check, get the job done

if you dont stop russia now then they’ré going to invade all of Europe and destroy everything

[Carhartt]

Hell no! We are dumping billions into protecting Ukraine and South Korea's border, but we can't afford to protect our own Southern border.

[GreenLanternI0I]

No. Supporting extremely corrupt Nazi regime while at the same time completely neglecting your own country that has more problems than stars in the sky, is not just wrong but illegal.

[HighValue]

The USA should have never got involved in the first place. They are not an ally and we owe them nothing. Biden's family is compromised with corruption so he consistently helps Ukraine.

[Anonymous]

No I sure don't. What happened to Build Back Better?

[worldscolide]

Other.. We should never have funded them in the first place.

[DarkWinterNights]

Absolutely not. I’m tired of our elites using our tax dollars for their oligarchs wars.

[joeldalton]

Pull the plug immediately. No more money to Ukraine before a full audit of every dollar is done.

[MrOracle]

That's part of the problem - there will never be such an audit, because tons of that money was diverted into other things, as always happens. If we're really lucky, Ukraine ended up with 2/3 of the total value of the dollars spent. It's probably closer to 50%.

Bribes and corruption isn't cheap

[joeldalton]

@MrOracle you type that like it's ok to send my money to do that.

[MrOracle]

Not at all I believe we need to be FAR more restrictive about spending federal money abroad, for any reason. I would love to see federal spending halved overall and foreign spending reduced by 90%. It would be much harder for out government to get us into trouble with so much less money to spend, not to mention much better for Americans overall.

[lightbulb27]

but we can't even audit our own military... is it possible?

[lightbulb27]

@MrOracle that "gold is your money thing" was a good idea... before it was corrupted.

[Anonymous]

I am invested in Boeing. Actually they've been benefitting more from China lately than Russia's shenanigans. Thank you!

[Fuentes]

We should not be footing the bill for this war

[Sixgun77]

Other. I'll never join any political party, and I'm against a blank check.

[grega239]

So america wants an open war?

What am i saying, of course they do

[Anonymous]

We know Democrats do. Goddamn morons that they are.

[jimmy2]

I think it's time to get Russia and do Moscow as he did Ukrain and then we call it even