Vladimir Putin, Keynesian

In his General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936) John Maynard Keynes made some astonishing, even bizarre statements, many of which boggle the imagination.  We have addressed a few of them on this blog, and if this were an “anti-Keynesian” venue instead of a “pro-Economic Personalism” platform, we would have enough to keep us going for quite some time, years, in fact.

Putin’s Pertinacious Problems, III: Not Paying Your Bills

When you or I can’t pay our bills, our telephone service gets cut off or “they” repossess the car, truck, fishing boat, or whatever.  When a country can’t pay its bills, the consequences get even more dire.  As Henry C. Adams noted as recently as 1898, or 21 BK (Before Keynes, who thought being permanently in debt was a Good Thing),

Putin’s Pertinacious Problems, II: Continuing a War of Conquest

In the previous posting on this subject, we looked at the problem Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has with starting a war of conquest when neither he nor Russia (despite their fantasies) were prepared for it, and for trying to deceive others into thinking it was anything other than an attempt to increase his own personal wealth and power, for which others were paying with their lives, liberty, and property.  Today we look at the problem Putin has on his hands due to continuing a war of conquest (or any other kind), when it was painfully obvious from Day One the attempt has failed — at least to anyone applying reason to the situation.

Putin’s Pertinacious Problems, I: Starting a War of Conquest

Vladimir Putin has a few problems.  Well, he has a few hundred million problems, but we’re only going to look at three, all of which derive from his biggest problem: himself.  When you need to control or destroy other people to live your own life, the real problem is you.

Total Financial Mobilization

In defense of Ukraine, money and credit are as crucial as guns and ammunition. A robust economy with widespread purchasing power is vital for both national prosperity and security. A solid financial system and sustainable growth are necessary in peacetime and wartime alike.

Putin’s Tiger by the Tail

According to Renaud Foucart, a senior economics lecturer at Lancaster University in a recent article in Business Insider, Putin has put Russia into a “lose-lose” position.  In a “tiger by the tail” scenario, the country cannot afford to continue the war against Ukraine, but neither can it afford to stop.  According to Foucart’s analysis, the Russian economy has become so dependent on the war that “defense” spending is the only thing keeping up the illusion of viability.

“Why Are You Here?”

 

Watching the news reports and videos coming out of Ukraine, one thing that strikes the observer is the utterly baffled response of the people of Ukraine: “Why are you here?” they say to the Russians.  “What have we done to you?”  Our personal contacts in that country say the same thing: Why did the Russians invade?  What do they really want?  Why are they killing people indiscriminately?