On Thursday the Biden administration pledged $1.3 Billion to Ukraine in weapons and economic assistance, to help the struggling nation in it's fight against Russia. This is on top of the $2.6 Billion already given to Ukraine since the start of the war. The current package includes $500 Million of economic assistance, directly given to Ukraine; and $800 Million of military aid, in the form of artillery, weapons, ammunition, and drones. The administration also furthered sanctions on Russia by further barring Russian ships from US ports.
This spending has been met with support from congress, as aid to Ukraine has been a fairly bipartisan issue. The bill has been met with little pushback from either side of congress, with opponents of the bill wanting to spend more in the bill, and not less. The public however seems to be less enthusiastic about the US's involvement in the war, as support for the Ukrainian war has fallen. With 30% of polled adults saying they want the US to take a major role in the war, and 49% who want the US to take a small part in the war.
It will be interesting to see how the FED and Government handle the bill, as the large spending will surely not help curtail inflation, an issue that the FED and government have been trying to prevent. Hopefully some policy will be used to counter the huge spending found in the bill, as it looks like the massive assistance packages given to Ukraine won't stop anytime soon. Ukraine has already asked the EU for financial help when the conflict is over, for rebuilding infrastructure, salaries, and other economic losses. Ukraine says it will need $7 Billion each month to make up these losses once the fighting is over.
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-04-21/biden-announces-heavy-artillery-other-weapons-for-ukraine
$3 billion That is a huge number. I am pleased to see that the US is helping Ukraine with such a huge amount of money. However, I want to see where Ukraine will spend this money. It is a lot of money that need auditing
ReplyDeleteI think it is good that the United States is helping out Ukraine during this war, but as you stated in your post, all of this spending might make the current inflation we are seeing in our economy even worse. This might make the FED want to increase interest rates by larger margins than they previously did, in order to try and get this inflation under control faster.
ReplyDeleteWith the US helping Ukraine, I think we can expect to see tensions rise between US and Russia. Post war I think there is massive concerns for Ukraine's economy and if members of the EU hold out then I do not see much hope. It will be interesting to see the condition of the market post war.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important that we continue to help financially, but it concerning how much much is being given. This could have negative affects on our economy, and it will be interesting to see the effects on Ukraines economy. I also think it is important that we know how this money is being spent and if it is worth possibly hurting our economy in order to support them.
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