by Bill White
[Transcript]
Today, it’s Russian sanctions. I am incensed by the people who are celebrating what equates to the theft of personal property based upon whether successful businesspeople, and some former politicians have, or, as is the case, HAD some tenuous association with Vladimir Putin.
Regardless of your take on the Russian invasion of Ukraine (and I’ll have something to say about that sooner rather than later), the fact remains that NONE of these so-called "Russian oligarchs" have ANYTHING to do with the running of Russia or the invasion of Ukraine and so they’re not oligarchs at all. What these people are, is, successful businessmen and according to a list produced by the British government, one Russian woman.
Does anyone seriously believe that Putin didn’t anticipate this knee-jerk action by Western governments, who frankly, are using the war in Ukraine as a means to justify their existence, but more importantly, as a second act after the COVID19 ‘crisis’ failed to cover up their financial incompetence?
None of these sanctions will seriously impact Putin, Russia, or the Russian people. To think otherwise is ridiculous. These sanctions will drive up the cost of oil and national gas for the West and they will cause food shortages in the West and very likely cause the U.S. dollar to crash.
But of course, it's easy to get people with very little money to retaliate against the wealthy, and that's what our leaders are hoping for... to keep the peasants busy hating on Putin while they pass billions to their friends who produce the military equipment, paid for by the taxpayers, and gifted to Ukraine.
No matter what you think about Russia or Ukraine, the sanctions are theft, with extra steps. Pure and simple.
###