From the Warzone, A Research Fellow on the Economic Nuance of Supporting Ukraine
The war in Ukraine has killed thousands, displaced millions and tested the resolve of the U.S. and its allies around the world.
A rallying cry heard throughout the 2024 presidential campaign from GOP politicians and supporters of President Trump was 'no more money to Ukraine.' But it's not that simple.
The economic implications of U.S. support for the war aren't limited to dollar amounts approved by Congress and earmarked for guns and bombs. In fact, there's significant financial upside to current U.S policy backing Ukraine's military effort.
Congress has voted through five bills that have provided $175 billion in aid to Ukraine since the war began in February of 2022, according to the Council on Foreign Relation. The Institute for the Study of War says that aid must be used for specific purposes, and that officials from both countries are to monitor spending to ensure it's being used properly.
“The vast majority of U.S. lethal aid to Ukraine either relied upon legacy stockpiles, or required revamped production,” said Jack Matlack, a Visiting Research Fellow at the London School of Economics IDEAS think tank, who spent time in 2024 on the ground in Ukraine. “Both do the U.S. a favor, with the latter injecting capital into U.S. defense companies,” Matlack added.
According to Matlack, certain munitions, like 155mm artillery rounds, were in short supply prior to 2022. He cites the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ argument that increasing the production of those artillery rounds for use in Ukraine restocks both U.S. depots and those of our allies.
Most of those rounds are produced in the United States by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems.
In addition, the U.S. has sent more than 3,000 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, according to the State Department. The supply of those weapons, developed and built by Raytheon, had dwindled before the war began. Their increased production has resulted in a direct infusion into the U.S. economy.
“Russia is allowing its military to bleed out by the hundreds of thousands to American weapons that were outdated decades ago,” said Matlack. “Forget bang for your buck, that's economical rubble for your ruble.”
Complexity is defined as “the state of having many parts and being difficult to understand or find an answer to.” Some Americans like to steer clear of complex issues in their own lives and I don’t blame them. Whether it comes to their jobs, their families or their friends, people strive to weed out the complexity and go through life with ease.
When it comes to politics, complexity is a feature, not a bug.
Complexity challenges us to think about issues we may never otherwise encounter. Even the most ardent ideologues can be confronted with a different perspective that could either change or strengthen their worldview.
Some of the biggest issues that have come before this country have required having complex discussions and debates.
Whether it’s President Truman deciding to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to President Obama’s decision to send a Navy Seal team to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden. From President Lyndon Johnson’s battle with Congress over the future of Civil Rights to President Biden’s calculated support of Ukraine against Russian aggression.
All of these were complex decisions that required the people involved to welcome complexity, not shy away from it.
When It Comes to Our Nation's Most Pressing Questions, Complexity Isn’t a Vice
It’s Time to Go Back to Electing Boring Politicians
Since Donald Trump descended down that golden escalator in 2015 to announce his candidacy for president of the United States, it has been a never ending reality tv series in American politics.
In his first term, I along with so many others in the media, watched Twitter or CNN waiting for the next breaking news banner to come up, followed by Wolf Blitzer’s voice. It happened so many times that we became numb. Numb to chaos, incompetency, and political buffoonery only reserved to SNL cold opens.
After 4 years, along comes President Joe Biden. Biden wasn’t without his moments. The chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, the school closures during the COVID pandemic, and the constant old man moments that culminated in his infamous debate collapse against Trump that eventually caused him to drop out of the 2024 presidential election.
However, for the most part, Biden was boring. A modern master of the Senate in the Oval Office, passing countless pieces of legislation that fulfilled many of his campaign promises. He didn’t host rallies, give constant television interviews or go on podcasts. He just kept his head down and worked.
You can make the argument that his refusal to always be in the spotlight is what caused his poll numbers to tank even before his debate debacle but that’s my whole point.
Presidents shouldn’t behave like everyone else. Because they are not like everyone else. They hold the most important keys to the most important country in the world.
I want to go back to the days where we didn’t really know the President’s every move, where we didn’t have to constantly be updated via X post or Truth Social post on what is on the President’s mind. I have too many other problems to worry about.
This is not to say we don’t need transparency. We do. But when transparency turns into a never ending news cycle about what the President said or did on any given day, it becomes unbearable and turns off the average American voter which in turn causes them to pay less attention to the nuance of the issues and pay more attention to the headlines or the distractions. Which I guess is the way some politicians want it.
When It Comes To Italian Espresso, Go With Spanish Coffee
I have been drinking coffee for as long as I can remember. And not just any coffee, the main line of adrenaline known the world over as espresso.
The sound the moka pot makes when your morning or evening brew is ready is music to my ears. The smell, for me, is up there with fresh cut grass or burgers on a barbeque. It evokes memories of my grandfather giving me a little teaspoon of the good stuff while my parents weren’t looking that I was constantly told would stunt my growth. Standing at a short king height of five foot six inches at 31-years-old, maybe those voices were right.
It also evokes memories of bonding with my dad, learning how to use the moka pot the right way, with the perfect amount of water, the right amount of scoops of coffee, and the right burner to use.
Fast forward to my current routine, not much has changed. I still love espresso. I have a full moka pot every single morning. However, the one thing that I did change is the coffee that I buy. Which is why, I will have this written on my tombstone, among many other things:
Always go with Spanish coffee for Italian espresso.
My fellow Italians will probably scoff at this notion, shouting, “Dai, basta! Come on, stop!” But in my experience, which is about 25 years of drinking coffee, espresso specifically, I can confidently say, you will never have a better americano, cappuccino, latte, or just a simple cup of espresso if you choose Spanish coffee.