A majority of Americans and a majority of Congress want to help Ukraine win the
war against Russia, and to stop the spread of autocracy into Europe. A majority
of people in the European Union and a majority of EU leaders want the same. But
small minorities of lawmakers—some inspired by Russian President Vladimir Putin
or his money, some bent on bargaining for other things—have managed to block or
delay that aid. On both sides of the Atlantic, the crunch has arrived. The
far-right faction that now controls the Republican Party captured the House last
year and has successfully blocked a new spending bill for many months.The prime
minister of Hungary, himself a de facto autocrat, is also blocking an EU
financial package for Ukraine. Eventually the European prime ministers and the
Biden administration alike may well do deals and allocate the money. But in the
meantime—and just in case they fail—there is something else that American and
European governments can do. Archive [https://archive.is/hVR0m]
Frozen Russian money should be provided to Ukraine as a stop gap at the minimum, it should be provided regardless. While politicians drag their feet, this is an good solution as well as an easy sell to the public. Funding war, someone else’s war can be a tough sell to taxpayers, but this is funding for their survival. Get it done. Now.
And that’s only one half of it. Democracies where governments are able to easily confiscate money and use it for their own means tend to be gone (alongside the opposition that got all their money confiscated) not long after.
And that’s only one half of it. Democracies where governments are able to easily confiscate money and use it for their own means tend to be gone (alongside the opposition that got all their money confiscated) not long after.