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Hitler didn't have nukes and super-sonic missiles -- you cant do to Russia what you would want to do to Hitler.. at least not without a very heavy price..
> Hitler didn't have nukes and super-sonic missiles While relatively late in the war so it didn't have too much strategic impact, the Nazis literally invented the supersonic missile.
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That's because Hitler kept winning. He militarized the Rhineland in 1936, the allies did nothing. He took over Austria in 1938, the allies did nothing. He occupied Czechoslovakia later the same year, the allies did nothing. With every win, Hitler's popularity increased at home. He's reported to have been quite surprised when the allies finally declared war after Poland. We have a word for this: https://en.wikipedia.o…
Hitler didn't have nukes and super-sonic missiles -- you cant do to Russia what you would want to do to Hitler.. at least not without a very heavy price..
At some point you have to just call their bluff. Earlier is better than later. Putin himself knows that he'll be the first casualty in nuclear war, and I doubt very much that Putin's deputies would go along with a plan that results in the annihilation of the Russian people. He's playing a high-stakes game of chicken.
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India are far from small, bu they did not condemn Russia.
They did not condemn it but they also did not signal support like China did - I suspect Modi expected Putin to stop at Donbas and sees his best option right now as a ceasefire, which is what he's openly asked for as well. Unlike Russia's allies other than China, India cannot afford to be shut out of the US and supported by Russia, and unlike China, Europe and the US can impose fairly strict sanctions on India in the…
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> Russian bank could just increase that number to whatever they like. Money is an IOU from the bank. So that's what all banks do. But they'll need assets on the right side of their balance sheet.
> But they'll need assets on the right side of their balance sheet. [citation needed]
I often wonder how money is stored. It can't be just a number on a computer in a bank, right? Otherwise some Russian bank could just increase that number to whatever they like. And say "Look, we own 100 Trillion USD. Now let's go shopping.". So I guess USD needs to be recognized by the US somehow? Could the US simply "void" all USD that are owned by Russia?
Here’s a good example: when you borrow $500,000 from the bank, the bank’s funds don’t go down by $500,000. The bank just creates that money out of thin air, by adding to the number in your bank balance. Eventually that number goes down as you repay the loan, so it all washes out in the end (modulo interest, defaults, etc).
As an aside, that’s why low interest rates stimulate the economy: more loans are made, and more money is created, spurring more economic activity.
I often wonder how money is stored. It can't be just a number on a computer in a bank, right? Otherwise some Russian bank could just increase that number to whatever they like. And say "Look, we own 100 Trillion USD. Now let's go shopping.". So I guess USD needs to be recognized by the US somehow? Could the US simply "void" all USD that are owned by Russia?
Yeah, they can, and do. This is what Eurodollars are. And why the World is continually on the brink of financial collapse whenever Dollars get too scarce.
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It's mostly just numbers on a computer in a bank. There are regulations concerning what banks can do with those numbers, but it all boils down to people having faith in the system in the end. That's why bank runs can quickly lead to economic disaster.
> That's why bank runs can quickly lead to economic disaster. That is true, but arguably not a consequence of money being digital, but rather of fractional reserve banking. Physical vs. digital accounting is largely orthogonal to full/fractional reserve banking.
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It's mostly just numbers on a computer in a bank. There are regulations concerning what banks can do with those numbers, but it all boils down to people having faith in the system in the end. That's why bank runs can quickly lead to economic disaster.
> That's why bank runs can quickly lead to economic disaster. That is true, but arguably not a consequence of money being digital, but rather of fractional reserve banking. Physical vs. digital accounting is largely orthogonal to full/fractional reserve banking.
Is it still true though? The Fed averted this through QE by buying assets of questionable value at the face value from the illiquid banks and providing them with enough cash.. didn't they?
Russian citizens like me will be hit hardest, as usual. Large institutions and wealthy individuals will find another ways to transfer money. Costs of goods and services will rise.
I was watching a mainstream news report (I'll try to find it and edit my comment) where the host and the guest were talking about the impact of economic sanctions. They said it's not intended to stop Russia, but to inflict pain on the citizens, so that they citizens will turn against leadership. In that moment, it really clicked for me how much normal people are pawns to be used in much larger games. And there appare…
Oh, and c) are there any other knobs to adjust Russian foreign policy?