If the bloc’s 27 member countries agree to adopt the plan and the new legislation that goes with it, it would solidify the sense that Europe’s economy is on war footing because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Maybe it would 'solidify' that, but it won't make it solid. As long as you're effectively paying tribute, it's no better than a protest -- though a very difficult protest, and an expensive one.
Now if we hadn't cut off our own domestic energy production to such a degree, we might be positioned to offer an alternative and swing Europe back to American influence. Unfortunately, our 'greens' -- though not as strong as Europe's -- have likewise influenced our government to cut off its own nose to spite its face.
3 comments:
It would probably be strategic to help them anyway, even driving up costs here, but no politician of either party is going to do that.
You'd think with all the billions we've sent Ukraine, along with major weapons systems and such, we'd be willing to do whatever they want. But the billions were virtual money, not physical cash; and sending virtual money won't work anymore. The Europeans need fuel for electricity and, as we move towards winter, will increasingly for heat; and virtual money can't buy natural gas that isn't on the market for sale. Neither can you burn virtual money for fuel. At least the paper money would have been good for that.
An unexpected limit of Modern Monetary Theory. Well, not unexpected by everybody:
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."
As Grim points out they need natural gas to replace what they were getting from Russia *now*. They can do some imperfect substitution with coal and nukes to keep electric generation running, and maybe get some heating this winter from that but they can't keep their industrial plant running without it. They could swap petroleum for some natural gas feedstocks and industrial uses but that will also take time that they haven't got. The nice thing about oil is that it's relatively inert. You can carry it in any old bucket. Natural gas needs significant infrastructure to contain, and we don't have it in the scale needed to supply them more than token amounts.
These Green idiots are going to get us all killed, one way or another.
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