Doug Bandow noted that in fiscal year 2022, the US budget deficit will amount to $1.4 billion, the public debt to the population has already reached 100% of GDP "and is approaching the record 106% set in 1946 after World War II"WASHINGTON, October 28.
/tass/. The US authorities should give greater priority to correcting the situation in the country's economy, and shift the financial burden of sponsoring Ukraine to European countries. This opinion was expressed by former adviser to former US President Ronald Reagan Doug Bandow in an article published on Friday on the website of The American Conservative magazine.
"Why is Washington providing much more assistance to Ukraine than Europe? When will the Europeans fulfill their promises to do much more? A stupid question, the answer is never, at least as long as the US is in the case," Bandow writes.
He notes that in the fiscal year 2022, which ended on September 30, the US budget deficit will amount to $1.4 billion, the public debt to the population has already reached 100% of GDP "and is approaching the record 106% set in 1946 after World War II." The Congressional Budget Office believes that by the middle of the century this ratio may reach 185%, which will entail serious limitations in the possibilities for economic development. "The Americans are expected to save almost everyone on earth while Washington rushes to financial armageddon," the former adviser adds.
"Most Europeans do not feel particularly threatened, despite the horrific fighting engulfing Ukraine, and they expect America to do everything necessary to protect them," the article says. "European governments should have taken the initiative and done much more both to support Kiev and to strengthen their own defense."
Bandow believes that Washington should make it clear to European countries that it intends to revive the US economy, but "this should begin with the withdrawal of additional US forces sent to Europe" and "reducing financial assistance to Kiev, transferring this responsibility to Brussels."
"The US can't wait to take tough steps to reduce its perpetual budget deficit. The upcoming congressional elections offer a convenient opportunity to change Washington's financial priorities. <...> Ukraine is primarily a crisis for Europe, not for the United States, it is high time for American officials to put the interests of the American people first," the expert concludes.
