Billions can arm Ukraine

It says: Elizabeth Braw

Dear Jeff Bezos, I know these are troubled times for you and 2667 other members of the world's billionaire club. According to Forbes, there were once 2755 people, but current disturbances have removed 87 of you from your list, and have reduced your collective wealth of $12.7 trillion.

Besides, you and your billionaire colleagues came out extremely well during the first 2 years of the David-19 pandemic. You and the other nine men who are the richest people in the world doubled your fortune and the billionaire club won another new member every 26 hours. And you in particular, Mr. Bezos, have some very annoying logistical problems.

Ironically, in view of the fact that you've made your $171 billion fortune in the very business of logistics. The $25 million you are currently building in the Netherlands is, reports the “Financial Times”, so long it will not be able to get under Rotterdam Bridge after leaving the site.

Perhaps the Dutch shipbuilder forgot that the 70 - foot - high [70 m] mast ships do not fit the parameters of most bridges. Or perhaps all claimed that Rotterdam authorities would agree with the demand that the shipbuilder is now making, to temporarily dismantle the 95-year-old De Hef bridge, in order to sail your yacht.

City officials may agree to dismantle the bridge several times a year for ships such as yours for a modest fee of 100,000 euros. But this is not a very popular idea for locals. “Did this city be built just to provide the billionaires with all the comforts?”- asked for “ ” Paul Van de Lar, head of the history department at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam.

But your problems are bigger than that. In the world a lot of things are going wrong, and this could reduce your 171 billion dollar fortune, and maybe take some of your billionaire colleagues away from the rich club. I know you're already aware of the emergency climate change.

But even more immediate is the imminent economic crisis. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is bringing up food prices, and energy prices are rising for the same reason. In June, major stock exchanges fell by 2 percent or more. Economists, Political)Doers and industrialists are warning a global recession.

The executive head of “Morgan Stanley”, James Gorman, has calculated that the chances of the United States falling into recession are 50 to 50. Climate crisis and global instability will harm your wealth. In terms of Russia's war against Ukraine, a major reason for this disastrous turn of events, all the world has to do to avoid a serious economic downturn, is to help Ukrainians defeat their Russian invaders.

The problem is not the Ukrainian's lack of desire to do so but the lack of weapons. Here you and 2667 other billionaires can intervene. Many Western governments are already doing everything they can to help Ukraine. The U.S. government has already provided more than $25 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.

The British government about 2.5 billion dollars, while Germany and Poland more than $1 billion each. And that only help in guns. Western governments between them and Australia have promised and offered any other kind of assistance to Ukraine. Some 6.5 million Ukrainians have moved to Poland and other neighboring countries.

All of this is burdening many Western governments, especially European governments. And remember, these governments must support their citizens, who are now facing very high prices of food and energy. Not to mention the immigration crisis, which may cause the global food crisis.

As you well know, this crisis will hit African and Middle Eastern countries even harder than European countries. Western governments may try to resolve their financial crisis by increasing taxes on the rich. One step, for which I know most in your distinguished group would not welcome.

But if Ukraine doesn't get new weapons soon enough, war will continue for a very long time. Secretary - General NATO Jens Stoltenberg said earlier this month that it could last years. I know that even your famous group would not welcome such a future, as it is certain it would further exacerbate the global economic downturn.

So Mr. Bezos and the other gentlemen of the billionaire Club, here's my direct proposal: Get together, two, three, four or maybe more and buy the Ukrainians the weapons they need. Even with a small portion of your combined wealth of $12.7 trillion, you will spend without effort more than Russia in this war.

Before you protest, saying ordinary civilians can't buy guns for the armed forces of the countries, I'm telling you this has already happened. To date, ordinary Czech citizens have collected more than $53m for weapons for Ukraine.

Last month, Lithuanians raised the more than $5m needed for the purchase of a military threat that Ukrainians are now using. These are just regular checks and Lithuanians. Imagine what you can accomplish with your wealth, connections, and power to convince your colleagues of large industries.

True, the world's weapons manufacturers are at an extremely busy moment. As mentioned earlier, the world has many problems today. But Ukrainians need all kinds of weapons, starting with ammunition. Just as during the worst months of pandemic, when factories banned the production of everything and passed on to the production of protective equipment, they can now switch to ammunition production.

Imagine one day when you might be able to tell your grandchildren that you decided not to buy a $500 million yacht, and you spent a small portion of your wealth to help achieve world peace. Your grandchildren would be proud of you. You won't be able to do this yourself.

As with all arms trade, governments must approve the sale and sending of weapons to Ukraine. But if ordinary Czechs and Lithuanians could get the government's approval, so can you. Some of your group members come from many different nations, some of them far away from Ukraine.

And some of them may want to continue doing business with Russia. But that's not a good idea. Your happiness depends on the world's well-functioning. If Ukraine fails to defeat Russia, other European countries will take turns. If that happens, the world order on which your wealth depends will be broken.

And let me tell you another unpleasant truth: Most people around the world don't like you and your likes very much. They think of you as parasites, people whoWThey constantly minimize their tax load, leaving the main burden to others.

So spending some of your wealth on weapons for Ukraine would help improve your image. It would help Ukraine defeat the Russian invaders, and thus put the global economy in an equal state. /Bota.al/