Russia's 2026 budget has been announced. 40% of all expenditures will go to the military. And we're already complaining that it should first be 2% and then more or less 5% in a few years.

But 40% of the budget has enormous consequences for Russians.

Benefits, infrastructure investments, and healthcare are bound to suffer. After all, ordinary civil servants also need to be paid, and the police need to be paid. With 40% going to the military, there's little left for the population. Only 25% of the budget is reserved for social programs.

Russia is in survival mode, because this budget not only indicates that Russia has entered a full-blown existential crisis, but also that it wants to continue this war at the expense of enormous suffering for the population.

And then you have to consider that the budget is also 1.6% larger than the budgeted revenues.

With Ukraine's recent attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in particular, it's clear that this budget and the budget deficit can never be kept at just 1.6%.

Taxes will have to rise, but how much can Russians afford now that jobs are becoming scarcer, benefits are literally disappearing, and trade with the world is becoming increasingly difficult?

Inflation in Russia is bound to skyrocket, and economic activity will decline dramatically, because no one has the money left to buy much beyond basic necessities.

Putin has already tapped into Russia's gold reserves, and I suspect that pension funds have already been depleted. Putin will keep going until Russia is bankrupt.

.
--- SBBSecho 3.31-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (1:124/5016)