Aid to Russia

[Brad De Long]

>Brad De Long wrote:
>
>>>      Q But we didn't offer them concrete help for their economic
>>>emergency today, correct?
>>>
>>>      DEPUTY SECRETARY SUMMERS:  Yes.
>>
>>This is really depressing. $4 trillion spent over two generations to defend
>>America from the Commies, and total aid to Russia and the successor states
>>since Gorbachev's change of course amounts to... what? $40 billion in cash
>>terms from all of NATO? 1%?
>
>Why is this inconsistent? The idea was to drive the Soviets into the dirt, no?
>
>Doug

The Soviets may have been poor, but the Red Army was still very impressive.
The Russians may be poor, but we would much rather that they were a happy
industrial democracy rather than an imperial ex-superpower on the make...

A small expenditure (by OECD and NATO standards) in making the lives of
Russians easier in the 1990s might have reduced what now looks like a
significant chance of a somewhat unpleasant 2000s...

Brad DeLong

P.S.: When was this press conference in Moscow? Summers was in DC today,
and is flying to San Francisco Friday morning with Greenspan for the
meeting with the Japanese...

Air travel has certainly reduced the quality of life of senior Treasury
officials...