03-09-2022, 02:12 PM
From Paul Krugman’s latest NYT column:
Ehh, politics. Viewed through a purely political lens, Biden was probably smart to wait until there was widespread public and political demand to stop buying Russian oil. He’ll still be blamed for yet higher gas prices, but he can at least say I told you this would be painful, but we felt as a country it was the right thing to do.
Overall, then, the Putin-made energy crisis will be serious but probably not catastrophic. My biggest concern for the United States, at least, is political. You mightn’t think that Republicans could simultaneously demand that we stop buying Russian oil and attack President Biden for high gasoline prices. That is, you mightn’t think that if you’d spent the past 25 years sleeping in a cave. In fact, that’s exactly what’s about to happen.
Ehh, politics. Viewed through a purely political lens, Biden was probably smart to wait until there was widespread public and political demand to stop buying Russian oil. He’ll still be blamed for yet higher gas prices, but he can at least say I told you this would be painful, but we felt as a country it was the right thing to do.