Posted originally on Dec 3, 2024 by Martin Armstrong
What began as a special military operation has turned into the start of the next world war, and Russia is paying heavily. Russian President Vladimir Putin passed a new budget over the weekend that will allocate 32.5% of the total budget (13.5 trillion rubles) for FY25 to defense spending, which accounts for 6.2% of total GDP.
The amount in proportion to the total budget spent on defense in FY24 was 28.3%. Notably, the budget is factoring in military costs for the next three years – this war will not simply end with Trump. Russia’s pre-war military expenditure was only 3.6 trillion rubles, rising to 5.5 trillion at the beginning of the war from 5.5 trillion rubles in 2022 to 6.4 trillion rubles in 2023.
Russia must find a way to finance this war. The Kremlin estimates GDP for 2024 to come in at 195.8 trillion rubles, although last year’s GDP was 172.1 trillion rubles. The GDP for 2025 is anticipated to be 214.6 trillion rubles. The nation is confident it will continue earning but that is not enough to fund the growing war.
Putin has already raised taxes for the first time in nearly 25 years. The corporate tax rate will rise by 5% from 20% to 25%. The government expects to generate an additional 2.6 trillion rubles in revenue once the tax is implemented in 2025. Russia’s Finance Ministry believes that 2 million people, 3.2% of the working population, will see a rise in their taxes. Taxes on investments will not change. “The changes are aimed at building a fair and balanced tax system,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said, adding that the additional funds would bolster Russia’s “economic well-being.”
The flat tax rate of 13% that Putin implemented when he took over for Yeltsin in 2001 accounted for much of his popularity. Still, the people overwhelmingly have a sense of patriotism and support Russia as well as Putin. Even with the ongoing war, Russia still only spends about one-fourth of what America and China do on defense. Even India spends more than Russia on its military. We can obviously see where these nations believe the war effort is heading when looking at future budget forecasts. Three years from now brings us to the pivotal year of 2027/2028, where all bets are off, and it would come as zero surprise if/when Russia raises its military spending budget projections.
Posted originally on Dec 3, 2024 by Martin Armstrong
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has said he would do everything in his power to prevent Trump from deporting migrants. One must question why Johnston is eagerly putting the taxpaying citizens of Denver last. The city may be a sanctuary for illegal trespassers but has become a nightmare for residents. The latest reports reveal that the city spent $356 in taxpayer funds, 8% of its budget, on migrants.
Roughly 45,000 migrants made their way to Denver since 2022, according to the Common Sense Institute (CSI). The city has spent $256 millioneducating 16,000 migrant children. The local healthcare system cannot accommodate the large influx but the city has spent $49 million on migrant healthcare after 8,000 migrants recorded around 20,000 visits to Denver Health alone last year. Doctors are calling the strain on the system a “humanitarian crisis”that has pushed the state hospital system to a breaking point. The hospital was forced to remove 15 beds in 2023 after finishing FY2022 $22 million above budget.
Surrounding suburbs have attempted to sue the city to no avail. Tren de Aragua, the violent Venezuelan gang, has taken over numerous apartment complexes as they terrorize citizens with no repercussions. Yet, Johnston and others in the far-left camp will not admit that open borders have ruined their cities. Instead, they focus on the “human rights” that should be awarded to everyone but American citizens.
Johnston said that he would prevent all measures to deport the migrants syphoning resources from his city AND he will encourage the people to protest. “More than us having DPD stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there,” Johnston told reporters. “It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them.” He is inciting civil unrest with this political rhetoric. Johnston believes he can offer himself as some sort of martyr to the Trump Administration as new border czar, Tom Homan, said he would happily arrest the mayor for interfering with federal law.
The Democrats are planning mass protests on January 20 when Trump is sworn into office, with the hope that he will be perceived as a dictator for calling in the National Guard. These sanctuary city leaders are playing the same dirty game as they are eager to see the National Guard arrive to spin it into a “Tiananmen Square moment.”
I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
Centinel2012 