Obama advisor says Russia is 'basically a big gas station' and is otherwise 'incredibly unimportant'

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

in the global economy

Russia's economy is "incredibly unimportant in the global economy except for oil and gas," Jason Furman, a Harvard economist and former advisor to President Barack Obama, told The New York Times.

"It's basically a big gas station," he said.

His comments come as the West prepares heavy sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine. While they have the potential to throw the Russian economy into chaos, these measures could also reverberate to further damage the US, Europe, and the rest of the world as they battle inflation and rising energy prices — a ripple effect that the West hopes to mitigate.

On Monday, Moscow declared the independence of two breakaway regions of Ukraine and sent troops there — escalating the prospect of a major war. President Joe Biden has already ordered sanctions on the separatist regions — Donetsk and Luhansk — prohibiting US citizens from engaging in any exports, imports, or new investments in these areas.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/harvard-economist-and-former-obama-advisor-says-russia-is-basically-a-big-gas-station-and-is-otherwise-incredibly-unimportant-in-the-global-economy/ar-AAU93UF

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. Considering that oil is the lifeblood of the global economy...that's a frankly absurd statement

unless you have a plan to switch over all those container ships, trucks, trains etc from diesel to electric, that is. And unless you have a better source for chemical feedstock. Also Russia is a major grain exporter, which is probably low-value compared to oil but still rather important.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. Is that why they buy so much grain from us?

Try again.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

7. That's a Russian propaganda link

[Spider Jerusalem]

8. Which I replaced with a better one; point still stands, though

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

9. I have to consent to their cookies to view it

No thanks. There might be malware.

[Budi]

4. Its really all they have banked on for decades.

It is just one big gas station, isn't it!

[dalton99a]

5. Don't forget their nuclear technology came from the U.S., courtesy of spies

and their space program was developed by captured German scientists

[tritsofme]

10. Our Germans were better than their Germans.

[BlackSkimmer]

11. Lol.

Well said.

[LisaL]

12. Big gas station with nukes.

Lotes of nukes.

[CrackityJones75]

13. Reason 5,342,987 to get off of fossil fuels

I mean for fucks sake we should have learned this in the first go round in Iraq!