Going up (3 minute, 15 second read)

 

            Where to start with this? The first thing that I’m going to do is provide this < link> to Historian Heather Cox Richardson who writes incredible missives about the life and times in which we are living. Some of what I’ll be writing about today is addressed in her March 18^th, 2022 letter. All of what she writes makes for excellent thought provoking reading. She doesn’t write in sound bites.

We’re there.

            As I mentioned < here > it is my belief that we are currently in World War III. Call it the new Cold War if you want. In either case life isn’t going to be the same from here on out. Even if we somehow manage to avoid a nuclear exchange, hundreds of thousands will ultimately die from the actions initiated by one man.

Vladimir Putin.

Hardship is coming.

            If the war in Ukraine stopped today there would still be global hardship from the damage caused by the Russian invasion. Damage that will not be undone in months but rather will be measured in years and generations. Just the physical damage to the infrastructure of Ukraine will take a monumental international effort to repair. Some countries will contribute. Others won’t by choice. Some will want to but simply don’t have the means.

            Ukraine is kind of a breadbasket and not just for Europe. They exported a lot of food. Lots. We live in a world that already isn’t able to produce food in the necessary quantities. The world won’t be able to backfill those holes. What’s more, the people that produced that food now need to be fed, clothed and housed. The Russian Army is killing farmers too. Bridges have been blown. Roads have been destroyed. Ports have been or are being seized. Food, fuel, fertilizer, equipment, etc. is not available. The infrastructure necessary to transport food to markets has been destroyed. And this is just one aspect of the repercussions of the war.

Ripples

            Then there’s all the other stuff that a country does that reaches out past their borders. Business, manufacturing, raw materials - you name it. Come up with a list. There are plenty circulating. Ukraine had a global footprint. The Russian invasion caused by Putin hit them like a tsunami. While some countries are already feeling the effects from millions of refugees fleeing for their lives it will take a while for the waves to reach other shores (countries).

            The world’s nations were still recovering from the pandemic when Putin decided to make his move. Economies were already stressed especially in developing countries. World War III is going to add considerably to what is taking place. The impact of lost food production is going to end up resulting in more people dying of starvation in impoverished or war torn countries.

            Everything is going to be affected. Everything. Prices are going to go up. It’s a matter of supply and demand and there’s way more demand than there is supply. The Mideast is going to be affected because they received agricultural products from Ukraine. Obviously all of the energy markets will be affected.

Ripples.

 What about me?

            We have become an increasingly self-centered society with less focus on serving the common good and humanity in general. People were complaining about inflation before the war even started and inflation was taking place globally due to coming out from under the pandemic. The price of gas may turn out to be the least of our worries as we increasingly find ourselves at the mercy of energy providers. So what's going to go up? Everything is going to go up and purchasing some goods will become impossible. Food is definitely going to get more expensive. You can blame anyone you want. But I suggest you consider blaming the man that started it.

Blame Putin