40 comments

[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 105 ms ] thread
Is this part of the $300+ billion that John Podesta is in charge of distributing?
Podesta oversees the disbursement of $370 billion in clean energy tax credits and incentives authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

--wikipedia

Ukraine gets more for government salaries than the US gets for infrastructure.
Source?
Why should I have to prepare you for a discussion that you've already jumped into unprepared? The data is out there.
Lol you throw out a bold claim, where is the data?
This is still not a source do you have one or not?
I too would like to see a source. Making claims without backing them up with evidence is a poor way to defend said claim.
you guys are pathetic.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/15/white-house-requests-37point...

'direct funding for government' - what do you think that covers? salaries for one.

That does not mean 100% and that could also mean military support. We want a source that clearly shows that snd you do not seem to have that.

Why use a throw away account? It looks very suspect here on HN.

of course it means military support, you are trying to stop a government from collapsing, part of that is paying the bills (which include salaries). I don't understand why you are taking issue with that? - doesn't the US government (federal) "shutdown" when debt extensions can't be agreed upon?

https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/jun-30...

https://ua.usembassy.gov/the-united-states-contributes-4-5-b...

"continuing to pay the salaries of civil servants, healthcare workers and teachers"

You really need to step out of whatever echo chamber you live in.

Ya I am not refuting we are not giving them money, what I want is proof of your orig statement...

I'm out, stop using a throwaway account. It makes you look very suspect.

And, stop being a douche and using words like echo chamber. Makes you look like just another insane person online. Just be a human and be kind.

my original statement is 'its public knowledge that the US government is funding the Ukrainian government with its day to day expenses'. I think I've shown that. as for your douche comment, it's rather pathetic that when you get called out, you resort to calling me a douche and a 'crazy internet person'. The projection is strong I guess.
What is the cost of being able to not repeat ww2 by giving into a dictator?

What is the cost of defending democracy as an ideal form of government to ensure a better world for future generations?

Money and resources is a small cost versus what it could be.

The ROI on stopping Russian expansion and crippling their military has got to be insane.
Totally! The entire region is going to shuft as this is realized.
Especially considering the human cost of blood sweat and tears is "externalized"
So - were helping knock out China’s last regional threat and renewing an enemy that could have been turned into an ally two decades ago?

That seems like a terrible investment.

That's a problem but it's Russia's problem, not ours. For the US and Europe, every month of the campaign in Ukraine, every month of utilizing Russian equipment and personnel, buys at least a year of peace for the whole Europe. At the end of this war Russia will be at bay for another 50-100 years. That's awesome!
Weren't most of the weapons already bought by the US military? Think Ukraine got the older Javelins, for example.

The US military budget is huge. Real world battlefield testing of Javelins, for example, which seem to not be as effective as thought.

The Pentagon is likely spending a lot of time analyzing the war.

The Reagan Era Star Wars program cost a couple hundred billion for a system that didn’t work.

http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/reagans-star-wars-pro...

It doesn't matter, that's orthogonal to this spending, completely unrelated.
So like 2% of the US military budget?
Total spending $9T this year, so this $13B is about 12.6 hours of spending. Wow, we spent half a day modernizing the power grid. (Pats self on back)
Appreciate everyone contributing to the discussion by regurgitating random unrelated political talking points.
$13B buys what, a few hundred miles of transmission lines?
main page links says there are 20 comments here

but i see only 6

why?

Click your profile (your username) link.

> showdead: yes

> update

I definitely recommend reading the dead postings. Sometimes they're nuts. But often they're just speaking truths that the dominant moderators don't want you to hear.

For instance, I'm routinely voted down for speaking of the needs of the artists and writers who are damaged by piracy. The downvoters seem to hate the mention that piracy corrodes the free market and denies rewards to the artists. The downvoters like to imagine that they're keeping the discussion free from Holocaust deniers but stomping on political ideas they don't like is a big part of it.

Is there evidence that "piracy corrodes the free market"?
my comment was made dead for backing up the claim that US funding to the Ukrainian government pays for Ukrainian government salaries. Hardly conspiriatorial and completely what you'd expect the money to be doing if you are trying to help a country not collapse. Nonetheless, I get downvoted and flagged because I didn't google it for people. Maybe they think that all the money sent goes to buying Eee PC's so the children of Ukraine can learn to read and write good.
As others are pointing out the fact that $13B seems quite low, there’s more information here:

https://www.energy.gov/gdo/building-better-grid-webinar

Paging thru the slide deck, it seems that the focus will be on renewables and storage (solar, wind, and battery). The small amount of “free” money is in the form of grants. Competitive businesses do seek these funds. To receive the grant, they have to win it, and that includes writing a plan (for a business they already want to conduct) into a grant application. That plan must heed the government’s regulations and objectives – the person writing the application knows it.

The money is small for the total cost of the project, but it’s a carrot to direct already-effective builders towards building the way that the government wants them to build. The stick exists, too. For example, some EPA regulations will fine or block new builds (and even just upgrades or maintenances) that do not follow the latest regulations.

Here's hoping they don't blow it on ev chargers for apartments. Inflating apartment building valuation with this would be a fucking horrible outcome
This is promising. I suppose these funds will also help address the vulnerability of the US power grid to cyberattacks, due to its heavy reliance on a small set of critical nodes.

The following article from early 2022 gives a thorough yet concise overview of the subject: https://semiengineering.com/power-grids-under-attack/