Plus, the editors talk about alternative strategies to deal with Russia.
by Matt Welch, Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-ward, and Peter Suderman
Reason.com
Reason editors Matt Welch, Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Nick Gillespie discuss U.S. foreign policy debacles other than the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
28:15: Weekly listener question: I was wondering if you could discuss alternative strategies to address Russia. For example, can we weaponize immigration policy instead of solely relying on money for weapons systems and sanctions? What if the U.S. issued an uncapped number of visas to any Russian citizen? What if we provided immediate U.S. citizenship to any active duty Russian soldiers and their families who surrender? Could be interesting if you include bonuses to defecting soldiers for bringing their equipment—$1,000 for a rifle, $100,000 for a tank, $1 million for a MiG… all much cheaper than weapons used against them. Seems like the army would rapidly depopulate, and Putin couldn’t backfill if millions of Russian citizens decamped for the U.S. You’d also get the side benefit of eliminating any labor shortages and maybe do something real against inflation, so I think it’s a fun idea, but I’d appreciate your thoughts on this idea or any other alternative strategy for dealing with the Russian conflict.