Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

May I suggest that the political discussion group creates its own thread? I would like to focus more on the mentioned topic of construction costs here. Masks, Corona, Putin, etc. are absolutely irrelevant to me right now when I see how my reserve for the renovation project is dwindling.

What’s going on, why is your reserve dwindling? Just the general situation?

May I suggest that the political discussion round start its own thread? I would like to discuss the named topic of construction costs more here. Masks, Corona, Putin, etc. are so irrelevant to me right now when I see how my reserve for the renovation project is dwindling.

For clarity's sake, I would rather start a new cost thread. This one hasn't been one for a long time.

I wouldn't know why, we are discussing the core causes of construction cost increases here, so fully on topic

We simply have no basis for discussion here. I also read foreign newspapers and they report that Russia is doing quite well, making billions with their deals. Of course, our newspaper says the sanctions are great, otherwise we would all look stupid here. I did not speak about cars but about food

It should be clear that Hungarian/Chinese or Pakistani newspapers write differently than, for example, the American ones. That it hurts a country cut off from Western technology and trade is also true. No matter what Russian propaganda says. At the latest when the war is over and tens of thousands of people do not return to their mothers, wives, siblings, children, etc., a house of cards could collapse. Russia was hit by the sanctions more than Putin wants and above all can admit. And we are not talking about the billionaires who no longer have 10 billion in the bank, but "only" 6 or 5 anymore. We are talking about the average citizens.

We simply have no basis for discussion there. I also read foreign newspapers and they report that Russia is doing quite well, as they rake in billions with their deals.

You mean the "Sun"? Alright. What or who do you mean by Russia? The open state treasury of the ruling oligarchy? Or the impoverished masses who are happy when the unemployed youth provide a new bonus Lada by completing the soldier lifecycle?

We simply have no basis for discussion here. I also read foreign newspapers and they do report that Russia is doing quite well, as they are cashing in billions with their deals. Of course, our newspaper says that the sanctions are great, otherwise we would all look stupid here. I didn’t talk about cars but about food

The sanctions do indeed affect Russia. Some are still being circumvented. At the moment, Russian cars (Lada and UAZ) with European equipment are still coming to Germany, but these are only remaining stocks and are transported in refrigerated trucks. Payment is made through banks in China. How long this will still work, no idea. Gazprom made an enormous profit this year, which is really incredible and among other things due to the very high gas price on the stock exchange. I personally assume that finally there will be movement in the topics of renewable energies, energy storage, and energy saving. I conclude this from OPEC’s announcement to reduce production volumes and to deliberately keep prices high because of artificial shortages. My forecast for the future: Renewable energies will be expanded at full speed and there will (finally) be a greater focus on saving energy. The demand for fossil fuels in Germany (and the EU) will decline slightly next year, then more strongly in 2024, and even more so thereafter. How can this be achieved? From my point of view, among other things, by expanding offshore parks, wind farms, photovoltaic systems, solar and geothermal energy as well as biogas. In parallel, the expansion of hydrogen technology as a storage medium, to convert, store, and later use the electricity already produced in excess during peak times as an energy carrier. I can also well imagine bidirectional charging of cars to absorb peak loads. Our hybrid has a 9 kWh battery, which is enough for three days to be self-sufficient. What does this mean for oil and gas producers? Their business model will become outdated in the coming years and sales will decline. Countries whose economies depend on the sale of these raw materials will face massive economic problems and will lag behind development and try to somehow stop or slow down this development in order to transform their own economy.

One thing must be made clear regardless of political beliefs: the sanctions are not meant to incite the poor Russian citizen to revolt against Putin, but rather to put the political leadership in Russia before a choice: Should we continue to invest the billions from oil and gas exports into weapons and ammunition, or save the economy from collapse? Ultimately, it is about driving the costs of the war so high that the expected loot no longer really pays off. And that is what the sanctions do. It is not as if the sanctions simply fizzle out; the Russian state takes countermeasures that help at first, but it cannot do so endlessly while a war is being waged in parallel, which has already consumed much more material than originally planned.