Leaders of the European Union have voted to approve a plan to dramatically increase defense spending. The move is a reaction to the U.S. reducing its support for Ukraine in the war against Russia’s invasion. We go to Brussels to understand the ramifications.
And we hear what the series of recent developments in the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine could mean for peace talks with Russia.
But this money is willpower and material resources that could be spent elsewhere : research, culture, decarbonisation, social programs, housing…
Though I share your frustration, you just don’t get to have most of those things, if your country gets invaded.
And if YOUR country is lucky to be left alone, yet only your neighbouring countries are invaded, that is bound to affect you economically regardless.
From a purely economic perspective, I would think rearming Europe is the least costly thing to do in the long run.
Yes, it’s the right call, but it’s sad someone’s actions have made it necessary, I guess.
Yeah yeah I 100% align with CAVOK initial’s comment, this seems necessary to me, but sad because the potential aggressors really seem to make the world worse for everyone but themselves. And by “themselves” I don’t mean whole countries, only the sucker leaders.
Material resources are material resources. Money is a declaration of mutual trust that is created in the central bank’s computers.
I don’t get what you are trying to say? You don’t think this money will be used to use material resources and employ people in weapon industry?
That’s different from what you said before. (“Money is material resources”). Money can be used to buy material resources, but it is not equal to material resources.
Believing the latter leads to the assumption that money is somehow sparse (for governments) and governments should e.g. reduce social or infrastructure spendings to finance the military instead of taking on debt.