Posted on 03/29/2014 11:02:05 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
I would have cut Europe off from the “free defense” gravy train a LONG time ago, the socialism there would have collapsed a lot sooner...
After the soviets fell I would have left Europe.
Why are we indirectly subsiding socialism in Europe anyways?
damn straight they are.
And why do they complain we’re going down the same path? The ingrates have no standing to complain after all the American blood, sweat, tears and treasure poured on Europe.
We want to live the “good life” like they do. Let them take care of themselves.
As much as it kills me, Obama is right. They need to provide for their own defense. They had 70 years to build up their defense and military strategies. If we move to protect them, they would call us war mongers. We can’t win either way.
“It works for them so we might as well crash the party”
It only works for them because they hardly spend a dime on defense. I think it was Churchill who said, “We can have a strong military or we can have a socialist state. But we can’t have both.”
We’re doing the same thing. We’re reducing defense spending. I see no reason for us to do more than minimum to protect America from an unlikely foreign invasion. In any case, there’s not much we can or should do about Europe.
I meant to include that Europe will have to raise taxes or cut their nanny state to pay for an increase in defense spending.
You are right. No one has the stones to do that. What I was thinking of, is that a total economic meltdown is about the only thing that will cut them off. When that happens, the fight is on.
Any/ALL POTUS and every Congress should issue the ultimatum: Kick it up to 3% and meet strict readiness and capability criteria set by the US JCS, or we’re withdrawing from the NATO treaty in five years.
In fairness to Obama NO ONE can convince the Europeans to pay for their own defense. That wonderful free universal health care isn’t cheap.
And remind me again why its the USA’s job to confront Putin?
You appear to suffer from the illusion that tax increases always raise revenue. Europe is way over the wrong side of the Laffer curve. They need to cut taxes and regulation, and they need to jump start their economies by developing domestic energy sources. They can also educate their populace to understand that hard work is a virtue and that laziness is dragging their Continent into the sewer.
Not gonna happen, so it’s Alpha Mike Foxtrot for them.
That was sarcasm.
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