Commentary
So now we have a number. After sliding along for years pretending we meant to hit NATO’s 2 percent of GDP defence target, or quietly admitting we didn’t, we suddenly promised to. Then the target was raised to 5 percent and the prime minister didn’t blink even though it will cost $150 billion a year, a lot of money even in Ottawa. Which mercifully and horribly brings us to the practical question: Where are we going to get it?
Of course, there are people who don’t want us to try. Some socialists would rather spend the money on social programs or not at all, and some libertarians would rather not spend it at all, meaning the latter do need to find it anyway but the former don’t. As for those who think saying we’ll spend it amounts to having spent it, it buys us precious little time today….