That’s a good thing – the quest for increased military spending must be carefully examined and challenged. Now Justin Trudeau is being ridiculed for suggesting Canada won’t reach that level of spending any time soon. When Stephen Harper was Prime Minister he eagerly agreed to that target. The generals and defence ministers overseeing NATO arbitrarily set a target of every member country spending two per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the military. Today, a growing chorus is demanding Canada dramatically increase military spending.
The phrase goes back to American policy as it entered the First World War, then infamously used by Nazi leader Hermann Göring in 1936 – “Guns will make us powerful butter will only make us fat.” It has been highlighted in Economics 101 courses ever since to describe the assignment of resources based on political priorities. The classic question of what a government should spend on is described as a choice of “guns or butter” – either military spending or domestic programs. Originally published in the Hamilton Spectator on May 15th, 2023.Įvery student of economics is taught about choices.
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